Professional Conduct, Advertising, Fee Splitting, and Referral Restrictions
Advertising and professional conduct
This domain tests the line between permissible marketing and unprofessional conduct. Nevada prohibits false, deceptive, or misleading advertising and restricts financial arrangements that reward referrals.
- Advertising must be truthful and not create unjustified expectations. Do not guarantee cures, misrepresent credentials, or use “board certified” unless the certification is real and accurately described. Include required identifying information under Board rules.
- Fee splitting is prohibited: a chiropractor may not pay or receive compensation merely for referring a patient. Bona fide employment, space-sharing, and payment for actual services at fair value are different.
- Referrals outside scope are required when clinically indicated. Disclose any financial interest in a referral destination; do not accept kickbacks, gifts, or per-patient payments from imaging centers, labs, or marketers.
- Testimonials and discount offers are permitted only if not misleading and do not exploit patients.
Worked example
A marketing consultant proposes paying the chiropractor $50 for every new patient who mentions the consultant’s name. That is fee splitting: compensation is tied to referral volume, not to a legitimate service. A fixed monthly consulting fee for actual marketing work can be permissible if documented and not volume-based.
Traps
Calling a kickback a “marketing fee”; assuming a licensed referral destination makes any payment lawful; using patient testimonials with cure claims; advertising a specialty without credentials. The test is truthfulness plus whether compensation is for referral or for real work.