Reviews, Testimonials and Endorsements - the GCC reminds registrants of their responsibilities

A BBC investigation in early August highlighted the problem of fake Google reviews for medical clinics. While we cannot discuss any specific cases, recent research by the GCC of the views of patients demonstrates the trust that prospective patients place on good reviews on sites like Google, TrustPilot, WhatClinic and Facebook, so it is important that our guidance here is clear.

Depending on the circumstances, a review may be considered advertising - so principle B3 of the Code would apply: 

“a chiropractor must: “ensure your advertising is legal, decent, honest and truthful as defined by the Advertising Standards Authority and conforms to their current guidance, such as the CAP Code.”

Specifically, the chiropractor would be responsible for ensuring that advertising is accurate and verifiable – an impossibility if the chiropractor has never treated the patient. It would be for a Professional Conduct Committee of the GCC to decide if that constitutes Unacceptable Professional Conduct.

Paying for fake reviews is also likely to be illegal, and the practice is the subject of further legislation currently passing through parliament.

Further guidance can be found in the GCC Advertising Toolkit that we published in November 2021.

The GCC view.

We recognise the value that patients (particularly prospective patients) place on seeing the reviews of others. They can also have benefits for providers of services. Reviews are commonplace in our lives – and they are based on trust.

Equally there are risks. The GCC is alive to the risks of reviews, testimonials and endorsements. We are aware of a spectrum of activity ranging from paying for a fake review; soliciting reviews in return for payment (in-cash or in-kind); and an unsolicited review (positive or negative) from a patient. There is also the potential for damaging fake reviews to be placed by a third party.

We also recognise the cost and difficulty to chiropractors associated with monitoring and responding to every review across every platform, and the temptation (exercised undoubtedly by only a very small minority) to “game” the system.

We emphasise that chiropractors are personally accountable for all information that publicises or advertises their work, including website and social media platforms/pages owned or controlled by them, regardless of who wrote the information. (Advertising Guidance 2021).

A recent Investigating Committee Outcome.

A recent Investigating Committee case involved an unprofessional response to a Google Review. The Committee noted that, at the time, the chiropractor did not have a clear understanding of who could access their Google Business account (it could be accessed by multiple people, including former staff members). The IC found no case to answer, but this decision was informed by the swift removal of the offensive message (once notified) by the registrant, and the issuing of instructions to their website provider to administer the Google Account properly in future to prevent repetition.

This case acts as a reminder that you, as registrant, are responsible for your online presence, whether this is managed by you, or on your behalf, and you are therefore responsible for ensuring that anyone with access to your online profile is appropriate and trustworthy.