Memory clinic marketing: evaluations and claims

A memory clinic, or a dementia evaluation service inside a neurology, geriatrics, psychiatry or primary care practice, markets to people at a hard moment. The person searching may not be the patient at all. It may be a spouse who has noticed repeated questions, or an adult child who has found unpaid bills. They want to know what an evaluation involves, whether it is worth doing, what it costs and what can be done afterward. Each of those questions has a federal source with plain answers, and each has a way to go wrong in an ad.

Two related topics have their own guides and are not repeated here. General neurology marketing, including the Medicare cognitive assessment visit, the GUIDE Model note and the front desk script for what staff may share with family callers, is in our neurology practice marketing guide. Inviting patients to the Medicare yearly wellness visit, where cognitive impairment detection is part of the visit, is in our annual wellness visit outreach guide. Ad targeting, testimonials and perks aimed at family caregivers in general are covered in our guide to marketing to family caregivers. Groups for patients and caregivers are covered in starting a patient support group.

This is general information, not legal or medical advice. Rules on capacity, health care agents and who may sign for a patient are set state by state, and clinical questions belong with your clinicians. Sources cited were checked on October 30, 2026: the NINDS page Dementias (last reviewed May 21, 2026), the MedlinePlus pages Cognitive Testing (last updated August 27, 2026) and Memory (last updated September 29, 2026), the Medicare.gov pages Cognitive assessment and care plan services and Monoclonal antibodies for treating early Alzheimer’s disease, the CMS Innovation Center page on the GUIDE Model, 45 CFR 164.508 and 164.510, 15 U.S.C. 45 and 52, the FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance and 16 CFR 255.2.

Describe the evaluation the way federal health sources do

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke page on dementias gives a clear model for a service page. It says that to diagnose dementia, “doctors first check for other treatable conditions that could cause problems with thinking or memory.” It then lists the kinds of tests involved: medical histories and physical exams, nervous system tests, brain scans, cognitive and neuropsychological tests, laboratory tests, genetic testing in some cases, and a psychiatric evaluation to see whether symptoms come from depression or another condition instead of dementia.

A page built on that order answers the family’s first question, which is what will happen. List the steps your clinic actually performs:

Who the patient sees first and who else may be involved, such as a neuropsychologist, nurse, social worker or therapist.
Which tests your clinic does on site and which it orders elsewhere.
The number of visits the evaluation takes and how long each one runs.
What to bring: a medication list, prior records, and a family member or friend if the patient wants one there.
What happens at the results visit, and who receives a copy of the plan.

Two lines from NINDS also belong on the page, in your own words or quoted. First, dementia is “not a normal part of aging.” Second, NINDS says that when the other tests are negative, doctors in a number of cases cannot tell exactly which type of dementia a person has. That second point protects you. A page that promises a definitive answer about the type of dementia at the end of one visit sets up an expectation the evaluation may not meet.

Treatable causes: say what is checked, not what will be reversed

The MedlinePlus memory page from the National Library of Medicine says it is normal to forget things once in a while, and lists more serious causes of memory problems, including Alzheimer’s disease, other dementias, stroke, depression, head injuries, blood clots or tumors in the brain, kidney, liver or thyroid problems, and reactions to certain medicines. The MedlinePlus cognitive testing page adds that when such conditions are treated, “cognitive impairment may improve,” while other conditions, including dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, have no cure and get worse over time.

That is the honest frame for marketing. An evaluation looks for causes, and some causes can be treated. It does not follow that your clinic reverses memory loss. Headlines to leave out:

“Reverse memory loss” or “get your memory back.”
“Find out if your memory loss is reversible” when the page does not explain that a number of causes are not.
“Memory problems are treatable” or any share of patients without a source you can cite for that exact claim.
Before and after test scores from individual patients.

Wording that fits: “Memory problems have different causes. Our evaluation checks for conditions that can affect memory and thinking, such as medication effects, thyroid problems or depression, as well as for dementia. We will explain what we find and what the options are.”

Online memory tests and quizzes are screening, not diagnosis

A short memory quiz on a clinic website is a lead tool, and it is also a health tool. MedlinePlus says of cognitive tests in general that “These tests alone can’t diagnose dementia or any other cause of cognitive impairment.” About tests people take themselves online, it says doing one may be helpful for someone who is concerned, “But it’s important to follow up with your provider to discuss the test results and any other tests you may need to properly diagnose your condition.”

If you offer a self-check, build it to match that guidance:

Call it a self-check or questionnaire, never a diagnosis, a test result or a score that labels the person.
Show the same next step to every person who finishes: talk with a health care provider about the results.
Do not show a result screen that says or implies “you may have dementia” or “you are fine.”
Do not use a name, logo or scoring scheme from a published clinical test unless you hold the right to use it and present it as its owners require.
Ask for contact details only if the person wants a call back, after they see the result, and keep the answers out of any ad or analytics tool.

The last point matters because quiz answers about forgetting names or getting lost are health information the moment they are tied to a person. Our guide to tracking pixels on practice websites covers how those tools can send page and form data to ad platforms.

Brain health, prevention and supplement claims

Claims that a program, food, supplement, game or device improves memory or prevents dementia fall under the FTC Act. 15 U.S.C. 45 prohibits unfair or deceptive acts or practices, and 15 U.S.C. 52 prohibits false advertisements likely to induce the purchase of food, drugs, devices, services or cosmetics. The FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance is FTC staff guidance on making sure claims about the benefits and safety of health-related products are truthful, not misleading and supported by science; it says the same legal principles apply to the marketing of any health-related product.

The guidance uses memory claims in several of its own examples:

Example 21: a customer satisfaction survey in which customers reported memory improvement is described as anecdotal and not adequate to support a memory benefit claim for a supplement.
Example 22: an accurate report that a medical institution recommends regular mental stimulation does not support a claim that a particular brain training program provides memory benefits; the FTC says that claim needs methodologically sound human clinical research on the program itself.
Example 23: study summaries about a nutrient and memory tests do not support a claim that a supplement containing the nutrient aids memory.
Example 35: a study showing gains on three working memory tasks does not support a general claim that software is clinically proven to improve memory, because other types of memory were not tested.

For a clinic, the lesson is direct. If you sell or recommend a brain health class, a cognitive training program, a supplement or a device, the claim you make for it needs evidence about that product for that outcome. General advice about healthy habits is fine as education. Turning it into “our program prevents Alzheimer’s” is a product claim.

NINDS lists risk factors that “may increase a person’s chance of getting dementia,” among them older age, high blood pressure, stroke, alcohol use, diabetes, smoking and brain injuries. A blog post that explains those risk factors and suggests talking with a provider about them is education. A post that promises a lower risk of dementia from your clinic’s plan is a claim you would need to substantiate.

Newer Alzheimer’s treatments: use the federal wording, no product names

Families now search for the newer infusion treatments by name. Keep product names off your marketing and describe the category the way federal sources do. The Medicare.gov page on monoclonal antibodies for treating early Alzheimer’s disease says these treatments “may slow or delay symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, but they don’t cure or reverse the disease.” NINDS describes the two newer medicines as working “by attaching to amyloid protein and removing it from the brain,” says they are given to people in early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, and says they do not cure it but may slow its progress. NINDS also says there are “no cures for the different types of dementia.”

The Medicare page sets out conditions a family should know before they call:

The provider must confirm beta-amyloid plaques consistent with Alzheimer’s disease and diagnose mild cognitive impairment due to Alzheimer’s disease or mild dementia due to Alzheimer’s disease.
Medicare coverage requires the provider to collect evidence about how well the treatment works for a qualifying study or registry.
The drug is given through a vein in a provider’s office or other outpatient setting.
The Part B deductible and coinsurance apply, and scans and tests before or during treatment may add to the cost.

A page that fits says your clinic evaluates whether a patient may be a candidate, that eligibility depends on testing and diagnosis, that the treatment may slow symptoms and does not cure or reverse the disease, and that infusion, monitoring and costs will be explained before any decision. Leave out “new hope,” “breakthrough,” “stop Alzheimer’s” and any line suggesting the patient will qualify. Prescription drug promotion on ad platforms has its own restrictions, so keep paid ads at the level of the evaluation service.

Thinking and memory changes can also come with Parkinson’s disease, and clinics that treat both face extra claims about cures, surgery and stem cell offers. Our guide to movement disorder clinic marketing covers that wording.

Cost wording for the evaluation

The Medicare.gov page on cognitive assessment and care plan services says Part B covers a separate visit to fully review cognitive function, establish or confirm a diagnosis like dementia or Alzheimer’s disease, and develop a care plan, and that the Part B deductible and coinsurance apply. That means “free memory evaluation” is not accurate for the Medicare visit itself. Say that Medicare Part B covers the visit, that the Part B deductible and coinsurance apply, and that your staff will check other coverage before the first appointment. Free screening events aimed at older adults raise separate questions that our neurology guide links to.

Writing for caregivers without overstepping

Caregivers are the main audience for a memory clinic site, and HIPAA gives them a defined role. Under 45 CFR 164.510(b), a covered entity may share with a family member, relative, close friend or other person the patient identifies the information directly relevant to that person’s involvement in the patient’s care or payment, subject to the patient’s agreement or lack of objection when the patient is present and has capacity, or professional judgment about the patient’s best interests when they are not. The neurology guide turns that into a phone script; this section is about marketing.

Three points follow for outreach:

Content addressed to caregivers in general, such as a guide on preparing for the first visit, is education and needs no patient information.
Using a patient’s record to send a family member promotional messages about other services is not care coordination. Where it is marketing, 45 CFR 164.508(a)(3) requires the patient’s written authorization, and a form signed by a personal representative must describe that person’s authority to act.
Do not build ad audiences from caregiver contact details collected at intake.

Medicare.gov says a person can bring someone with them to a cognitive assessment to help listen and answer questions, and the CMS Innovation Center page on the GUIDE Model describes a voluntary model, which began on July 1, 2024 and runs for 8 years, that offers care navigation, a round-the-clock support line, caregiver training and education, and respite services through participating programs. Describe that support only if your organization is a participant, and say so in the same words CMS uses.

Patient and family stories

A story from a family about their first evaluation can help another family make a call. It also carries more risk here than in other specialties. Under 16 CFR 255.2, an advertiser may not use a consumer endorsement that conveys a performance claim the advertiser could not substantiate if it made the claim directly. A story about memory improving after treatment is a claim about the treatment. A story about how the visit felt, how staff explained things and what the family learned is not.

Capacity is the other question. A patient with cognitive impairment may not be able to give the authorization 45 CFR 164.508 requires to use their information in marketing. Decide in advance who may sign, confirm it with counsel under the rules where you practice, and keep the signed form. When in doubt, use a story from a caregiver about their own experience, with their own consent, and leave the patient’s health details out.

Tone and the crisis line

Families researching memory loss can be frightened or worn down by caregiving. Use plain words, no countdowns, no staged images of confused older adults, and no line about how fast a disease progresses. Do not present the clinic as a crisis service. Where your pages discuss caregiver strain, fear or grief, add one plain line: if you or someone you care for is in crisis, call or text 988; for a medical emergency, call 911. The SAMHSA 988 page describes 988 as offering 24/7 support, and says to text, call or chat 988.

Illustration: two ads for the same evaluation

Illustration: a clinic runs an ad that reads “Forgetting things? Take our 2-minute online memory test and find out if you have early Alzheimer’s. New treatments can stop it. Free evaluation for Medicare patients.” It presents a quiz as a diagnosis, describes treatment in terms federal sources contradict, and calls a visit free when the Part B deductible and coinsurance apply.

Illustration: the clinic rewrites it as “[Practice name] Memory Clinic: If you or a family member has noticed changes in memory or thinking, our team can evaluate possible causes, including treatable ones. Medicare Part B covers a cognitive assessment visit; the Part B deductible and coinsurance apply. Family members are welcome. Call [phone].” It describes the service, sets the cost correctly and makes no outcome claim.

Checklist before a memory clinic campaign goes live

The evaluation page lists the steps your clinic performs and follows the order NINDS describes, starting with other treatable causes.
No headline says the clinic reverses memory loss, stops Alzheimer’s or gives a definite answer in one visit.
Any online self-check is labelled as screening, sends every user to a provider, and keeps answers out of ad and analytics tools.
Brain health, training, supplement or device claims have evidence about that product for that outcome.
Newer treatments are described with Medicare and NINDS wording, without product names, with eligibility, registry and cost conditions stated.
Medicare cost wording says the Part B deductible and coinsurance apply; nothing calls the visit free.
Caregiver outreach uses general education; promotional messages based on a patient’s record have written authorization.
GUIDE Model support is mentioned only if your organization participates.
Stories carry no outcome claims, and the signer for each authorization is confirmed with counsel.
Pages on caregiver strain carry the 988 and 911 line.

How we help

We build websites, local search, Google Ads and AI front desk tools for independent practices and health businesses. For a memory clinic, that means service pages written for families in the words federal sources use, search content around the questions caregivers ask, and inquiry forms that keep health information away from tracking tools. We do not decide diagnosis, eligibility or coverage questions; your clinicians and counsel do. Our tools are 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 are not a healthcare provider and we do not give legal or medical advice. We do not sell lead lists and we do not pay for referrals. For the wider rules, see our healthcare marketing rules hub.

Can a memory clinic say it reverses memory loss?

Not as a general claim. MedlinePlus says impairment may improve when certain conditions are treated, while dementia and Alzheimer’s disease have no cure. Describe the evaluation as a check for causes, including treatable ones.

Is an online memory quiz a diagnosis?

No. MedlinePlus says cognitive tests alone cannot diagnose dementia and that people who take an online test should follow up with a provider. Label the quiz as a self-check and send every user to a provider.

How should we describe the newer Alzheimer’s infusion treatments?

In Medicare’s and NINDS’s words: they may slow or delay symptoms and do not cure or reverse the disease. Leave out product names, and state the eligibility, registry and cost conditions Medicare lists.

Can we advertise a free memory evaluation to Medicare patients?

Medicare.gov says Part B covers a cognitive assessment visit and that the Part B deductible and coinsurance apply, so calling that visit free is not accurate.

Can we send marketing to a patient’s caregiver?

General education for caregivers needs no patient information. Promotional messages built from a patient’s record are marketing under HIPAA and need written authorization, with a personal representative’s authority described if one signs.

Can we say our brain health program prevents dementia?

Only with evidence about that program for that outcome. The FTC guidance gives examples in which surveys, general recommendations and study summaries did not support memory claims.

Memory clinic marketing: dementia evaluation pages, online memory tests and treatment claims