Healthcare marketing rules
The federal rules every practice runs into, one guide per question.
What this topic covers
These guides cover the rules that apply to almost every practice before it runs a single ad: when HIPAA treats a message as marketing and needs patient authorization, what you can offer patients and referring clinicians without raising kickback questions, how testimonials and before-and-after photos have to be handled, and what changes when your patients are on Medicare, Medicaid or VA care.
Each guide quotes the rule it relies on, links to it and gives the date we checked it. Start with HIPAA marketing rules if you send email or text campaigns, patient and physician referrals if you run a referral program, and testimonials and before-and-after photos if your site shows patient stories. The guides are general information for practice owners and marketers, not legal advice, and they do not replace a health care attorney for your own facts.
If you only read one guide here, read the overview of healthcare marketing rules, which links each rule to the guides that go deeper. The list below runs from privacy and referral rules to payer programs, testimonials, AI content and product claims.
All 53 guides in this topic
- HIPAA marketing rules for medical practices
- Are doctors allowed to advertise? Physician advertising rules and ethics
- How to write healthcare practice ad copy without breaking advertising rules
- Patient referrals and physician referrals
- Gifts and meals for referring physicians
- Physician liaison programs
- Branded pens, mugs and promotional items
- Charity donation promotions for medical practices
- Marketing to Medicare patients
- Marketing to Medicaid patients
- Helping patients with marketplace and Medicaid enrollment
- Free rides and patient support perks
- VA community care provider marketing
- Marketing a medical practice to veterans and military families
- Hospital affiliation and “in partnership with” claims in practice advertising
- Patient testimonials and before-and-after photos
- Patient photo and video consent for marketing
- Healthcare influencer marketing
- Patient ambassador and peer advocate programs
- AI-generated content and images in healthcare marketing
- AI voices, avatars and synthetic clinicians in practice ads
- Medical device marketing claims
- Advertising a prescription treatment
- Top doctor awards, paid badges and star ratings in practice advertising
- ‘As seen on’ and ‘featured in’ media badges on a practice website
- Sponsored articles and advertorials for medical practices
- Center of excellence and designation claims in practice ads
- How long to keep advertising records at a medical practice
- Physician bio pages and board certified claims
- Promoting industry ties
- ‘First’, ‘only’, ‘best’ and ‘leading’
- Money-back guarantees and satisfaction promises in healthcare ads
- Fake urgency, countdown timers and limited-time offers in healthcare promotions
- Gag clauses and review bans in patient agreements
- One opt-out process for email, text and calls at a practice
- Reposting patient posts and tags
- Stock photos, models and actors in healthcare ads
- Livestreaming procedures and patient care on social media
- Medical practice branding
- Practice trade names and DBA names in ads
- Buying patient leads
- Do marketing agencies need a BAA? Business associate rules for practice marketing vendors
- HIPAA breach notification for practices
- When a reporter asks about a patient
- The FTC Health Breach Notification Rule
- Washington My Health My Data Act
- Consumer health data privacy laws beyond Washington
- State consumer privacy laws and medical practices
- Patient satisfaction surveys
- When a patient dies
- Marketing to family caregivers
- Promoting in-office lab, imaging and therapy services to your own patients
- Marketing calls to patients
Other topics
- Ads, social media and outreach
- Local SEO, reviews and content
- Websites, privacy and tracking
- Phones, front desk and patient messages
- Prices, payment and billing notices
- Physician specialties
- Mental and behavioral health
- Dental, vision, hearing and therapy
- Facilities, care services and pharmacy
- Cash-pay, aesthetic and wellness care
- Health companies, vendors and employers
Every guide on one page: all insights by topic.