Advertising, Fee Splitting, Solicitation, and Business Practice Restrictions
Advertising rules
Georgia permits advertising, but not deception. An advertisement must be truthful, not misleading, and not create unjustified expectations. Exam-tested problems include:
- Superlatives and superiority claims ("best eye doctor in the state") that cannot be substantiated;
- Guarantees of outcome, including "20/20 guaranteed or your money back" framing that implies a clinical promise;
- Bait-and-switch pricing - advertising an exam price that excludes mandatory components such as dilation or contact lens evaluation;
- Unclear discount terms, where the discount is conditioned on purchasing eyewear;
- Unearned credentials, such as "specialist" or "board certified" where no recognized certifying body has granted that status;
- Testimonials implying typical results from atypical outcomes. Price advertising is allowed if accurate and complete. The Board's concern is the net impression, not the literal wording.
Fee splitting and inducements
- Dividing a professional fee with an unlicensed person or entity is prohibited. Splitting among licensed professionals in the same practice, proportionate to ownership or services, is generally acceptable.
- Paying or receiving anything of value for patient referrals is prohibited, and this includes per-patient payments to marketers, telemarketers, or aggregator platforms whose compensation turns on volume.
- Rent and management fees must reflect fair market value and must not be keyed to referral volume; percentage-of-collection management fees warrant careful structure.
- Offering a discount for prompt payment or a professional-courtesy discount is generally fine; waiving a copay to induce referrals raises fraud and fee-splitting concerns.
Solicitation
Solicitation of patients in a way that involves coercion or is aimed at vulnerable persons is improper. Direct marketing to a patient list must respect confidentiality; a practice may contact its own patients for recall and scheduling, but selling or sharing that list without authorization is a confidentiality breach as well as a business problem.
Worked example
An optometrist pays a marketing company $40 for every patient who books through its website, and the company's ads promise "the only true specialty contact lens clinic in Georgia." Two problems: the per-patient payment is a prohibited inducement tied to referrals, and the superiority claim is unsubstantiated. Fixing it requires a flat, fair-market-value marketing fee untied to volume and removal of the exclusivity language.
Traps
- Assuming price advertising is restricted - it is not, but incomplete pricing is deceptive.
- Overlooking that percentage-based management fees can amount to fee splitting.
- Missing confidentiality problems in purchased marketing lists.