What to change
Decide whether a staff photograph adds useful recognition and can be kept accurate. Where one is used, confirm the person shown and permission through the practice's normal process. If photography is unsuitable, omit it or use an accurately described neutral image. Neither a stock portrait nor a generated person should stand in for the real practitioner. The booking information should remain understandable in either design.
A worked example
Illustrative example
Illustrative comparison: one profile uses its authorised current staff photograph; another uses a neutral photograph of the practice entrance. Both display the verified practitioner name, role, branch and relevant booking route. The entrance image is described as the entrance and is never labelled as the practitioner. Reception checks the appointment confirmation against the profile to make sure the visitor is not promised a named person where the booking actually uses an available team.
Choose a photo only when it helps
A current staff photograph may help a visitor recognise the person they expect to meet. It needs the same factual check as the name and role, including permission for its intended use. If the practice chooses a face-free design, a text-led profile or an objects-only image can still provide a useful introduction. Keep the clinician's name, verified role, current location and appointment options prominent. A neutral photograph must not be captioned as though it identifies a member of staff.
Check what survives outside the full profile
Review the smaller team card and the booking message as well as the full biography. A crop or hidden caption can change an image's meaning, while an old name can misidentify a profile even when no photograph appears. Use a fictional appointment to compare the named practitioner, location and booking route. Where cover or a pooled diary applies, explain that arrangement beside the action. Recognition should help a person attend the right appointment; it should not create an unsupported promise about who will provide every visit.
How to check the result
The profile identifies the right person and booking arrangement through clear text, with any image accurately described and optional.
A mistake to avoid
Do not use a stock or generated portrait as a real practitioner, or let an image imply that every appointment is with that person when the diary uses team cover.
Turn reading into a next step
Your action checklist
Work through these checks with your team or supplier. Tick the ones you have resolved and leave unknowns open.
Record what you know, what is still missing and the answer you need from your team or supplier.
Use project decisions only, without personal, patient or confidential details. Entries stay in this page and are not submitted to Kay & Co. Copy or download before leaving; this page does not save your notes.
Further reading
These sources provide background for the topic. The practice examples and checklist are illustrative planning suggestions from Kay & Co.
Related guides
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