Advertising, Referral, and Business Practice Rules
What the exam tests
Advertising, Referral, and Business Practice Rules tests truthful marketing, referral integrity, fee splitting, inducements, and arrangements that could distort clinical judgment. The exam looks for misleading claims and financial conflicts.
Core rules
- Advertising must be truthful, accurate, verifiable, and not misleading. Avoid guarantees of cure, sensational claims, and unsubstantiated superiority.
- Use only approved titles and designations. Do not call yourself a 'specialist' or 'board-certified' unless the credential is recognized by the regulator.
- Testimonials need patient consent and must not imply guaranteed results.
- Referral fees, kickbacks, and fee-splitting for patient referrals are generally prohibited. Paying for leads or rewarding referrers can breach the rules.
- Business arrangements-leases, management contracts, percentage-of-revenue deals-must not influence clinical decisions or create improper inducements.
- Patients must be free to choose their provider and modality.
Worked example
A clinic advertises 'We cure sciatica in three visits-guaranteed.' It also pays a massage therapist $50 for each patient referred. Both practices are problematic. The reasoning is that the cure guarantee is misleading and unsupported, while the referral payment is a kickback that can distort care. A compliant revision describes services and likely benefits without guarantees, and removes the per-referral payment.
Marks-losing traps
Using 'board-certified' without the approved credential; offering discounts conditional on a positive review; receiving a percentage of another provider's fees; and assuming a disclaimer fixes a misleading headline.