Chiropractors may publicise their practices, or permit another person to do so, providing that the advertisement complies with the general law and the ASAS (Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore) standards of advertising in force in Singapore. Advertisements must be objective, relevant, up-to-date, accurate and factual. In addition, with effect from 2023 the advertisement must comply with the HCSA (Healthcare Services Act) advertising provisions.
Chiropractors may publicise their practices, or permit another person to do so, providing that the advertisement complies with the general law and the ASAS (Advertising Standards Authority of Singapore) standards of advertising in force in Singapore. Advertisements must be objective, relevant, up-to-date, accurate and factual. In addition, with effect from 2023 the advertisement must comply with the HCSA (Healthcare Services Act) advertising provisions, particularly Section 31A relating to treatment of any ailment, disease, injury, infirmity or condition affecting the human body, as well as Section 31B relating to use of the title “Doctor” or any abbreviation or derivative of that title.
Members should conduct themselves in a manner expected of a professional and respect their code of ethics when publicising their services. The publicity shall contain nothing, nor be in a form nor be published or circulated which, in the light of generally prevailing standards of decency and propriety, would be likely to cause serious or widespread offence or to bring the chiropractic profession into disrepute.
The publicity of a chiropractor shall not be misleading or inaccurate in any way, and be worded in such a way that it does not abuse the trust of members of the public nor exploit their lack of experience or knowledge, either in matters of health or of chiropractic services.
Advertisements shall not contain any laudatory statements (including statements of prominence or uniqueness) or superlatives to describe the services or clinic. No claim shall be made of superiority in services or personal qualities or skills over others, nor comparisons, whether direct or implied, between other chiropractors or other health professionals.
No claims shall be made by the chiropractor that the chiropractor is a specialist or an expert in a particular field unless this has been gained at a recognised institution or a recognised postgraduate course. It is up to the chiropractor to provide documentation of additional certification to the Association.
Any statement about the efficacy of services provided must be capable of being substantiated and be in accordance with prevailing accepted standards of best practice of chiropractic.
Chiropractors shall not publicise their services by making any unsolicited and direct approach to a private individual who is not a patient, whether in person, electronic or physical mail, telephone (phone call or message), fax or other forms of communication. Chiropractors may approach representatives of organisations such as firms, companies, schools, clubs or other health professionals to publicise their services.
Chiropractic services shall not be advertised in the form of any sales campaign (including door to door sales), exhibition, competition or any other activity (including lucky draws, fund-raising activities) in such a manner as to introduce, publicise or promote a clinic or any of its services, except with prior approval by the management committee. A member may consent to be interviewed, at the unsolicited request of any print or broadcast media organisation, whether in his/her professional or private capacity, provided that the interview is not such as to publicise his/her clinic to the general public. Publicity about a chiropractor or a practice which arises through, or from interviews with representatives of the media, and which may be regarded as likely to bring the profession into disrepute, should be avoided. A chiropractor should wherever possible request access to the article, statement or interview before publication or broadcast in the attempt to ensure that it does not contravene the provisions of the advertising directives.
Internet advertisement must only contain the information otherwise permitted on paper. Correspondence or provision of professional information shall not be conveyed over the internet, nor consultation or advice to any member of the public in such a manner as to amount to soliciting or encouraging the use of services provided by or at a chiropractic clinic.
Chiropractors shall not use a name for a practice which may be misleading or cause confusion with similar names for the practice of other chiropractors or other health professionals.
Chiropractors shall not use any title or qualification in such a way that the public may be misled as to its meaning or significance. In particular, chiropractors who use the title ”*Doctor”, and who are not registered medical practitioners shall ensure that they always make it clear they are *Doctors of Chiropractic and not registered medical practitioners; for example in any advertisements and in dealings with patients or other health professionals. The corresponding qualification whenever the “*Doctor” title is used must always also be present in line with HCSA advertising provision Section 31B: “*-not a medical or dental qualification”. Moreover, chiropractors who graduated with a “Master of Chiropractic” or “Bachelor of Chiropractic” from their accredited institution (instead of a “*Doctor of Chiropractic”) are to accurately qualify themselves as such, even though they may still be entitled to an honorary “*Dr.” title with active registration under the chiropractic board in the overseas country of the institution they graduated from.
A chiropractor who is associated with the development or promotion of devices, books or products offered for commercial sale is responsible for declaring this, as well as ensuring that these are presented in a professional and factual way. Any claims regarding performance, benefit, or results must be supported by scientifically acceptable evidence.
A chiropractor who has a financial interest in the sale or use of a product shall be sensitive to possible conflict of interest in the promotion or endorsement of such a product, as well as avoid compromise of professional responsibilities and objectives. Multilevel Marketing (MLM) products are strongly discouraged.
Any sale of prepaid packages of care must conform to TCA(S)’ Prepaid Package Policy Statement. Any public screenings must conform to TCA(S)’s Spinal Screening Guidelines. Both are also available on this website under the Core Principles section.
For a complete and official guide to advertising please refer to Singapore Code of
Advertising Practice (SCAP) at – https://asas.org.sg.
For more about HCSA please refer to – https://www.hcsa.gov.sg/.
