Fair treatment? Guide to the Trade Practices Act for the advertising or promotion of medical and health services

The medical and health sectors are characterised by a marked disparity in the amount of information available to consumers and to service providers. Individual practitioners, professional associations, regulators, community and consumer organisations and governments all have a role in informing and educating consumers about medical and health services. However, for many medical and health professionals advertising is not familiar territory, perhaps partly because of previous restrictions on advertising in these sectors. Recent changes in laws have given professionals much wider opportunities to communicate directly with consumers so enabling consumers to make better-informed decisions. The transition to this new environment appears to have created some problems, and members of the community, regulators and medical and health professionals have raised concerns.