Getting It Right: Social Media For Medical Practices
In a time when social media is a large part of how we learn about anyone or anything, it is understandable that social media is one of the first avenues that come to mind when looking to drive awareness of your business and attract new patients. If you’re reading this as an owner of a practice, a practice manager or anyone who has put their hand up to either run the social media in-house or outsource it, this topic has been written specifically for you. What is the key takeaway I want you to have from reading this? That social media for medical practices of any kind must be approached cautiously.
Whether you are looking at marketing, advertising or general communication on Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, YouTube, LinkedIn or contributing on websites, forums and other apps, this article will bring you up to speed on the guidelines and limitations that you will need to work with.
These vitally important elements must be taken into account to ensure you don’t end up getting yourself, and the practice, into hot water.
Constraints On Advertising & Social Media Medical Marketing
Just as you might send a patient to seek advice and treatment from someone else for something you do not specialise in, we know that many practices outsource their marketing and advertising to specialists. In our experience, where practices have found themselves facing penalties, the buck almost always stops with the practice, regardless of who creates the content or collateral in question. Whatever is published is the responsibility of your practice. You hold the licence, so you are the person and business that will be held accountable.
When the person or people managing your marketing or advertising for you do not have a comprehensive and up-to-date understanding of the obligations that medical practices and centres are bound by, then there is a genuine risk of consequences that include significant financial penalties or conditions imposed, through to being suspended or shut down.
Medical practices are not like regular businesses. There is so much that is not allowed. Let’s explore this more before we get into the specific marketing and advertising elements that are and are not permitted.
The Rules For Medical Marketing
There are five key frameworks that dictate what medical practices can and cannot use in social media marketing and advertising. They are as follows:
The Health Practitioner Regulation National Law (“the National Law”)
The Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code
AHPRA - Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (in partnership with the 15 National Boards of Australia)
The Trade Practices Act (TPA)
Fair Trading Legislation (specific to your State or Territory)
1. The National Law
The National Law applies to health practitioners, and includes any business or person who provides a regulated health service. This includes not only doctors, but chiropractors, dentists, radiologists, nurses and midwives, pharmacists, and even Chinese medicine practitioners.
AHPRA administers the National Code and has the power to investigate, issue notices and bring action against non-compliant practitioners. AHPRA keeps a close eye on medical practices to make sure they are advertising within their guidelines.
It is highly regulated what you can and can’t do - so read on to find out how to be confident that your advertising and social media marketing is legally compliant. The good news? You can do it in 5 steps.
In addition to the National Law, there is a whole suite of legislation that applies to therapeutic goods which we are going to refer to as the Code for ease of reference.
2. The Code
The Code is made up of the Therapeutic Goods Act, the Therapeutic Goods Regulation, the Therapeutic Goods Advertising Code and the Price Information Code of Practice.
The Code applies to the advertising of therapeutic goods, such as prescription medicine, over the counter medicines such as paracetamol, cough and cold medicines and vitamins. It also applies to medical devices, which is everything from blood sugar level devices, orthodontics, blood pressure machines to needles, Band-Aids and condoms.
Importantly, advertising guidelines in the medical industry are designed to protect consumers and patients from false and misleading information that may compromise their health care choices or create unrealistic expectations of their effectiveness.
In particular, the National Law and the Code attempt to protect vulnerable patients and consumers who may have limited understanding of medical treatments, or who may not possess the resources or skills, for whatever reason, to make properly informed decisions about their healthcare.
Importantly, it’s not just the law we are worried about here. As medical professionals, each of you have an ethical duty to act in the best interests of your patients. Always. Even though you operate a business, you cannot be, or even perceived to be, attempting to make a profit by taking advantage of your patients.
3. Trade Practices Act & Fair Trading Legislation
In addition to these industry-specific laws, the Commonwealth Trade Practices Act (TPA) and the Fair-Trading legislation of each state and territory impose standards for advertising and obligations to conduct your business in a manner that guarantees consumers safe and suitable products and services.
The Trade Practices Act and Fair Trading legislation are administered by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, also known as the ACCC Trade Practices Act.
The key takeaways are as follows:
You must not engage in conduct that is likely to mislead or deceive.
You must not make false or misleading claims or statements in relation to your services
You must not engage in unfair or misleading pricing or advertising.
As you can tell, the provisions of the TPA generally overlap with the National Law, and in most circumstances, the National Law will be stricter, but the TPA has a few extra requirements relating to comparative advertising and cash back offers.
What Is Considered Non-Compliant or Prohibitive Marketing or Advertising?
It is any content that is produced, whether it be directly or indirectly, to be:
False, misleading or deceptive, or is likely to be misleading or deceptive
Offers a gift, discount or other inducement to attract a person to use the service or the business, unless the advertisement also states the terms and conditions of the offer
Any statement that misleads, or more importantly, may be likely to mislead, a consumer contravenes the National Law. The distinction here is important because the legislation will not consider whether it did in fact mislead anyone - only that someone, particularly those who may be vulnerable, could be misled.
The informal environment of social media makes using these platforms a particularly perilous affair. Casually commenting on a Facebook post about procedure recovery times constitutes improper advertising, as does recommending treatment or medicine without fully disclosing all associated risks.
1. Comparative Advertising
It is highly unlikely that any of you are posting on your socials or in forums that you are a better doctor or practice than someone else down the road. However, just in case you think it might be okay to say that anywhere online, in addition to the professional discourtesy, you may fall foul of the comparative advertising standards in the TPA.
2. Influencer Marketing & Testimonials
We have had clients who have come to us to deal with complaints from AHPRA who took on the highly successful trend of influencer marketing. Influencer marketing is not allowed in the sphere of registered health practitioners.
Testimonials need to be presented in a particular way. They need to be within the parameters of the framework that is allowable and if they are not, then you run the risk of the consequences of a caution or the more severe penalties mentioned above.
3. Titles & Professional Qualifications
The use of certain terminology or phrases that are connected to any interpretation to indicate registration or specialization, that is not in place, is also prohibited.
4. Surgery or Medical Procedures Before & After Imagery
While this is not the only condition, if you plan to advertise surgery or medical procedures, the content must clearly identify the risks and that patients must seek a second opinion.
If you plan to use ‘before & after’ imagery, there are a range of constraints in regard to the use of the images, the lighting, background, framing, exposure, posture and clothing.
5. Pricing, Time Sensitive & Cashback Offers
Most medical practitioners don’t advertise prices, but if you are inclined to do so, you may not use phrases such as: “As low as…” or “lowest prices guaranteed”. You cannot advertise time-limited offers.
Cashback is a form of discount. Instead of marking down product prices, you might maintain the price but offer to return some of the consumer’s money after purchase. There are no intrinsic problems with this marketing approach, but care should be taken in using it, and ensure that terms and conditions have been properly represented.
The Consequences Of Non-Compliant Social Media Marketing
In most cases, AHPRA will issue you with a notice advising that you have 60 days to comply.
Consistent or blatant disregard of National Law will result in fines of up to $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a corporate entity.
In addition to financial penalties, breach of the National Law advertising standards can trigger disciplinary action by professional bodies for unprofessional conduct. As I am sure you are all aware, consequences for a breach of professional conduct standards are broad and can include restriction on practice, or ultimately, revocation of your practising certificate. Not to mention the risk of being publicly shamed.
It’s not all bad news though. There are ways to do things a bit differently and stay within safe parameters. You can create innovative and engaging marketing and advertising content whilst still remaining compliant.
Where To Start First
All of this information is a lot, but we cannot stress enough how important these guidelines are. When engaging online, including using social media for medical practices, there are significant consequences if it is done wrong. To get started though, and to help streamline this process, ensure, at a bare minimum, that you have a social media policy specific to your practice’s needs.
Is A Social Media Policy for Medical Practices Enough?
In short, no. Not in practice. We created a comprehensive solution for medical practices to ensure they can be compliant and avoid having to defend their actions. Our customised Advertising Framework includes a social media policy for medical practices, as well as a summary of the National Law and AHPRA guidelines for easy reference. It also includes a checklist to follow for testimonials, reviews and image use, as well as easy-to-read guidelines relating to the prohibited marketing and advertising initiatives explored above.
Our clients use the Advertising Framework internally and also provide the policy (or the entire framework) to any third parties engaged to undertake marketing or advertising for their practice. When all relevant parties are alerted to the framework, it ensures everyone is on the same page and sets clear parameters for their marketing or advertising strategy. It also assists in streamlining the review and sign off process internally.
If you have plans to advertise or market on social media or anywhere else online or offline, to attract more patients without annoying APHRA or running the risk of publishing anything non-compliant, then an advertising framework customised for marketing, advertising and social media for medical practices is the practical first step.
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Medical Practice Risk Assessment | Minimising Risk in 2022
Our team works with medical practices of all sizes, across Australia to review their current risks. We also create cost-effective online solutions like our Advertising Framework.
Not sure which option would be best for your practice? Connect with us and secure a time to discuss your practice with one of our specialists. Contact us here.