Speak Out October 2018

Ethical advertising of speech pathology services: A guide Ethics News FIND OUT WHAT "NOT TO DO" WHEN ADVERTISING YOUR SPEECH PATHOLOGY SERVICES AND PRODUCTS.

3 Client images and Health Information Even with client/parent consent, SPA strongly discourages the use of client information or images in advertising due to the vulnerable nature of the populations that speech pathologists serve and the inherent ‘shareability’ of images and information online. ‘Sarah’s’ assent to her image being used in this advertising does not imply future consent to his information being available in the public domain. 4 Use of post nominals the Speech Pathology Australia logo A member logo denoting ‘Certified Practising Speech Pathologist’ is the only logo available to members to use in their advertising. The accepted post-nominals have been used in this website. Please refer to the ‘Use of Speech Pathology Australia Name and Logo’ policy on the website for further information. 5 Claims not supported by evidence and/or statements are misleading The website gives the impression that this speech pathology service can ‘fix’ a wide variety of multifactorial disorders. Claims are unqualified, not supported by evidence, misleading and potentially deceptive. If the evidence for a claim you are making is inconclusive, or you are unsure of the evidence for the claim, remove it from your advertising! 6 Inducements The use of prizes, discounts or gifts in advertising is strongly discouraged due to the potential for them to encourage the unnecessary use of a service. If using such inducements, you must ensure that terms and conditions are clearly stated (for example, what happens if it transpires that ten therapy sessions are not required? Additionally, Facebook competitions such as this, violate the privacy and confidentiality of entrants. 7 Advertising services ethically The website gets it right when using wording such as: • We take a client centred approach to therapy: • Our speech pathologists are highly experienced: • They are Certified Practising Members of Speech Pathology Australia: • They complete regular professional development: • They provide evidence based therapy. The Association aims to provide members with education, advice and support on developing ethical advertising content and strategies. If you have any questions or queries about your advertising, or the policy, please feel free to contact the Association on (03) 9642 4899.

Consider the type of information you would want to know about a health professional you may need to see. Would you ask the following questions? • What are their qualifications and experience? • Are the treatments they use evidence based? • Will they provide you with factual and accurate information about likely treatment outcomes? Ethical advertising by speech pathologists is about answering these types of questions for our clients, in ways that are truthful, accurate, and not misleading. The SPA ‘Code of Ethics – Advertising policy’ is based on the principles from the Association’s Code of Ethics and best practice advertising guidelines for registered health professionals developed by AHPRA. It is essential that Speech Pathology Australia members advertising services and products to the public familiarise themselves with this document. Common issues For a ‘what not to do’ when advertising speech pathology services and products, see the mock website (illustrated on the following page) for a speech pathology business, the Speech Pathology Experts. The example on the following page uses a traffic light system to demonstrate both compliance and non-compliance with the policy in the following ways:

In breach of the Advertising policy, must be removed from advertising

Careful consideration required as to the appropriateness of using these advertising strategies.

Unlikely to mislead, keep going!

Match the numbers in the illustration with our explanation of how the advertising policy may apply.

1 Testimonials: Testimonials or reviews are unverifiable, subjective and non- specific statements. For example; consumers may believe that their child with autism will experience identical treatment outcomes to ‘Cassie’ if they use this service. 2 Claims of specialisation/use of titles or ‘expert’ There are no recognised titles or specialty areas of speech pathology in Australia. This website includes terms such as expert, specialist and autism assessor that are potentially misleading to consumers.

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October 2018 www.speechpathologyaustralia.org.au

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