June 17, 1998
To: SART Practice Directors
From: SART Executive Council
Re: Advertising

The American Society for Reproductive Medicine issued "Guidelines for Advertising by ART Programs" in January 1998. Subsequent to that , the SART Executive Council issued a memo to all its members (April 1-7, 1998) outlining how it would handle misleading or inaccurate advertising. Despite these advisories.. we continue to receive copies of advertisements that are clearly in violation of the guidelines.

The purpose of the Clinic Specific Report is to provide information as a service to the public in. compliance with the Fertility Clinic Success Rate and Certification Act of 1992. It was never intended to be used to rank practices or to allow for direct comparisons between practices. The variables in patient selection, treatment processes, as well as program policies influence the statistics and make comparisons unreliable. Unfortunately, the Clinic Specific Report continues to be misused for marketing purposes. As a result. the SART Executive Council has approved the following policy effective July 1, 1998:

Because comparison of success rates between practices is invalid, using SART Clinic Specific Data for advertising/marketing that ranks or compares clinics or practices is unacceptable and is not permitted. Violation of this policy constitutes grounds to deny continued membership in SART.

The SART Practice Committee will review all advertising brought to its attention. Infractions will be referred to the SART Executive Council. The practice in violation will be served notice that it must provide proof of a public retraction in a similar format to the statement(s) in question or otherwise resolve the complaint to the satisfaction of the Executive Council within a specified
time me frame.

The name of the practice in violation of the advertising policy will then be referred to the Oversight Committee which in turn will notify the CDC. FTC, FDA and RESOLVE. The names of these practices will also be published in SARTimes ASRM News, and on the SART website.

Any practice notified of pending loss of SART membership will have ten days s to write a letter to appeal to the SART Executive Council. The SART Executive Council will then review the situation and make a final decision within thirty days. Loss of SART membership due to 'violation of advertising policy will preclude reapplication for SART membership for a period of not less than one year.

If you have any questions, you may call us at  (314) 576-1400.