just4research --
Thanks for your clarification. I hope and expect that the following
information will be useful to you.
Very current information about the regulation (in this case,
self-regulation) of advertising by physicians in the Netherlands is
found in a study prepared by a Portuguese economics professor for a
meeting of the American Law & Economics Association. The study, by
Nuno Garoupa, is entitled "Regulation Of Professions In The US And
Europe: A Comparative Analysis" and is dated April 2004.
Among the topics covered by the study is a comparison of the
regulation of advertising by physicians in various European countries,
including the Netherlands. The information you are seeking is
contained in Table 10 of the study beginning on page 48. Here is a
link to the study:
Berkeley Electronic Press: "Regulation Of Professions In The US And
Europe: A Comparative Analysis"
http://law.bepress.com/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1053&context=alea
The document is in PDF format, so you will need Adobe Reader to access
it. In the unlikely event that this tool is not installed on your
computer, a convenient free download is available from this page:
Adobe Reader: Download
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
While you may well be interested in studying Table 10 for its
comparison of physician advertising regulation of many European
countries, I have extracted for your convenient reference the
information (in the Table's Q & A form) provided for the Netherlands.
Here it is:
Q. Advertising is allowed subject to the same constraints as any
other [professional] services?
A. NO
Q. The state restricts the advertising of doctors relative to other services?
A. NO
Q. The self-regulatory body restricts the advertising of doctors?
A. YES
Q. Only the academic title and the special expertise can be advertised?
A. YES
Q. Advertisements in newspapers can be placed at any time?
A. NO
Q. Or only when a practice is opened?
A. YES
Q. Advertising is basically limited to the announcement of the
opening and closing of a practice, the listing in the phone book and
the nameplate?
A. YES
Q. Fee level can be advertised?
A. NO
Q. Co-operation with other doctors or specialists can be advertised?
A. NO
As I stated in my clarification request, after an extensive search, I
have not found an explicit statement to the effect that advertising by
hospitals is (or is not) allowed in the Netherlands. Of course, the
limits on advertising by doctors could have a substantial restrictive
effect on hospital advertising as well.
I have found one source, from a 1997 questionnaire summary, for the
proposition that hospital advertising is banned by only a few European
countries and allowed by many (although, unfortunately, the
Netherlands is not mentioned one way or the other):
"Private clinics and hospitals have no right to advertise in Belgium,
Luxemburg and Hungary; this right exists in Austria, France, Great
Britain, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Spain and Sweden."
European Federation of Salaried Doctors: Medical advertising in
various European countries
http://www.fems.net/Inglese/Inchieste%20e%20mozioni/pubmeden.htm
The lack of online documentation of special regulation (or a ban) on
hospital advertising is some evidence, at least, that such unusual
regulation (or a ban) does not exist. If that is the case, this
general summary of the Netherlands' approach to advertising regulation
may be of special interest to you:
"Advertising in the Netherlands is largely controlled by
self-regulation by the industry. The main authority is the Advertising
Code Commission (Reclame Code Commissie) although for certain
products, such as medicinal and health products, separate authorities
exist. General advertising rules, restricting deceptive and derogatory
advertising, as well as passing off and advertising that is against
standards of public decency and good taste, are laid down in the Dutch
Advertising Code (Nederlandse Reclame Code). However, for many
products and services (for example alcohol, cigarettes, door-to-door
sampling, sweepstakes, etc) special advertising codes exist. These
codes are based on agreements between the organised media, advertising
agencies, advertisers and the Consumers? Association. The Advertising
Code Commission is a complaints board and is not involved in active
surveillance or enforcement. The Advertising Code Commission can, in
case of breach of one the codes, only impose (legally non-enforceable)
individual or public "recommendations". However these recommendations
are nevertheless generally followed by the industry. Dutch Courts also
tend to follow such recommendations when court proceedings are
initiated ."
UK: Department of Trade and Industry: Netherlands (at page 5)
http://www.dti.gov.uk/ccp/topics1/pdf1/benchnether.pdf
Search Strategy:
I used a variety of Google searches to find the information I have
provided and to gain reasonable confidence that the information is
authoritative and complete. The most useful of these many searches
were these:
"advertising restrictions" europe doctors
://www.google.com/search?num=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=%22advertising+restrictions%22+europe+doctors
advertising restrictions netherlands
://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8&q=advertising+restrictions+netherlands
advertising hospital netherlands OR holland regulation OR restrictions
://www.google.com/search?num=30&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=advertising+hospitals+netherlands+OR+holland+regulation+OR+restrictions&btnG=Search
Based on your clarification, I am confident that this is the
information you are seeking. If anything is unclear, please ask for
clarification before rating the answer.
markj-ga |
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