201 KAR 21:065. Professional advertising; seventy-two (72) hour right of rescission.

      RELATES TO: KRS 312.021, 312.991, 312.019(9)(g)

      STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 312.019(9)

      NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS 312.021(1) prohibits advertising that is false, deceptive, or misleading. KRS 312.019(9)(g) authorizes the board to regulate forms of advertising. This administrative regulation establishes limits of permissible professional advertising with the aim of adequately informing the public but at the same time establishes limits to safeguard the public from false or misleading statements and nuisance type advertising. KRS 312.019 authorizes the Kentucky Board of Chiropractic Examiners to adopt administrative regulations concerning forms of advertising or solicitation that may be false, misleading, or deceptive and to require a seventy-two (72) hour rescission period for consumers responding to certain forms of solicitation or advertising. This administrative regulation defines the forms of solicitation or advertising wherein the responding consumer is granted a seventy-two (72) hour rescission period.

      Section 1. Definitions. (1) "Advertisement of free or discounted services" means any advertisement or solicitation, by any medium, offering free or discounted examinations, consultation, treatment, goods or other services.

      (2) "Complete notice of right of rescission" means a conspicuous statement, of not less than ten (10) point font in any advertisement of free or discounted services that reads substantially as follows: "You have the right to rescind, within seventy-two (72) hours, any obligation to pay for services performed in addition to this free or discounted service."

      (3) "Notice of rescission" means notice by the consumer rescinding any agreement to pay for unadvertised additional services performed or to be performed in addition to the free or discounted service.

      (4) "Seventy-two (72) hour right of rescission" means the right of a consumer to rescind within seventy-two (72) hours any agreement to pay for services that are performed the same day in addition to the advertised free or discounted service at an additional unadvertised cost, or any agreement entered into on the same date to submit to a series or course of treatments at an additional unadvertised cost.

      Section 2. A licensee may advertise his services through any medium if the advertisement is not false, deceptive, or misleading and shall include the following:

      (1)(a) The business name and address;

      (b) Chiropractor’s name;

      (c) Telephone number;

      (d) Expiration date of the advertisement if any; and

      (e) Suitable words or letters designating the particular doctor degree held by the chiropractor.

      (2) "D.C." shall designate a doctor of chiropractic.

      (3) Any deviation from these requirements shall first be approved by the board.

      (4) Any advertisement offering a free or discounted service shall include a complete notice of the right of rescission.

      Section 3. Consumer Rights, Notice. (1) Any chiropractor advertising free or discounted services shall in any advertisement or solicitation provide the consumer with notice of the seventy-two (72) hour right of rescission.

      (2) Within ten (10) days of any notice of rescission, the chiropractor shall tender to the consumer any payment made by the consumer prior to the rescission for any unadvertised service performed. If no payment had yet been made by the consumer for unadvertised services, the consumer’s account shall not be billed for those services.

      (3)(a) In order to be effective, the notice of rescission shall be given by the consumer to the chiropractor within seventy-two (72) hours of the completion of the advertised free or discounted service, or agreement to submit to a series or course of treatments.

      (b) The notice shall be:

      1. In writing; and

      2. Express the intention of the consumer to rescind his or her obligation.

      (c) If notice of rescission is given by mail, it shall be effective when it:

      1. Is properly addressed;

      2. Has sufficient postage affixed; and

      3. Is deposited in a mailbox.

      Section 4. (1) A written advertisement may be sent or delivered to an individual addressee if:

      (a)That addressee is one (1) of a class of persons, other than a family, to whom it is also sent or delivered at or about the same time; and

      (b) It is not prompted or precipitated by a specific event or occurrence involving or relating to the addressee or addressees as distinct from the general public.

      (2) A licensee that advertises a fee for routine services and accepts the employment shall perform the services for the amount advertised, and a statement to that effect shall be included in every advertisement in which a fee is listed.

      Section 5. If a complaint if filed with the board regarding an advertisement of a licensee, the board shall request, and the licensee shall furnish, a copy of the advertisement.

      Section 6. Advertisement of Designation of Chiropractic Specialty. Advertisement of chiropractic specialties set forth in 201 KAR 21:045 shall include the word "chiropractic" with any specialty designation and conform to the standards set forth in this administrative regulation. Additional specialty designations or certifications shall not be listed or abbreviated in any advertisement by the licensee. (6 Ky.R. 168; eff. 10-3-1979; Am. 16 Ky.R. 1618; eff. 4-12-1990; 34 Ky.R. 621; 1391; eff. 12-17-2007.)