Regulatory Restrictions

Veterinary regulations can restrict what can go on your web site. Here we will focus on the College of Veterinarians of Ontario's (CVO) guidelines. Generally speaking, if your web site meets these guidelines, they will meet most regulatory guidelines.

What's the Purpose of Regulatory Guidelines?

The idea behind the regulatory guidelines is to prevent direct competition among veterinarians and to maintain the public image of the profession. These guidelines cover all forms of veterinary advertising. A web site is considered a form of advertising.

Is Veterinary Advertising Allowed?

Advertising veterinary services to the public is allowed, but what can be included in the advertisements is very restricted.

In practical terms it is easer to discuss what cannot be advertised (i.e. cannot be put on your web site).

What Cannot Be On My Web Site?

There are a number of things that cannot be placed on your web site. They focus on statements that are non-verifiable, comparative or endorsements.

Non-Verifiable Statements

Non-verifiable statements are statements that are not factual. Unfortunately, this covers many of the 'warm and fuzzy' adjectives we would like to use. Examples of non-verifiable statements include:

• "We are devoted to our patients": The term "devoted" is subjective (non-factual)
• "We offer a full range of services": The term "full" is subjective
• "We are specialists in...": Can only be used if your clinic has a board-certified specialist in the particular field (i.e. the "specialist" designation can be proven)
• "24 hour emergency service": Can only be used if a vet is on site 24 hours per day

Comparative Statements

Comparative statements are statements that compare the services of one veterinarian to another. Some comparative statements are obvious, but others may surprise you. Examples of comparative statements include:

• "We are devoted to our patients": Not only is "devoted" non-verifiable, it is also comparative; it implies that other clinics are not "devoted" to their patients
• "We provide veterinary care": As with "devoted", "care" is considered comparative
• "We offer a full range of services": The term "full" implies other clinics may not offer a "full" range of services
• "Free parking available": "Free" is considered comparative; "Parking available" is permitted
• "Spays now $150!": Prices are comparative and not allowed
• "Wellness testing 10% off": Discounts, like prices, are comparative and not allowed
• "We have a state-of-the-art ultrasound machine": This one is tricky; it has 2 comparative terms:
  • "state-of-the-art": This is comparative as with "devoted"
  • "ultrasound machine": Equipment not required by minimum standards regulations cannot be mentioned. You can, however, mention the service offered. For example, "We offer ultrasonography" is allowed

Endorsements

Third party services or products cannot be endorsed or even mentioned on your web site. Items that are considered endorsements include:

• "We recommend XYZ Grooming": Recommending (or even naming) a third party is considered an endorsement
• "We use Metacam for arthritis pain": Brand names are considered an endorsement. In this case it would be acceptable to use "meloxicam"
• "We stock Hill's and Medi-Cal diets": Mentioning brand names in any form is considered an endorsement
• "This web site generously sponsored by Pfizer": This is considered a third party endorsement as well
• "For more information, go to www.iams.ca": Linking to a third party is considered an endorsement. It is generally only acceptable to link to web sites that don't sell to the public (e.g. non-commercial information web sites or non-profit web sites)

Regulatory Exceptions

The advertising regulations only apply to publicly available information. As a result, existing clients, and people who solicit your clinic directly, are exempted from the regulations. For your web site, this means that a non-publicly accessible area provides an exception to the regulations.

Non-Public Areas of Your Web Site

If you place statements in a password-protected area of your web site, they are in a non-public area. In this area, you are free to use some non-verifiable statements and most comparative statements, including:

• Statements with 'warm and fuzzy' words, such as "devoted", "caring", etc.
• Descriptions of clinic equipment
• Price lists
• Discounts
• Endorsements, including brand names and sponsors

Note that at no time is slandering or defaming of other veterinarians or clinics allowed, password-protected or not. Also note that the password to the non-public area must be changed annually.

More Information

Please be aware that this is only an overview of regulatory guidelines and, due to the changing nature of the regulations, may not be comprehensive. More information can be found at:

Your Regulatory Body

For specific details about advertising regulations, please contact your veterinary regulatory body.

CVO Advertising Article

The CVO published a brief article about advertising in the June 2007 Update: Advertising - What Is Permitted? [pdf] (hold Shift when clicking to open in a new window)

Bionex Multimedia

As part of our services when we build your web site, we review all of your content for regulatory body compliance. If we find any compliance issues, we will discuss them with you.

For more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.