Standard
The physiotherapist engages in advertising, marketing and promotional activities, including through social media, in a manner that is truthful, accurate, and verifiable and does not engage in or allow advertising, marketing, and promotional activities that are deceptive or misleading.
Expected Outcome
Patients can expect that the advertising, marketing and promotion of physiotherapy services and products is not deceptive or misleading and enables the patient to make informed choices.
Performance Expectations
The physiotherapist:
- Advertises only the physiotherapy services that they are competent to provide.
- Does not state or imply a practice focus or area of interest in their advertising, marketing or promotional activities unless the area of interest is a significant focus of their practice.
- Does not refer to themselves as a specialist or employ other language that implies specialization in an area of practice or physiotherapy service provision unless authorized by the College to use the specialist title.
- Reviews all advertisements, marketing, and promotional activities placed by themselves or others on their behalf to ensure they are truthful, accurate, and verifiable, and if they are not, takes reasonable steps to correct the advertisements and documents the steps taken.
- Does not use advertisements, marketing or promotional activities that:
- Promote or encourage unnecessary use of physiotherapy services or products.
- Make unsubstantiated claims, foster unrealistic expectations, or provide guarantees of successful outcomes.
- Include claims of uniqueness or special advantage of products, physiotherapy services or care providers, unless supported by credible evidence that can be readily verified.
- Make claims of superiority about any aspect of care, including but not limited to care providers.
- Make comparative statements about care providers.
- Discredit, disparage or undermine the skills of other care providers or the physiotherapy services of other clinics or facilities.
- Endorse physiotherapy-related products for financial gain, unless the information is supported by credible evidence for use in physiotherapy and with full transparency regarding any financial relationships related to the endorsement.
- Does not offer incentives or other inducements that promote unnecessary physiotherapy services.
- Ensures that any advertisements for bundled physiotherapy services clearly disclose the services included, the option for patients to purchase services individually, and the availability of refunds for unused services.
- Only advertises free physiotherapy services, such as offers of free consultations, assessments, or trials of clinically indicated physiotherapy treatments, in a manner that:
- Promotes general education or health awareness.
- Informs the public about any conditions or limitations related to the physiotherapy services offered.
- Highlights pro-bono services offered to patients experiencing financial hardship.
Definitions
- Advertising
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The action of calling something to the attention of the public, especially by paid announcements.
- Claims of superiority
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Statements or assertions that imply a product, physiotherapy service, or care provider is the best, most effective, or otherwise surpasses all others. These claims are often exaggerated, unverified, or unsupported by evidence. Examples include phrases like “number one” or “best care available”.
- Credible
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Any evidence that reasonably would be viewed as reliable, accurate, and having a basis in fact.
- Marketing
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The process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.
- Physiotherapy services
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Are services provided by or under the direction of a physiotherapist. This includes patient assessment and intervention, and related communication and reporting to various parties for the purposes of delivering patient care.
- Promotional activities
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Include any effort made by an individual physiotherapist or business to communicate with potential patients. Promotional activities serve to inform about available products, prices and services, and to persuade people to buy the products and services. Includes personal selling, direct marketing, advertising, sales promotion, publicity, public relations, and social media presence.