Healthcare podcasts and webinars: the rules

A podcast or a webinar lets a clinician explain a condition at length, in their own voice, to people who are deciding where to get care. A patient telling their story in an episode can make a service feel real in a way a web page cannot. Audio and live events also raise questions a written post does not: what a clinician can say about a case without identifying the patient, what a patient guest has to sign before the recording starts, how a sponsor or a paid guest has to be disclosed when there is nothing on screen to read, and how people who cannot hear the episode get the same information.

This guide covers those questions for practices that are HIPAA covered entities and the teams that produce their audio and live events. Filming in the office, actors and captions for video are covered in our guide to healthcare video marketing. The separate authorization form, revocation and record keeping are covered in our guide to patient photo and video consent, and the required elements of the form in our guide to patient testimonials. This guide links to those instead of repeating them. Paid spots on radio, TV and streaming services are covered in our guide to radio, TV and streaming ads for practices. For spots that run between songs on music streaming services, see our guide to streaming audio ads.

This is general information, not legal advice. Sources cited were checked on October 29, 2026: 45 CFR 164.501, 164.508 and 164.514 (current eCFR text); 16 CFR 255.0, 255.1, 255.3 and 255.5 (current eCFR text); the FTC page FTC’s Endorsement Guides: What People Are Asking (dated June 2023); 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d); and W3C Understanding WCAG 2.1 Success Criteria 1.2.1 and 1.2.4. Recording consent rules and professional advertising rules are also set state by state. Have a health care attorney review your authorization form, your sponsor agreements and any episode that discusses a patient.

When an episode is marketing under HIPAA

HIPAA defines marketing as a communication about a product or service that encourages recipients of the communication to purchase or use the product or service (45 CFR 164.501). An episode of a practice podcast, or a webinar the practice hosts, that invites listeners to book a consultation or try a service fits that description. The content can be educational and still be marketing, because the question is what the communication encourages.

Under 45 CFR 164.508(a)(3), a covered entity must obtain an authorization for any use or disclosure of protected health information for marketing, except for a face-to-face communication made by the covered entity to an individual, or a promotional gift of nominal value. A published episode is neither. So if an episode uses or discloses anything about a patient, including the fact that a guest is your patient, the practice needs that patient’s written authorization first.

Section 164.508(a)(3)(ii) adds a rule for sponsored content: if the marketing involves financial remuneration to the covered entity from a third party, as defined in 164.501, the authorization must state that such remuneration is involved. If a manufacturer or another company pays toward an episode in which your patient appears, the patient’s form has to say so.

Talking about cases without identifying the patient

Clinicians teach by telling stories about patients. On a podcast or a webinar, a case story is a disclosure unless the information has been de-identified. Under 45 CFR 164.514(a), health information is not individually identifiable when it does not identify an individual and there is no reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify one.

The safe harbor method in 164.514(b)(2) lists identifiers that must be removed. Several matter for spoken stories, because they slip into conversation easily:

All geographic subdivisions smaller than a state, including street address, city, county and zip code, with a narrow exception for part of the zip code (164.514(b)(2)(i)(B)). “A teacher from across town” can be enough in a small community.
All elements of dates, except the year, for dates directly related to an individual, such as birth, admission, discharge or death, and all ages over 89 (164.514(b)(2)(i)(C)). “They came in the week before Thanksgiving” is a date element.
Biometric identifiers, including finger and voice prints (164.514(b)(2)(i)(P)), and full face photographs and comparable images (164.514(b)(2)(i)(Q)), which matter for video webinars.
Any other unique identifying number, characteristic or code (164.514(b)(2)(i)(R)): an unusual job, a rare condition, a public event the patient was part of.

Removing the listed items is not the whole test. Under 164.514(b)(2)(ii), the covered entity must also have no actual knowledge that the remaining information could be used, alone or in combination with other information, to identify the patient. If the clinician knows that listeners in your area would recognize the person, the story is not de-identified. The safer habit is to teach from the clinical pattern, not from a person: what the condition looks like, what questions to ask, when to come in.

Patient guests: authorization before the recording starts

A patient who tells their own story on your podcast is still appearing in your marketing, and the practice confirms they are a patient by featuring them. Get the signed authorization before you record, not after the edit. Treat the patient’s recorded voice as identifying: people who know them can recognize it, and the identifier list includes any unique identifying characteristic.

Use a separate form for the episode. Our consent guide explains why it cannot be folded into intake paperwork and why care cannot depend on signing it.
Describe the use plainly: the episode, the feeds and pages where it will be published, whether clips will be cut for social media, and when the permission ends.
State any third-party payment toward the episode, as 164.508(a)(3)(ii) requires.
Agree before recording on what will not be discussed, and let the patient hear the edit before it is published.
Plan for revocation. An episode can be copied to feeds and services you do not control, and the form must already warn that information disclosed under it may be redisclosed by the recipient and no longer protected (164.508(c)(2)(iii)).

If the patient receives anything for taking part, such as free or discounted care, that is also a disclosure question under the FTC rules below.

Sponsors, paid guests and disclosures you have to say out loud

The FTC’s Endorsement Guides apply to podcasts and webinars the same way they apply to print and video. Under 16 CFR 255.0(b), an endorsement is any advertising, marketing or promotional message that consumers are likely to believe reflects the opinions, beliefs, findings or experiences of a party other than the sponsoring advertiser, and verbal statements can be endorsements. Under 255.0(d), “product” includes a service, so a patient guest praising your practice is endorsing it.

Under 16 CFR 255.5(a), when there is a connection between the endorser and the seller that might materially affect the weight or credibility of the endorsement, and the audience would not reasonably expect it, the connection must be disclosed clearly and conspicuously. Material connections can include a business, family or personal relationship, payment, free or discounted products, and other benefits such as appearing in media promotions. In audio, that covers:

A clinician guest who is paid by, consults for or receives free products from the maker of a product discussed in the episode. Our guide to Open Payments and speaker programs covers the manufacturer side.
A patient guest who received free or discounted treatment.
A staff member or a relative of the owner who talks about the practice as if they were an ordinary patient.
A host who is paid to mention a product outside an obvious ad break.

The Guides address podcasts directly. In 16 CFR 255.5, Example 12 describes a host reading what is obviously a commercial near the beginning of a podcast: listeners would likely expect the podcaster was compensated, so a payment disclosure is not needed for the commercial, but if the audience may believe the host is expressing their own views, the host would need to hold the views expressed. The same example says that a disclosure-free podcast ad has no bearing on whether a social media post about the product needs a disclosure. Companies that run webinars for clinicians, or fund accredited ones, should also read our guide to CME and sponsored symposia.

How to disclose matters as much as whether. Under 255.0(f), a clear and conspicuous disclosure is difficult to miss and easily understandable by ordinary consumers. If the representation is made through audible means, the disclosure should be made in at least the audible portion, and an audible disclosure should be delivered in a volume, speed and cadence sufficient for ordinary consumers to easily hear and understand it. A line in the show notes alone does not do that, and a disclosure read at double speed at the end of the episode does not either.

For live webinars and streams, the FTC’s question-and-answer page on the Endorsement Guides, dated June 2023, says viewers can start watching at any time and could miss a disclosure made at a single point, so multiple periodic disclosures, or a continuous disclosure throughout the stream, are more likely to be seen. It also advises adding a disclosure to the description before viewers click through. Under 255.1(d), the advertiser is subject to liability for misleading or unsubstantiated statements made through endorsements and for failing to disclose unexpected material connections, so the practice cannot leave this to the guest.

A clinician speaking as an expert carries one more rule. Under 16 CFR 255.3(a), when an ad represents the endorser as an expert, their qualifications must give them the expertise represented, and under 255.3(b) the endorsement must be supported by an actual exercise of that expertise. A health claim said in conversation is still a claim, and the substantiation points in our video marketing guide apply to audio too. For paid creators outside your practice, see our guide to healthcare influencer marketing.

Webinars: registration, chat and live questions

A webinar for patients or the public adds a sign-up form and a live audience. Each creates its own privacy questions.

Keep registration to what you need to run the event: a name and an email address. Do not ask what condition the person has or whether they are a patient. Our guide to HIPAA and website contact forms covers form tools, and our guide to tracking pixels covers what third-party code on a registration page can collect.
Open the event by asking attendees not to share their own health details in chat or questions, and say that the session is general information, not individual medical advice.
Have a moderator screen questions before they are read aloud, and answer the general question rather than the person’s own case.
Before publishing a recording, edit out attendee names, faces, voices and questions that describe their health.

Recording raises a separate legal question. Under federal law, 18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) says it is not unlawful for a person not acting under color of law to intercept a communication where that person is a party to it or where one of the parties has given prior consent, unless it is done for a criminal or tortious purpose. Recording consent rules are also set state by state. Announce at the start, and in the registration confirmation, that the session is recorded, and ask counsel which consent your audience requires.

Transcripts and live captions

Audio-only content needs a text alternative. WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.2.1 (Level A) says that for prerecorded audio-only content, an alternative for time-based media is provided that presents equivalent information. For a podcast, that means a transcript on the episode page, edited so drug names, procedures and speaker names are correct.

Live webinars with video have their own criterion. WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.2.4 (Level AA) says captions are provided for all live audio content in synchronized media. Plan live captioning before the event, and caption the recording before you publish it, which our video guide covers under Success Criterion 1.2.2. Our guide to website accessibility for medical practices explains which accessibility rules may apply to your practice.

Illustration: a physical therapy practice launches a podcast

Illustration: a physical therapy practice plans a monthly podcast in which a therapist answers listener questions, plus a quarterly webinar on returning to exercise. The therapist teaches from patterns, not people, and when a case helps, leaves out the town, the dates and the patient’s job, and drops any case the therapist thinks local listeners would recognize. One episode features a patient who wants to talk about their recovery. The practice manager gives the patient a separate authorization naming the episode, the feeds, the website page and clips for social media, with an expiration date, and records only after it is signed. The patient received no free care, so there is nothing to disclose on that front. A guest therapist in a later episode consults for an equipment maker, and the host says so out loud before the guest discusses equipment and again in the show notes. Each episode page carries an edited transcript. Webinar registration asks only for a name and an email address, the host opens by asking attendees not to share their own health details, and the recording is captioned and edited to remove attendee questions before it is posted.

Checklist

Any episode that features or describes a patient has a signed marketing authorization first (45 CFR 164.508(a)(3)).
The authorization states any third-party payment toward the episode (164.508(a)(3)(ii)).
Case stories leave out places smaller than a state, dates other than the year, ages over 89 and unique characteristics (164.514(b)(2)(i)).
No case is told if the clinician knows listeners could still identify the patient (164.514(b)(2)(ii)).
Paid, gifted or personal connections of hosts and guests are disclosed out loud, at a clear volume and pace (16 CFR 255.5(a); 255.0(f)).
Live streams repeat the disclosure or show it throughout, and the event description carries it (FTC Endorsement Guides Q&A).
Clinicians presented as experts speak only within their expertise (16 CFR 255.3).
Webinar registration asks for no health details, and attendees are asked not to share any.
Recording is announced, and counsel has confirmed the consent rule for your audience (18 U.S.C. 2511(2)(d) and state law).
Each podcast episode has an edited transcript (WCAG 2.1 SC 1.2.1); live webinars have live captions (SC 1.2.4).

How we help

We build websites, local search, Google Ads and AI front desk tools for independent practices. On a medical website design project, we can build episode and webinar pages with transcripts, captions and simple registration forms that do not ask for health details. We do not record patients, and we leave authorizations and sponsor agreements to the practice and its attorney. Our AI front desk is built with HIPAA in mind. We confirm in writing what a BAA covers before any patient information flows through a tool, and if it is not covered, we do not route patient information through it. We do not sell lead lists and do not pay for referrals. For the wider set of rules we follow, see our healthcare marketing rules hub.

Is a practice podcast marketing under HIPAA?

An episode that encourages listeners to use the practice’s services fits the definition of marketing in 45 CFR 164.501. That matters when the episode uses or discloses patient information, because 164.508(a)(3) then requires the patient’s written authorization.

Can a clinician talk about a patient case on a podcast?

Only if the story does not identify the patient. The safe harbor in 45 CFR 164.514(b)(2) requires removing identifiers such as places smaller than a state, dates other than the year and any unique characteristic, and the practice must have no actual knowledge that what remains could identify the person.

Does a patient who volunteers to tell their story still need to sign something?

Yes, if the practice features them in its marketing. Featuring the patient discloses that they are a patient, and 45 CFR 164.508(a)(3) requires a written authorization for marketing uses and disclosures, apart from face-to-face communications and promotional gifts of nominal value.

Do sponsor disclosures have to be spoken in a podcast?

Under 16 CFR 255.0(f), a representation made through audible means should be disclosed in at least the audible portion, delivered in a volume, speed and cadence ordinary consumers can easily hear and understand. Show notes alone do not meet that.

Is one disclosure at the start of a live webinar enough?

The FTC question-and-answer page on the Endorsement Guides says viewers can join a stream at any time and miss a single disclosure, so multiple periodic disclosures or a continuous one are more likely to be seen, and the description should carry it too.

Do podcasts need transcripts?

WCAG 2.1 Success Criterion 1.2.1 (Level A) calls for an alternative that presents equivalent information for prerecorded audio-only content. A transcript on the episode page meets that purpose.

Healthcare podcasts and webinars: patient privacy, sponsor and caption rules