Marketing Your Occupational Therapy Practice
Content
Marketing your Occupational Therapy Practice
FIA 702
September 2010
Miriam Krawitz
Table of Contents
Section 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Introduction Page 3 3 5 6 8 8 9 9 9 10 10
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Marketing Your Occupational Therapy Practice When marketing your Occupational Therapy practice one HPCSA guidelines for Making Professional Services known. The introduction states that Health professions in this country have long accepted the convention that health care professional should refrain from self promotion, not least because the health care professional who is most successful at getting publicity may not necessarily be the most appropriate one to treat the patient . Furthermore patients experiencing health problems are often particularly vulnerable to persuasive influences via unprofessional advertising. In essence the governance of advertisements is twofold to protect the patient as well as the the health care professional. By doing this patients are protected from misleading information or being drawn to titles of professional attainments of surperior treatments or prices may be misconstrued as unprofessional conduct. So what may be included in notification? A health professional may make her practice known in any medium as long as they comply with these guidelines. Occupational therapists may do direct mailings and bulk pamphlets to mailboxes. They may leave pamphlets in rooms of health professional and information centres such as libraries amd museums, but bulk distribution at intersections, or on cars and at shopping centres is not permissible. The pamphlets aim is to let people know where you are located and not as a promotion of your practice The pamphlets may contain the following information 1. Name and surname 2. Occupational Therapist( name they are registered with the Counctil) 3. Qualifications 4. Registration number 5. Practice address and a map if necessary 6. Consulting hours 7. Telephone numbers 8. Fields of practice- this is limited only if the Occupational Therapist t limits his practice to that field
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9. Financial arrangements such as credit cards accepted or we submit to medical aid but you cannot state discounts available. Communication with colleagues (Section 7) It is common practice and should be encouraged amongst health care professional to communicate the seeting up of a practice or practice address changes to colleagues and may include information on the field of practice. Directories and Public Lists (Section 8) Clients and health care professional should have access to accurate and comprehensive , and well presented , information about the healthcare professional in the area. They may list themselves in public directories such as phone books or but the names of Occupational THerapis shout be the of the same size and font. Stationary Occupational Therapist may use busisness cards and put their practices details on stationary. Logos may be used but pictures , graphics of anatomica structures may not be used. A picture od a pers on wpould be acceptable. Outside Signs and Nameplates The size of outside sign is limit to 1 m by .5 metreses and may only contain the following information. Name and surnmame; professions, the location of the practice, telefhone numbers, consulting hours. Logos are not permitted , and only two colosrs of choice may be permitted. Only one outside side is permitted unless the practice is in a large complex and there are several entrances. An Occupational Therapist may put a nameplate on the door of the consulting room
Page 4 of 4
FIA 702
September 2010
Miriam Krawitz
Table of Contents
Section 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Introduction Page 3 3 5 6 8 8 9 9 9 10 10
Page 2 of 4
Marketing Your Occupational Therapy Practice When marketing your Occupational Therapy practice one HPCSA guidelines for Making Professional Services known. The introduction states that Health professions in this country have long accepted the convention that health care professional should refrain from self promotion, not least because the health care professional who is most successful at getting publicity may not necessarily be the most appropriate one to treat the patient . Furthermore patients experiencing health problems are often particularly vulnerable to persuasive influences via unprofessional advertising. In essence the governance of advertisements is twofold to protect the patient as well as the the health care professional. By doing this patients are protected from misleading information or being drawn to titles of professional attainments of surperior treatments or prices may be misconstrued as unprofessional conduct. So what may be included in notification? A health professional may make her practice known in any medium as long as they comply with these guidelines. Occupational therapists may do direct mailings and bulk pamphlets to mailboxes. They may leave pamphlets in rooms of health professional and information centres such as libraries amd museums, but bulk distribution at intersections, or on cars and at shopping centres is not permissible. The pamphlets aim is to let people know where you are located and not as a promotion of your practice The pamphlets may contain the following information 1. Name and surname 2. Occupational Therapist( name they are registered with the Counctil) 3. Qualifications 4. Registration number 5. Practice address and a map if necessary 6. Consulting hours 7. Telephone numbers 8. Fields of practice- this is limited only if the Occupational Therapist t limits his practice to that field
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9. Financial arrangements such as credit cards accepted or we submit to medical aid but you cannot state discounts available. Communication with colleagues (Section 7) It is common practice and should be encouraged amongst health care professional to communicate the seeting up of a practice or practice address changes to colleagues and may include information on the field of practice. Directories and Public Lists (Section 8) Clients and health care professional should have access to accurate and comprehensive , and well presented , information about the healthcare professional in the area. They may list themselves in public directories such as phone books or but the names of Occupational THerapis shout be the of the same size and font. Stationary Occupational Therapist may use busisness cards and put their practices details on stationary. Logos may be used but pictures , graphics of anatomica structures may not be used. A picture od a pers on wpould be acceptable. Outside Signs and Nameplates The size of outside sign is limit to 1 m by .5 metreses and may only contain the following information. Name and surnmame; professions, the location of the practice, telefhone numbers, consulting hours. Logos are not permitted , and only two colosrs of choice may be permitted. Only one outside side is permitted unless the practice is in a large complex and there are several entrances. An Occupational Therapist may put a nameplate on the door of the consulting room
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