Every organisation faces challenges choosing the right marketing strategies and promoting their services. Professionals in the healthcare industry have another dimension to consider: legal regulations, specifically those set by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA). No matter what sort of field your practice is in—medical, dentistry, psychology, etc—ethical marketing needs to be one of your priorities. Your marketing shouldn’t just be about attracting the largest number of new clients possible. It should be about ensuring that patients and the public have access to credible and trustworthy information.
AHPRA marketing guidelines cover many different areas, including testimonials, before and after images and the appropriate use of titles like ‘doctor’ and ‘surgeon’. Not complying with these guidelines can lead to penalties such as fines and restrictions on your practice.
What Is AHPRA?
AHPRA is the organisation responsible for implementing the National Registration and Accreditation Scheme (NRAS) across Australia. State and territory governments established the NRAS in 2010 in order to ensure professional standards for health practitioners across the country. The NRAS also makes it simpler for medical professionals to work in different states and territories as they don’t have to reregister in each new jurisdiction.
AHPRA works closely with the 15 national health practitioner boards in Australia, which set the standards all professionals must meet and manage complaints and concerns. These standards extend to how medical professionals advertise and promote their services, which are covered by the AHPRA guidelines.
A risk-based regulator, AHPRA, only takes action when there’s a risk to the public and only takes the necessary amount of action to manage the risk.
Why Do AHPRA Guidelines Need To Be Followed?
Following AHPRA marketing guidelines is in your own best interest as well as the best interests of prospective patients and the public. The main reasons that AHPRA’s guidelines matter include the following:
Consumer protection
AHPRA’s guidelines are in place to protect consumers from false or misleading information so they can make educated decisions about their own health.
Professional integrity
Following the AHPRA marketing guidelines helps professionals maintain their standards and reinforces the public’s trust in the health system. As a medical professional, these regulations protect you not just from legal ramifications but from reputational damage that may threaten your livelihood.
Public safety
In the medical world, accurate advertising and marketing are essential for the health, safety and well-being of the public. False or misleading information can cause people to make potentially harmful decisions regarding their health.
Navigating AHPRA Guidelines When Advertising
AHPRA and the national boards can’t provide advice on whether or not particular advertising is compliant. For that, advertisers need to seek their own legal advice. However, there are some principles to follow when advertising a regulated health service:
- Your advertising must not be false, misleading or deceptive.
- Your advertising must not offer a gift, discount or inducement unless the terms and conditions are also stated.
- Your advertising must not use testimonials or purported testimonials about the service or business.
- Your advertising must not create an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment.
- Your advertising must not directly or indirectly encourage the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of regulated health services.
These standards apply across all platforms, including digital marketing, print media and TV. Concerned about what does and doesn’t fall afoul of these guidelines? Here are some tips for ensuring your advertising remains AHPRA-compliant:
Provide accurate and unbiased information
Ensure that all online information is backed by evidence and free from bias and misleading claims. This involves being transparent with the public about both the potential benefits and complications of treatment. Provide evidence from reputable sources, such as peer-reviewed journals, to support advertising claims, and verify claims of high success rates with data and studies. Always cite reputable, if possible internationally recognised, organisations as sources.
Display your professional qualifications and regulation
Displaying your qualifications and registration prominently on your website helps users to verify your legitimacy. If you’re a healthcare professional, make your full name, specialisation area and AHPRA registration number readily available on your website, social media accounts and any articles you publish.
Protect patient privacy and confidentiality
Protecting patients’ confidentiality and complying with privacy laws are essential. Organisations must obtain informed consent before sharing case studies and other personal information online. Informed consent extends to images and videos used for promotional purposes. Before using a patient’s image, you must obtain their explicit written permission.
Avoid testimonials and endorsements
AHPRA prohibits the use of testimonials and endorsements that directly state the success of treatments or the competence of professionals as they can be biased and misleading. Focus instead on educational content that can be verified with reputable sources and on highlighting the experience and accomplishments of your team.
Avoid comparative advertising
In the medical field, it’s important to steer clear of sensationalist statements and advertising that compares your services to others. Instead of making claims like “we are the best in the business” or guaranteeing proven results, focus on laying out the facts so people can make their own informed choices. Be transparent as far as discounts and other offers go, and don’t promise “miracle cures”.
Create content that aligns with AHPRA standards
There are many forms of content that align with AHPRA standards. Unbiased blog posts and articles can encourage preventative measures and healthy lifestyle choices. Educational videos are great for search engine optimisation (SEO) and cater to people who are visual learners. Interactive quizzes and assessments can help raise awareness of health risks as long as you’re clear that results don’t constitute a professional diagnosis and to seek professional attention.
Provide regular updates
Keep your content fresh and up-to-date so you can continue providing readers with the most contemporary and relevant research and information.
Effective AHPRA Compliant Marketing with Anchor Digital
If you’re looking for content marketing that not only highlights the benefits of your practice or clinic but also complies with the AHPRA marketing guidelines, Anchor Digital is happy to help you. A Brisbane-based full-service creative and digital agency, Anchor has helped a number of ethical, purposeful businesses, including medical and dental practices, to grow. Under one roof, we bring together every strategy you need in order to be successful.
Anchor’s content marketing services can provide you with AHPRA-compliant content that provides valuable information to your readers. Taking the form of blog posts, professional-quality websites, social media posts and more, this content informs people to make decisions that are right for them rather than focusing on hard sales. Our words will stay true to your identity, reflect your values and demonstrate your strengths while meeting all legal requirements. We create an entire compliance-focused strategy for you under one roof instead of sending you from agency to agency and keeping you in the loop with straightforward, jargon-free updates.
To find out more and to become even better at what you do, contact the Anchor team.
