Hospital Used Doctors' Names for Fundraising — Without Telling Them

## When Fundraising Crosses an Ethical Line

Imagine finding out your employer used your name and photo to ask people for money — and never asked your permission. That's exactly what happened to a doctor described in a recent advice column from MarketWatch's "The Moneyist."

The setup: A hospital launched a campaign called "Best Doctors Week." It asked former patients to donate money to "honor" the doctors who treated them. This is a common practice known as grateful patient fundraising (GPFR) — where hospitals ask patients they've helped to give charitable donations (voluntary gifts of money).

Why hospitals do this: Many hospitals are short on cash and rely on donations to help cover their costs. Fundraising from patients is generally accepted by major medical organizations — as long as it's done ethically.

What went wrong here:

• The doctors had no idea their names were being used to collect money.
• Doctors whose patients donated the most were displayed on a "wall of honor" — again, without their knowledge.
• The hospital used ID card photos (which it controls) to put doctors' faces on display.
• There was a donation threshold (a minimum amount) patients had to hit to get their doctor featured.
• Many patients didn't realize their money went mostly to the hospital, not the doctors they wanted to thank.

The expert's take: The Moneyist columnist stressed that transparency and consent are essential. Doctors should always know if their names and images are being used to raise money. Using someone this way without telling them is, at best, bad manners and, at worst, unethical.

Experts also agree that fundraising should never affect a patient's medical care, and doctors shouldn't feel pressured to give donors special treatment.

The bottom line: Once trust between a hospital and its patients — or its own doctors — is broken, it's extremely hard to rebuild. This story is a reminder that even good causes, like helping underfunded hospitals, must respect people's consent and honesty.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/there-was-a-catch-my-doctor-friend-was-outraged-by-his-hospitals-fundraising-tactics-where-do-we-draw-the-line-797b9fff?mod=mw_rss_topstories