Md. Code Regs. 15.14.01.06

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 25, December 13, 2024

Section 15.14.01.06 - Advertising

A. A veterinarian or an owner of a licensed veterinary hospital, limited use veterinary hospital, or animal control facility may not prepare, cause to be prepared, use, or participate in the use of, any advertisement or other public communication containing information about the services of particular veterinarians or veterinary hospitals which:

(1) Contains a misstatement of fact;

(2) Is likely to mislead or deceive because in context it makes:

(a) Only a partial disclosure of relevant facts, including limited hours; or

(b) Only a partial disclosure of charges reasonably associated with the advertised service;

(3) Is intended or is likely to create false or unjustified expectations of favorable results, including a guarantee or warranty;

(4) Contains any other statement that is intended or likely to cause a reasonable person to misunderstand or be deceived;

(5) Constitutes, is part of, or is a device for carrying out, an otherwise unlawful act;

(6) Contains subjective claims of superiority of skills, services, or products;

(7) Offers a secret drug or treatment; or

(8) Endorses a product or procedure, unless the veterinarian or licensee is a regular user of the product or procedure and the product or procedure is recognized as reputable by the American Veterinary Medical Association or by a respected scientific journal.

B. A veterinarian, or an owner of a licensed veterinary hospital, limited use hospital, or animal control facility may not use the word special or specialty in an advertisement unless the veterinarian performing the procedure or treatment:

(1) Meets the definition of a specialist, as set forth in Reg. 03B(9); and

(2) Is named in the advertisement.

C. A veterinarian, or an owner of a licensed veterinary hospital, limited use veterinary hospital, or animal control facility, who advertises the availability of a veterinarian to serve a 24-hour emergency veterinary hospital, shall state clearly in the advertisement whether a veterinarian is personally present at the hospital facility on a 24-hour basis, or is merely on call.

D. Veterinarians shall be personally responsible for compliance with the above requirements and shall be prepared to substantiate their compliance to the State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners.

E. The name of a veterinary hospital or limited use veterinary hospital may not contain the word specialty, specialist, or a named specialist, unless:

(1) A majority of the veterinarians employed by the facility have obtained and maintained certification from a specialty organization recognized by the American Veterinary Medical Association; and

(2) The advertisement lists the names of those veterinarians by specialty and certification.

F. Before advertising as a high-volume, low-cost spay/neuter facility, a veterinarian or an owner of a licensed veterinary hospital shall provide documentation to the Board of having completed training that promotes and provides advanced spay and neuter education to veterinarians and their staff. Such training may be obtained through an organization approved by the Board, such as the Humane Alliance

Md. Code Regs. 15.14.01.06

Regulation .06 amended effective October 6, 1978 (5:20 Md. R. 1501); December 12, 2002 (29:24 Md. R. 1919)
Regulation .06A amended as an emergency provision effective August 15, 2006 (33:18 Md. R. 1503); amended permanently effective December 7, 2006 (33:24 Md. R. 1906)
Regulation .06F amended effective October 29, 1975 (2:24 Md. R. 1483)
Regulation .06 amended effective 42:5 Md. R. 487, eff.3/16/2015