Taneesa Williamson What has been observed from AHPRA and the Medical Board with practices navigating the new advertising guidelines.
When the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Medical Board of Australia introduced the new guidelines for doctors in cosmetic surgery, there was a sense of apprehensiveness within the industry. However, since their implementation, the authorities have recently provided insights into the significant changes and improvements observed. The guidelines aimed to address various concerns related to misleading practices, improper representation of surgical outcomes, and the need for greater transparency in practitioner qualifications. As a result, the cosmetic surgery landscape has seen a shift towards more responsible and informative advertising practices.
We spoke to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) and the Medical Board of Australia to learn more about what has been observed since the new guidelines came into effect.
“Since the new advertising guidelines came into effect for doctors in cosmetic surgery, we have already seen some improvements.
While we haven’t yet been able to review every site, a quick search of Instagram pages for doctors who perform cosmetic surgery shows most practitioners now reporting their Ahpra registration number – making it easy to look them up on our register. Those we have reviewed are also clearly stating their Ahpra registration details including whether they hold general registration, specialist registration as a plastic surgeon, or specialist registration in another field such as general practice. This will make it clear to patients the type of registration and qualifications a practitioner holds.
Previously, practitioners were extensively re-posting patient posts which did not provide appropriate before and after photos and lacked any surgical information. We have not seen recent examples of this practice. Many practitioners have also turned off the comments feature on their Facebook or Instagram to ensure that patients don’t leave illegal testimonials on their advertising.
All cosmetic surgery content on social media is required to be classified as adult material so that it does not appear in the ‘feeds’ of people under 18. From our sampling, practitioners appear to be complying with this new requirement.
Information about surgical risks and different outcomes for different people have improved for many practitioners although there is still some further improvement needed.
Many practitioner websites contained images that appear to represent surgical outcomes but without appropriate context such as comparison with before photos. These were likely to mislead patients about their expected outcomes. We have seen substantial improvement in this area.
We are continuing to proactively review practitioner advertising against the new standards.
In response to identified breaches, the Medical Board has taken regulatory action including imposing cautions or conditions requiring education and limiting advertising. However, in the majority of cases, practitioners have addressed the Board’s concerns and no additional regulatory action was required.
We encourage anyone, including practitioners, who have concerns about cosmetic surgery practice or advertising to contact the Cosmetic Surgery Hotline on 1300 362 041.”
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