Ethical Challenges in Healthcare Marketing: Balancing Profit and Patient Welfare

Abstract

In the medical field, healthcare marketing has become a need-to-do, although ethically a challenging, task. Marketing activity helps enhance not only patient awareness and access, but also the visibility of the organization,; however, there are ethical concerns wherever there is profit related to patient welfare. This paper explores that tension from the perspective of hospitals, healthcare institutions and digital platforms. A mixed method research design was used that included both quantitative and qualitative approaches where 150 participants (Healthcare administrators, marketing executives, Medical professionals and patients) responded to a structured survey, and for those 15 who completed the survey, semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain further insights into ethical issues, institutional policies, and digital marketing practice.

From the quantitative analysis results, it was determined that ethical marketing practices had a significant and positive relationship with patient welfare (r = 0.68, p < 0.01) and marketing force based on the profit orientation had a moderate and negative relationship with patient welfare (r = -0.47, p < 0.05). Thematic analysis of the interviews indicated that many of the same tensions between marketing targets and ethical responsibilities emerged, as well as the power and opacity of digital marketing, and mediation of patient trust. Emphasizing both utilitarian and deontological philosophy as well as stakeholder theory, the paper suggests a conceptual approach to ethics in order to demonstrate that it is possible to pursue the two goals of profitability as well as ethical integrity, especially when marketing strategy is based on transparency, accuracy, and patient education. The results indicate that formal written ethical marketing policies, committees and training of employees (particularly in the development and usage of digital marketing) should be implemented.

The findings of this research provide implications for healthcare administration and the field of healthcare marketing ethics, including practical advice about striking a balance between commercial and ethical objectives. It highlights the importance of both patient welfare, as well as marketing practice that is based on ethical principles and develops the institutional credulity in a long-term perspective, in order to gain sustainable development for the organization. Overall, a patient-centred, integrated marketing strategy enables healthcare institutions to address ethical concerns while remaining to be strategic and profitable in fulfilling their marketing objectives.