Staying connected with your patients between visits — through reminders, health information, practice updates — can be genuinely valuable. It helps patients look after their health, keeps your practice front of mind, and supports continuity of care. But in healthcare, patient communication sits close to some important lines, and it's worth understanding where they are.
The useful kind is largely informational and care-focused: appointment reminders, recall notices, general health education relevant to your patients, practice news. The line to be mindful of is where communication tips into advertising regulated services, or uses patient information in ways that stretch your privacy obligations. Genuinely educational and care-supporting communication is very different from promotional content — and the rules treat them differently.
So the principle is: communicate to serve the patient, be transparent, respect their consent and their data, and stay within the advertising and privacy guidelines. As always, the definitive sources are AHPRA, the TGA where relevant, and the OAIC — confirm the current rules there, and take advice if you're unsure how they apply to what you're planning.
Done thoughtfully, patient communication strengthens care and the relationship at once.
Communicating with patients usefully and compliantly is part of the [Practice Management course].
Explore the Practice Management course
Free first step: the practice compliance checklist.
Annie
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