18 Va. Admin. Code § 112-20-200 - Advertising ethics
A. Any statement
specifying a fee, whether standard, discounted, or free, for professional
services that does not include the cost of all related procedures, services,
and products that, to a substantial likelihood, will be necessary for the
completion of the advertised service as it would be understood by an ordinarily
prudent person shall be deemed to be deceptive or misleading, or both. Where
reasonable disclosure of all relevant variables and considerations is made, a
statement of a range of prices for specifically described services shall not be
deemed to be deceptive or misleading.
B. Advertising a discounted or free service,
examination, or treatment and charging for any additional service, examination,
or treatment that is performed as a result of and within 72 hours of the
initial office visit in response to such advertisement is unprofessional
conduct unless such professional services rendered are as a result of a bona
fide emergency. This provision may not be waived by agreement of the patient
and the practitioner.
C. No
licensee or holder of a compact privilege of the board shall advertise
information that is false, misleading, or deceptive. Advertisements of
discounts shall disclose the full fee that has been discounted. The
practitioner shall maintain documented evidence to substantiate the discounted
fees and shall make such information available to a consumer upon
request.
D. No licensee or holder
of a compact privilege shall use the term "board certified" or any similar word
or phrase calculated to convey the same meaning in any advertising for the
practitioner's practice unless the practitioner holds certification in a
clinical specialty issued by the American Board of Physical Therapy
Specialties.
Notes
Statutory Authority: §§ 54.1-2400 and 54.1-3474 of the Code of Virginia.
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
A. Any statement specifying a fee, whether standard, discounted, or free, for professional services that does not include the cost of all related procedures, services, and products that, to a substantial likelihood, will be necessary for the completion of the advertised service as it would be understood by an ordinarily prudent person shall be deemed to be deceptive or misleading, or both. Where reasonable disclosure of all relevant variables and considerations is made, a statement of a range of prices for specifically described services shall not be deemed to be deceptive or misleading.
B. Advertising a discounted or free service, examination, or treatment and charging for any additional service, examination, or treatment that is performed as a result of and within 72 hours of the initial office visit in response to such advertisement is unprofessional conduct unless such professional services rendered are as a result of a bona fide emergency. This provision may not be waived by agreement of the patient and the practitioner.
C. Advertisements of discounts shall disclose the full fee that has been discounted. The practitioner shall maintain documented evidence to substantiate the discounted fees and shall make such information available to a consumer upon request.
D. A licensee or holder of a compact privilege shall not use the term "board certified" or any similar words or phrase calculated to convey the same meaning in any advertising for his practice unless he holds certification in a clinical specialty issued by the American Board of Physical Therapy Specialties.
E. A licensee or holder of a compact privilege of the board shall not advertise information that is false, misleading, or deceptive. For an advertisement for a single practitioner, it shall be presumed that the practitioner is responsible and accountable for the validity and truthfulness of its content. For an advertisement for a practice in which there is more than one practitioner, the name of the practitioner responsible and accountable for the content of the advertisement shall be documented and maintained by the practice for at least two years.
F. Documentation, scientific and otherwise, supporting claims made in an advertisement shall be maintained and available for the board's review for at least two years.
Notes
Statutory Authority: § 54.1-2400 of the Code of Virginia.