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30 Sep 2010
Statement from the Podiatry Board of Australia
The new requirements of the National Law need to be considered at all times and particularly when podiatrists are undertaking or promoting Foot Health Week/Month activities.
The Podiatry Board of Australia, in conjunction with some other regulated health professions, has developed Guidelines for Advertising Regulated Health Services.
It is not possible to précis the document here but it covers issues such as unacceptable advertising, use of graphic or visual representations, substantiation of claims, use of comparative advertising, advertising of price information, use of warning statements for invasive procedures amongst many others.
The document’s contents are enforceable and in many cases the rules are different from what they were prior to the National Law coming into being in July this year. It is vital that all registered podiatrists review and understand the content of these Guidelines. They are available on this website at the Registration Standards page. Section 133 of the National Law states that: ‘a person must not advertise a regulated health service, or a business that provides a regulated health service, in a way that — (a) is false, misleading or deceptive or is likely to be misleading or deceptive; or (b) offers a gift, discount, or other inducement to attract a person to use the service or the business, unless the advertisement also sets out the terms and conditions of the offer; or (c) uses testimonials or purported testimonials about the service or business; or (d) creates an unreasonable expectation of beneficial treatment; or (e) directly or indirectly encourages the indiscriminate or unnecessary use of regulated health services.’