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Session 3 - Information gathering

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Testimonials

The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency, known as AHPRA, is a regulatory body that various healthcare practitioners are required to be registered in, in order to practice.

Professionals under AHPRA include specialists and general medical practitioners, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, radiographers, and psychologists.

There are however, many allied health professionals that are not currently regulated in Australia, including the audiology and speech pathology professions.

To safeguard quality of information and to protect the public, AHPRA has strict advertising guidelines for professions.

One of the restrictions is the use of testimonials in advertising materials, as they can be misleading to consumers.

Testimonials can be misleading, because firstly, they are personal opinions from former clients, but have no scientific basis for the recommendation.

Secondly, the outcomes experiences by one client do not necessarily mean that all people are likely to have similar outcomes.

And lastly, they are not a balanced source of information.
Testimonials are likely only to provide positive comments about the professional or the service they provide, they don’t tell the whole story and can be misleading.

So make sure you’re mindful when you read brochures about various service options for your child or family.

Many may not be regulated and may include testimonials that can bias your thinking and decision making.

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