READ THIS: Ahpra Updates its Advertising Guidelines for 2021
If you’re involved in dental or medical marketing, avoid any nasty fines and get familiar with Ahpra’s updated advertising guildelines (made effective from December 14th, 2020).
In this article, we’ll cover some* Ahpra rules around:
Your responsibility with advertising reviews & testimonials on
Facebook & social
Google My Business
Forums
Your business website
Specilist registrations
Before and after images
Gifts and Incentives
Hellishly punitive fines for using cheesy stock photos (Just kidding. We know you’d never use any of those.)
*I’m just giving you the tastiest, most notable (dental/medicine) cuts. If you want the whole goat, you can access Ahpra Guidelines for advertising a regulated health service: December-2020 here >>>
Why have Ahpra guidelines?
Says AHPRA, “The guidelines have been developed to help practitioners and other advertisers understand their obligations when advertising a regulated health service.”
True. But I like to think of it in more community-spirited terms. They help create a fair and level playing field, stop people from making false claims, patients from having unrealistic expectations and less-than-qualified people letting their “self-confidence” get the better of them.
#1: Advertising reviews & testimonials
First, what is ‘advertising’? Ahpra states that their definition of advertising "... includes but is not limited to all forms of verbal, printed or electronic public communication that promotes a regulated health service provider to attract a person to the provider (practitioner or business)."
I’ve abridged their list, which includes (bolding is my own):
television or cinema, radio
newspapers, flyers
billboards
books (if the book is promoting a particular regulated health service provider)
public and professional lists
pictorial representations
designs
mobile communications or other displays
internet (including websites and social media)
all electronic media that promotes a particular regulated health service provider
business cards, announcement cards
office signs
Ahpra-compliant testimonials & reviews
SUMMARY: Ahpra does not want you to use testimonials in your advertising.
First up, testimonials and reviews are different things.
Ahpra's advertising guidelines define a testimonial as "recommendations or positive statements about the CLINICAL aspects of a regulated health service used in advertising… Examples include patient stories, patient experiences or success stories."
Not all positive comments or reviews about a regulated health service are considered testimonials.
A review or a positive comment is NONCLINICAL. E.g. “They have lovely rooms.” “Dr Chan is a wonderful doctor.” “The receptionists are very welcoming, and everyone is friendly.” “Parking is easy.”
CLINICAL means expressing any of the following:
Symptom – the reason for being treated (“I had excruciating toothache”)
Diagnosis – what the practitioner diagnosed or treated (“My dentist said I had an infected tooth...”)
Outcome – the specific outcome or the experience or skills of the practitioner either directly or by comparison (“Dr Mills extracted my tooth, and the pain went away much faster compared to my last dental visit for a toothache” OR, for example, a video on a dental site showcasing an exuberant patient explaining how their life got better after Dr Earnsalot placed 4 dental implants in his upper jaw.)
Confused? Let’s summarise this:
REVIEW = NONCLINICAL
A review – the harmless one – is like a Google My Business review. A general thing about the receptionists and how friendly people are. No slaps for publishing reviews. Mostly.
TESTIMONIAL = CLINICAL
A testimonial – the harmful one – is the one giving detailed, clinical aspects of treatment. Yes, expect slaps for publishing testimonials.
Okay, so we can’t do clinical. But…
Where is the testimonial written? (Because that does make a difference)
Sometimes we have no control.
That is OK. That is excusable.
If you have patients chatting online in a forum endorsing your services, it’s okay because you’re not advertising this - and you don’t have log-in details to access and edit stuff. You can’t stop people from talking about you. And don’t we know it.
But suppose you have people jumping onto your Facebook page or ads and endorsing your treatment’s clinical aspects. In that case, you must either ask them to take them down or remove the entire post or add yourself.
WHY? Because the advertiser (that is you – the practitioner/practice owner) is responsible for testimonials in advertising. So don’t look the other way!
“Advertisers are not responsible for removing (or trying to have removed) testimonials published on platforms that do not control or on sites that are not advertising a regulated health service.”
Let’s explore the most popular online spaces and see what you need to do…
Google My Business (GMB) & Ahpra
SUMMARY:
A: You CAN’T control what people write on GMB
B: You CAN control how you reply. So with GMB, the reply is the hot topic.
C: If the review/testimonial is clinical, you must reply with wording that includes something to the effect of “…results may vary…”
Ahpra is now policing this space, where it appeared they didn’t. So I suggest you tighten up. I’m going to do this:
THE NONCLINICAL REVIEW: If we get a NONCLINICAL review, e.g., “It’s a great clinic, parking was easy, and things ran on time. I was given a great price. Very happy...”
Then, that’s great. I’ll thank them for the review and move on.
THE CLINICAL REVIEW: If we get a CLINICAL review, e.g.,: “Dr Goldstein is the best injector I’ve ever had. She told me she could get rid of my crow’s feet, and she did. I look ten years younger. There was no bruising after the procedure.”
Then, I would reply with: “Thanks so much for your wonderful review. Of course, results vary from patient to patient, but I’m thrilled that you’ve experienced such a positive result.”
Facebook & social media
SUMMARY:
A: Is it your Facbook page or ad? Remove the testimonial.
B: Is it a page you have no access to? You’re (probably) fine
Suppose someone makes a positive comment on your organic Facebook page, a paid post or Facebook advertisement. In that case, you must remove it somehow. This is your advertising space, so you must deal with it. However, if someone comments about your services on a social media page with no connection to you, you can ignore it.
Do more good. Less bad. More science-based info. Less (okay ‘fewer’) anecdotes.
Websites
SUMMARY: You cannot put positive testimonials on your website. Just stop it. Don’t make me cross.
So this means, for example:
· You can’t copy and paste a testimonial from elsewhere and republish it on your site (a common, kosher practice among other non-medical businesses)
· You can’t use an app to reproduce your Facebook or GMB testimonials on your website – no matter how clever your dev team think they are.
TIP: Just because you’ve seen other people do this doesn’t make it right. Sooner or later, these offenders will be held to account.
Forums
SUMMARY: If it’s not your forum, you’re pretty safe.
If it’s a public forum not connected to your business, then you’re probably pretty safe. You can’t expect someone to remove something that is not on your website or social media page.
Let’s move on!
#2: Very special specialists specialising
Rules on titles have tightened again. Be very careful about the use of “specialise” and similar when writing anything for a regulated health provider.
“The National Law protects endorsements and recognised specialist titles. A specialist title indicates that a practitioner holds specialist registration in one of the recognised specialties for certain professions.”
Sure you can be special, sweetie. But don’t say you have a specialty. Or that you specialise. Or that you are a specialist – unless you are a specialist under the rule of law.
You can be an expert, though. (Anyone can be an expert) But seriously, you can be an ‘expert’ in injectables or dental implants. Just don’t say you’re a specialist if you don’t legally have the title. But you know this now.
From the Ahpra website.
Be careful of how you word the specialty you are registered in.
#3: Before & after photos
Rules around before and after photos have tightened. And the reasoning is understandable. They can be misleading or deceptive. Someone might be given the wrong impression and have unreasonable expectations. You can still use images, but play fair. Use common sense and be honest.
TIP: Under your Before & After images, write something like:
“The ‘before and after’ photographs on Dr Donoharm’s website illustrate examples of the types of procedures Dr Donoharm provides, along with the results received. Results may vary, depending on the individual. Any surgical or invasive procedure carries risks. Before proceeding, you should seek a second opinion from an appropriately qualified health practitioner.”
Ahpra: images “less likely to be misleading if...”
• they have similar lighting and contrast
• camera angles, lighting, background, exposure settings are all the same
• the images are of similar size
• make-up, clothing and posture is consistent
#4: Prizes, gifts & rewards
…and encouraging indiscriminate or unnecessary use of a regulated health service.
ACCEPTABLE: Suppose you own a dental practice and regularly send out newsletters to patients. You can encourage them to “Book in for an exam, scale and clean – and be in the draw for one of five electric toothbrushes”.
That’s fine. Providing you have terms and conditions that state, amongst other things:
patients can only enter once
they must be due for a dental clean
they must front up in order to receive the goodies
NOT ACCEPTABLE: You are a cosmetic surgeon. You advertise that everyone receiving any cosmetic procedure will be in the draw for a trip for two to Paris.
This is not acceptable. People may repeatedly book in for unnecessary cosmetic procedures to improve their chance of getting to Paris. It could get ugly.
A word of gifts…
Gifts have a talent for making us scurry like fools to the Ahpra handbook. Yes, you can offer a gift, discount or inducement, but you must add your Terms and Conditions.
Gifting example:
You have a cosmetic surgery clinic. Everyone attending this month will get a free bottle of anti-ageing serum. Sure thing. Just include terms and conditions that state:
the expiry date of the offer
who is eligible (age restrictions, health restrictions)
that the consultation can only proceed at the discretion of the health practitioner (if the practitioner deems the patient unfit for the treatment, it’s a no-go)
And of course, you can’t increase the price of your treatment to cover the price of a gift. But you knew that, too.
A word on ‘free’…
‘Free’ is a dangerous word that I’d try and mostly wipe it from your cosmetic or dental marketing vocabulary. Gone are the days of: “Get a scale and clean absolutely FREE with health insurance!” It’s not “free”. It’s GAP free. As in, the patient will pay no gap.
Likewise, “FREE medical appointments” are a no-go as Medicare pays the bill. That’s not free; that’s you and me.
Disclaimer: I’m not a lawyer. This is not legal advice. The information on this page contains my (somewhat educated, after 8 years) interpretation of Ahpra’s latest guidelines, published December 14, 2020. If you’re unsure if your marketing practices are Ahpra-compliant, please consult a lawyer or someone else you can blame instead of me.