Washington

Washington State is unique in its extensive regulation of physicians’ use of the Internet to advertise through medical websites. Some of these Medical Disciplinary Board rules might surprise firms that dabble in medical website design and development, but at Etna Interactive, medical marketing is our specialty and we make sure to stay up to date on the latest laws. For a full assessment of the marketing laws that apply to your practice, be sure to consult with your legal counsel.

Sample Best Practices

We’ve developed some sample best practices to help you get started discussing your medical marketing with your legal counsel in more detail. Find out if you need to take steps to avoid the following:

• Engaging in false, fraudulent, or misleading advertising.
• Making scientific claims that cannot be substantiated.
• Assuring a permanent cure for an incurable disease.
• Claiming professional superiority without supporting the claim with objective evidence, or using hyperbole when describing your techniques or results.
• Showing patient before and after photos without indicating that results vary and the results shown are not a guarantee.
• Showing models without clearly indicating that the photos are not of actual patients.
• Saying you are board-certified without including in any advertising the name of the board that has certified you.

Please help us keep these pages up to date. If you or your legal counsel notice an oversight in our comments or a problem with this page, please alert us by email. Also, be sure to read our legal disclaimer.

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