Texas Administrative Code › Title 22 - EXAMINING BOARDS › Part 9 - TEXAS MEDICAL BOARD › Chapter 164 - PHYSICIAN ADVERTISING › Section 164.3 - Misleading or Deceptive Advertising

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
No physician shall disseminate or cause the dissemination of
				  any advertisement that is in any way false, deceptive, or misleading. Any
				  advertisement shall be deemed by the board to be false, deceptive, or
				  misleading if it:
(1) contains
				material false claims or misrepresentations of material facts which cannot be
				substantiated;
(2) contains
				material implied false claims or implied misrepresentations of material
				fact;
(3) omits material
				facts;
(4) makes a representation
				likely to create an unjustified expectation about the results of a health care
				service or procedure;
(5)
				advertises or assures a permanent cure for an incurable disease;
(6) compares a health care professional's
				services with another health care professional's services unless the comparison
				can be factually substantiated;
(7)
				advertises professional superiority or the performance of professional service
				in a superior manner if the advertising is not subject to
				verification;
(8) contains a
				testimonial that includes false, deceptive, or misleading statements, or fails
				to include disclaimers or warnings as to the credentials of the person making
				the testimonial;
(9) includes
				photographs or other representations of models or actors without explicitly
				identifying them as models and not actual patients;
(10) causes confusion or misunderstanding as
				to the credentials, education, or licensure of a health care
				professional;
(11) represents that
				health care insurance deductibles or copayments may be waived or are not
				applicable to health care services to be provided if the deductibles or
				copayments are required;
(12)
				represents that the benefits of a health benefit plan will be accepted as full
				payment when deductibles or copayments are required;
(13) states that a service is free when it is
				not, or contains untruthful or deceptive claims regarding costs and fees. If
				other costs are frequently incurred when the advertised service is obtained
				then this should be disclosed. Offers of free service must indeed be free. To
				state that a service is free but a third party is billed is deceptive and
				subject to disciplinary action;
(14) makes a representation that is designed
				to take advantage of the fears or emotions of a particularly susceptible type
				of patient;
(15) advertises or
				represents in the use of a professional name, a title or professional
				identification that is expressly or commonly reserved to or used by another
				profession or professional;
(16)
				claims that a physician has a unique or exclusive skill without substantiation
				of such claim;
(17) involves
				uninvited solicitation such as "drumming" patients or conduct considered an
				offense under Texas Occupations Code §
									102.001(a)
				relating to the solicitation of patients; or
(18) fails to disclose the fact of giving
				compensation or anything of value to representatives of the press, radio,
				television or other communicative medium in anticipation of or in return for
				any advertisement, article, or infomercial, unless the nature, format or medium
				of such advertisement makes the fact of compensation apparent.