Current through Reg. 50, No. 187; September 24, 2024
(1) It is the
policy of the Board of Podiatric Medicine that advertising by licensed
practitioners of the profession of podiatric medicine in this State should be
regulated so as to effectuate the duty of the State of Florida to protect the
health, safety, and welfare of its residents, while not abridging any rights
guaranteed to such practitioners or to the public by the Constitution of the
United States and the State of Florida, as construed by the United States
Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court. To that end, the Board encourages
the dissemination to the public of legitimate information, in accordance with
the Board's rules, regarding podiatric medicine and where and from whom
services may be obtained, so long as such information is not false, deceptive,
or misleading.
(2) Definition. For
purposes of these rules "advertising" or "advertisement" means any statements,
oral or written, disseminated to or before the public or any portion thereof,
with the intent or purpose, either directly or indirectly of selling
professional services, or offering to perform professional services, or
inducing members of the public to enter into any obligation relating to such
professional services. The terms "advertising" or "advertisement" shall include
the name under which professional services are performed.
(3) Any advertisement or advertising shall be
deemed by the Board to be false, deceptive, or misleading, and shall be
prohibited, if it:
(a) Contains a
misrepresentation of facts. The Board finds that it is a misrepresentation of
fact for a podiatric physician to advertise that he performs "microsurgery"
procedures when these procedures do not involve the dissection of minute
structures under the microscope by means of a micro-manipulator; or
(b) Is misleading or deceptive because in its
content or in the context in which it is presented it makes only a partial
disclosure of relevant facts. More specifically, it is misleading and deceptive
for a podiatric physician to advertise that certain services (i.e., x-rays,
examinations, etc.) will be performed for free when in fact the podiatric
physician is charging a third party payor for performing those services.
Furthermore, it is misleading and deceptive for a podiatric physician to
advertise that certain services (i.e., x-rays, examinations, etc.) will be
performed for a specific charge when in fact that podiatric physician is
transmitting a higher charge for the advertised services to a third party payor
for payment, or
(c) Creates false
or unjustified expectations of beneficial treatment or successful cures,
or
(d) Contains representations
relating to the quality of the podiatric medical services offered, or
(e) Conveys the impression that the podiatric
physician disseminating the advertising or referred to therein possesses
qualifications, skills, or other attributes, which are superior to other
podiatric physicians, or
(f) Fails
to conspicuously identify the podiatric physician or podiatric physicians by
name in the advertisement or fails to conspicuously identify the podiatric
physician or podiatric physicians referred to in the advertising as a podiatric
physician. More specifically, the Board finds that it is misleading and
deceptive for a licensee to place before the public in any media advertisement
or on an office sign the wording "podiatric physician, " "podiatrist, "
"chiropodist, " "foot specialist, " or "treatment of diseases of the foot and
leg" without also conspicuously identifying in the advertisement or sign the
names of each podiatric physician or podiatric physicians practicing at the
location being advertised or identified. However, the Board concludes that
patient referral service advertisements by the American Podiatric Medical
Association and by any of its recognized component or affiliate organizations
or by an organization certified or licensed as a health care provider by the
United States or the State of Florida need not identify any podiatric physician
who is a member of or otherwise associated with the organization or
provider.
(g) Contains any
representations or claims as to which the podiatric physician, referred to in
the advertising, fails to perform, or
(h) Appears in a directory, including but not
limited to the yellow pages of a phone book, under a heading indicating the
podiatric physician practices a sub-specialty of podiatry unless the practice
of the podiatric physician is limited exclusively to that sub-specialty. For
example, a podiatric physician may not advertise in a directory under the
heading "Physician and Surgeons - D.P.M. - Surgery, " unless his practice is
limited exclusively to podiatric surgery. For purposes of this rule,
"sub-specialty" is defined as any of the components which comprise podiatric
medicine.
(i) Advertises that a
podiatric physician is a member of an organization or possesses credentials
other than licensure by this Board or the Department, including but not limited
to certification, from an organization unless the organization is approved by
this Board for the purposes of advertising only and the name of the
organization is identified in full in the advertisement.
1. In order for an organization to obtain
approval from this Board for advertising purposes it must submit a petition
executed by a duly-authorized officer of the organization requesting approval.
The petition must attest that:
a. The
organization is composed of podiatric physicians interested in a special area
of practice who have demonstrated that interest through successful completion
of examinations or case reports approved by the organization; and,
b. The organization subscribes to a code of
ethics approved by the Board; and,
c. The organization has rules and procedures
for maintaining a high level of professional conduct and discipline among its
membership; and,
d. The
organization has an active membership of at least seventy-five (75) or that
there is good cause for waiving the minimum membership requirement; and,
e. The organization sponsors
courses in Board approved continuing podiatric education or sponsors annual
meetings.
2. The petition
must be accompanied by a copy of the organization's by-laws and articles of
incorporation or constitution, requirements for membership, and a complete
roster of its membership. The Board may require that additional clarifying
information be submitted prior to action on the petition.
3. If the organization offers certifications
to podiatric physicians it must be an organization national in scope and give a
certification examination at least once a year before the podiatric physician
can advertise possession of the certification.
4. The Board shall require approved
organizations to report specific information to justify retention of its
approved status in the event of the organization's status changes.
5. The American Podiatric Medical
Association, the National Council of Competency Assurance, or any of their
recognized component or affiliate organizations are automatically approved by
the Board under this rule.
(j) Otherwise contains any representation,
statement or claim which is misleading or deceptive.
(4) In the event a podiatric physician
purchases the practice of another podiatric physician, the purchaser may use
the name of the seller in advertisements for a period of three consecutive
years from the time of said purchase. However, in all such advertisements the
name of the seller must appear in the clause "formerly Dr. (seller's name's)
office:" immediately beneath the name of the purchaser.
(5) Licensees may utilize letters following
their names which indicate another educational designation or professional
skill. However, if Florida Licensure or registration by the Department of
Health is a prerequisite to practicing such profession, and if the licensee has
not properly obtained such a license, the following procedure is mandated in
all advertisements: the licensee must state immediately beneath his or her name
that he or she is not licensed to practice the respective profession in the
State of Florida.
(6) Institutional
Advertising.
(a) "Institute" for purposes of
this rule is defined as an organization for the promotion of podiatric medicine
and for the welfare of members of the public seeking or interested in
information about podiatric medical services.
(b) It shall be misleading, false and
deceptive for any podiatric physician to advertise his practice as an
"institute" as that may cause a violation of paragraph (3)(e), above.
(c) If a podiatric physician or an
association of podiatric physicians creates or conducts an "institute" at the
same physical location as his or its practice of podiatric medicine, then all
advertisements of the practice and of the institute must be separate and
distinct. For example, the term "institute" may not be used in any
advertisement appearing in the commercial advertising section or yellow pages
of telephone books or directories under headings related to podiatric medical
practice such as "Physicians and Surgeons, DPM, Podiatrists (Foot)."
(d) If the director of an institute is a
podiatric physician, then a publication or statement informing the public of
the institute or its activities may list as its director the name of the
podiatric physician followed by an indication, such as "DPM, " that the
director is, indeed, a podiatric physician. By no other advertising means or
medium, however, may a podiatric physician associate his practice with the
institute.
Rulemaking Authority 461.005, FS. Law Implemented 456.027,
461.013(1)(d), (e) FS.
New 1-29-80, Amended 4-22-82, 12-9-82, 7-26-84, 4-7-85,
8-27-85, Formerly 21T-14.04, Amended 10-14-86, 2-15-89, 10-15-89, 1-29-90,
6-19-90, 1-19-92, Formerly 21T-14.004, 61F12-14.004, Amended 6-17-97, Formerly
59Z-14.004.
