Virtua ordered to end 'most top docs' ad

Who has the most "top docs" in South Jersey?

Not Virtua Health, says its rival, Cooper Health System, and it won some support from a New Jersey judge yesterday.

Cooper took its complaints about Virtua's multimedia ad campaign, which claims Virtua has "the most top docs," to court and persuaded a Superior Court judge yesterday to order a halt to the ad campaign. Judge Mary Colalillo scheduled a hearing on the case for Tuesday.

Cooper contends that Virtua's ads touted the results of an "independent" study that was, in fact, commissioned by the health system and its ad agency, the Star Group. The study was not heavy scientific lifting. It basically involved counting the number of doctors mentioned in top doctor articles in Philadelphia Magazine, New Jersey Monthly, South Jersey Magazine and SJ Magazine, according to a Web site that explained the results without detailing methodology.

The injunction requires Virtua to stop "directly or indirectly" operating that Web site: www.sjtopdocs.org. It was still up and running late yesterday afternoon.

Cooper also said it has evidence that Virtua inflated the number of its own top docs by including physicians who actually worked for out-of-state affiliates - Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and A.I. duPont Hospital for Children in Wilmington - while undercounting the number of top doctors at Cooper.

By its count, Cooper has the most top docs.

John P. Sheridan Jr., president and chief executive officer of Cooper University Hospital, said he was "frankly saddened" by the Virtua ad campaign, which began in December. "It's a pretty egregious attempt to deceive patients with false advertising."

Virtua spokeswoman Peggy Leone said Virtua, which operates five hospitals in South Jersey, stood by its claims. She said Cooper, which uses Kelly Ripa as a TV spokeswoman, has for years said it had the most top docs "with nothing more official than the endorsement of a TV personality to back up their claims." Asked repeatedly whether Virtua included doctors from Fox Chase and duPont in its count, she replied: "The doctors included are physicians who are members of our medical staff."

Bernard Plesser, owner of the Mechanicsville research firm that conducted the study, said he did not know whether non-Virtua doctors were included in the count. He declined to name the client who commissioned the work.

In its complaint, Cooper said Virtua and/or the Star Group hired the firm. The Star Group, which has offices in South Jersey, Philadelphia and Delaware, did not respond to requests for comment.

In a written statement, Virtua's president and CEO, Richard P. Miller, questioned whether a court battle was the best use of Cooper's budget, much of which comes from government funding aimed at treating the poor.

"The cost of such frivolous suits is a poor use of public health-care dollars, especially in these difficult economic times," he said. "Virtua has always had the highest ethical standards, and we are dedicated to holding firm to the values of our mission. We want the public to understand that all of Cooper's claims against Virtua are false and we want the public to have the correct information."

William Tambussi, a Westmont lawyer who represents Cooper, which operates the one hospital, said correct information about the magazine ratings was important because such reports swayed patient decisions. "Top doc designations do, in fact, affect market share," he said.

Asked about the cost of the ad campaign, Tambussi said: "Based on the frequency of the ads and the saturation in the market, it has to be upward of seven figures," he said. Leone would not say how much Virtua has spent, but said it was nowhere near seven figures.