From time to time I am asked if someone can leave a review for me.
I most certainly appreciate the gesture, and reviews helps me gain exposure to people looking to find the best acupuncturist for their healthcare. But as an AHPRA registered professional, there are certain guidelines that must be abided by.
To this end, I have written this short guide to about how to leave a review for an acupuncturist in Australia.
A practitioner must not have testimonials on pages which they control
An acupuncturist is not permitted to utilise testimonials in any advertising. For a practitioners website or Facebook page, they must not directly allow reviews to be left or display testimonials from third-party sites.
This does not prevent patients from leaving feedback or reviews on social media such as a Google My Business page, Yelp or Whitecoat they do not have such control over.
Patients are free to look up their acupuncturist on these platforms and leave their thoughts to help guide others in the selection of a practitioner.
Having these reviews is of benefit to the acupuncturist running a small business, as the social proof helps boost their credibility in the eyes of new potential patients.
It is best that they adhere to the recommendations below though
What is not permitted in a Chinese medicine and acupuncture review
The area of most concern is that reviews may not describe any clinical aspects. The following flowchart helps to define what this means:
Put simply, a review must not discuss:
- why you received treatment
- what treatment you received
- what the outcome of treatment was
Including these things essentially makes a review become a testimonial.
This also makes sense from a confidentiality perspective, as your health is your concern alone.
It is of note however that this also includes discussion of skills or experience of a practitioner. This means that one cannot say something like:
the best / worst practitioner I have ever seen
The reasoning for this is so as not to mislead others who are researching healthcare solutions. The outcomes that you may experience may not match their individual circumstances.
So what does this leave to say?
If you choose to leave a review, then it is your experience at the clinic and with your practitioner that can be mentioned.
This may include statements such as:
I found Dantian Health Chinese medicine clinic to be a relaxing environment for treatments
or
Jason was a considerate acupuncturist who took the time to explore my health history, leaving me felt heard in my health concerns
You may also wish to leave a review that describes a not so positive experience, and you are certainly welcome to do so if you feel that you need to.
At the end of the day…
Whether or not you feel inclined to leave a review matters less than ensuring you have felt heard and supported in your health journey.
If you have achieved your health goals and reclaimed your vitality then all the better.
And if you want to leave a review, you can do so here 😉
With gratitude.
What else would you like to know?
Thanks for reading this far. Have I missed your question? Was something unclear? Let me know in the comments below, I read and respond to everyone!
