(a) Professional Signs. Signs shall designate the name of the professional office where a licensee is engaged in the practice of the profession. Signs may contain the name of the practitioner, earned degree or degrees, or the name of a specialty you are limited, if limited to a specialty. The sign may also indicate the common conditions treated. The use of flashing or moving background or lettering in a sign is expressly prohibited pursuant to sign regulations, Article 5 of Chapter 61 of Title 21 of the Guam Code Annotated.

(b) Advertisement of Professional Services; Restrictions. Licensees are prohibited from advertisements, which include the following:

(1) false, misleading or deceptive statements;
(2) statements of opinion as to the quality of services; (3) an appeal to an individual’s anxiety in a excessive or
unfair way, intimidate, or exert undue pressure or influence over a prospective patient;

(4) the creation of unjustified expectations concerning the potential result of any treatment;

(5) the promotion of professional superiority or performance of professional services in a superior manner;

(6) reference to benefits or other attributes of procedures or products that involve significant risks, but which do not

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include realistic assessments of the safety and efficacy of those procedures or products;

(7) statistical data, representations or other information not susceptible to reasonable verification by the public;

(8) reference to a fee or fees for services, which do not disclose that additional fees may be involved in individual cases, if the possibility of incurring such additional fees may reasonably, be foreseen;

(9) the utilization, in any manner, of any celebrity or authority figure;

(10) direct or implied guarantees or testimonials from patients or other persons;

(11) the availability of free treatment, free examinations or free consultations;

(12) any rebate, refund, commission, preference, patronage, dividend, discount or other consideration, whether in the form of money or otherwise, as compensation or inducement for referring patients, clients or customers to any Board licensee;

(13) the offer a discount for services without disclosing the total fee to which the discount will apply; and

(14) a false disclosure of the source of an authorship of any message published under a by-line.

(c) Professional Listings, Newspaper and Telephone Directory. Such listings may contain the name, the degree or degrees of each licensee, the address, phone numbers, office hours and graphics, such as a clinic logo or the logo of a professional association of which the licensee is a bona fide member. Listings may also include an indication of the common conditions treated. Where the practitioner limits his or her practice to one (1) specialty, the practitioner may add such limitation of practice or specialty immediately following his or her alphabetical listing. Professional board certifications may also be indicated as long as a national professional association or the Board recognizes the certification. A practitioner shall not list or permit the listing of

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his or her name, clinic name or address under any separate practice type or specialty heading for which he or she is not licensed.

§ 12817. Professional Signs, Advertisements and Listings; Violations; Disciplinary Action.

(a) No disciplinary action may be commenced until the licensee or firm involved has been given thirty (30) days written notice of the Board’s evaluation of the advertisement. This notice must include a copy of the applicable portions of these rules and regulations, describe the prohibited advertising involved, and state that the violator has thirty (30) days from the date of notice to correct the violation. If the violation is not corrected, disciplinary action shall follow. The thirty (30) day notice and right to correct are not applicable to any subsequent violations.

(b) No disciplinary action will be taken against a licensee for the acts of advertising agents that result in communications to the public which do not comply with the restrictions adopted by the Board, if the advertisement does not specify the name of the licensee, or the name of the group, corporation or firm under which the licensee practices. However, this provision does not apply in the following situations:

(1) the advertising agency is owned or controlled by the licensee;

(2) the licensee provided information that does not comply with restrictions adopted by the Board to the advertising agent for distribution to the public; or

(3) the content of the advertising is determined to any extent by the licensee.

(c) Applicability. This Section applies to any advertising done on Guam regardless of whether such advertising is done for, or on behalf of, or contracted by any off-Island practice or organization.