Medical Ads Irk Rooney

(CBS)  The following is a weekly 60 Minutes commentary by CBS News correspondent Andy Rooney.

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The first time I went to a hospital, I was 15 years old and a doctor took out my appendix. The second time, a doctor took out my tonsils. I remember wondering why we have appendix or tonsils if it doesn't matter when they take them out.

If I have to go to a hospital again, there are a lot of things I don't want them to do and quite a few hospitals I don't want to go to for anything.

I don't want to go to a hospital that advertises. I wouldn't go to a doctor who advertises.

"Best of all Dr. Mann will give you up to $1,000 off your custom Lasik and intralace procedure ..."

"For more information about the Valley Hospital Center For Minimally Invasive Surgery …"

"Central DuPage Hospital …"

"Get the bust line you always wanted call Dr. Mandraccia …"

"At Virginia Hospital Center our neurosurgeons are not generalists ..."

"From Dr. Marguerite McDonald …"

"This is Emory … Emory University Hospital …"

It used to be either illegal or unethical for doctors to advertise but the Federal Trade Commission brought a lawsuit that changed that. They claimed that not letting doctors advertise was in restraint of trade.

Now, even the Yellow Pages have ads for doctors and hospitals.

In New York, an ophthalmologist named Joseph Dello Russo does a lot of advertising on radio and in print. "Dello Russo Laser Vision There Really Is A Difference. The Difference You Can See."

There are several offices and he has other doctors working for him.

Dr. Dello Russo now charges $5,500 for Lasik eye surgery. He has done an estimated 15,000 operations himself. If that's what he was paid, 15,000 times $5,500 comes to $82.5 million. It's enough to make any doctor consider running a few commercials.

I can't really tell you why I object to hospitals and doctors advertising. It just seems wrong. I'm not enthusiastic about funeral home ads either.

Maybe I'll hang a sign around my neck in case I get hit crossing the street. "Don't take me to a Hospital, a Doctor or a Funeral Home that ADVERTISES."
By Andy Rooney