It wasn’t that long ago that most advertising efforts in dentistry were considered to be unethical. Some dentists still hold this belief. But, for the rest of us, marketing can absolutely be as ethical as it is effective. Here's some quick advice on how to keep your marketing efforts positive and ethical.
It wasn’t that long ago that most of our marketing efforts were considered to be unethical. The prevailing opinion was that dentists are professionals, and we shouldn’t stoop to advertising to attract patients. Patients should find us based on our clinical prowess and our reputation in the community—not because we took out an ad in the local paper. No doubt you can still find dentists who firmly hold this belief. But, for the rest of us, marketing can absolutely be as ethical as it is effective.
So, when does marketing cross the line? According to the American Dental Association’s Code of Professional Conduct, Section 5—Veracity, dentists cannot communicate “in a manner that is false or misleading.” (1) The Code goes on to describe what “false or misleading” can mean, and ultimately leaves it to the discretion of the ADA body that is reviewing a complaint. Indeed, this kind of wiggle room is necessary, as a comprehensive list of unethical marketing practices would lead us into grammatical minutiae.
Surely, it would be inappropriate to state in an advertisement that you are the “best dentist in town,” but could you say that you are the only one with accreditation from a particular professional association? Assuming your claim to be the only accredited dentist in town isn’t false or misleading, the manner in which you make such a statement might still be in poor taste. No doubt there is a gray area here.
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