Clinics and medical practices / Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania adds 4 state rules for clinics and medical practices
Pennsylvania adds 4 rules to the 109 federal ones the checker already matches to clinics and medical practices. None of them block approval; all 4 warn. The rules cite 49 Pa. Code 16.61, 63 P.S. 271.15 and 63 P.S. 422.10. Of the 44 states with a page for this industry, it has the 28th most rules.
What Pennsylvania adds
These are the Pennsylvania rules whose wording is about licensed practitioners, boards and clinics. They run when Pennsylvania is selected in the checker.
CG-PAS-001 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Pennsylvania treats unconditionally guaranteeing that a cure will result from medical services as unprofessional conduct by a Board-regulated practitioner.
Source: 49 Pa. Code 16.61(a)(4) ("Unconditionally guaranteeing that a cure will result from the performance of medical services or treatment regimen")
Safer wording: Describe what the care involves and what patients have typically experienced, with a source. Do not promise a cure.
49 Pa. Code 16.61 · Needs counsel review
CG-PAS-002 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Pennsylvania treats offering to cure or treat a disease by a secret method, procedure, treatment or medicine as unprofessional conduct by a Board-regulated practitioner.
Source: 49 Pa. Code 16.61(a)(12) ("Offering, undertaking or agreeing to cure or treat a disease by a secret method, procedure, treatment or medicine")
Safer wording: Name the treatment and explain how it works. Do not market a hidden or undisclosed method.
49 Pa. Code 16.61 · Needs counsel review
CG-PAS-006 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Pennsylvania lets the Board discipline a practitioner who makes misleading, deceptive or untrue representations in the practice. Unproven best-in-the-state claims can be misleading.
Source: 63 P.S. 422.41(2) ("Making misleading, deceptive, untrue or fraudulent representations in the practice of the profession"); see also 63 P.S. 271.15(a)(2)
Safer wording: Use claims you can prove, such as credentials, years in practice or a named, dated ranking with its source.
63 P.S. 422.41, 63 P.S. 271.15 · Needs counsel review
CG-PAS-007 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
In Pennsylvania only a medical doctor may hold forth as authorized to practice medicine and surgery through a title such as physician or doctor of medicine.
Source: 63 P.S. 422.10(3) ("Hold forth as authorized to practice medicine and surgery through use of a title")
Safer wording: Use only titles the person is licensed to use in Pennsylvania, such as the licensed title and the board that issued it.
63 P.S. 422.10 · Needs counsel review
What the checker flags with Pennsylvania selected
None of our sample wording triggers a Pennsylvania rule, so no example is shown. The rules above are still part of the set.
The federal rules that still apply
109 federal and general rules matched to clinics and medical practices run next to the Pennsylvania ones. The ones that weigh most:
CG-ABS-003 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Claims of no risk or no side effects are unsubstantiated safety claims.
Source: FTC Act section 5; FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance; 21 CFR 202.1 (prescription drug advertising, fair balance)
Safer wording: State known risks and side effects fairly, or say who should talk to a clinician first.
21 CFR 202.1 · Needs counsel review
CG-CSR-001 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Prescribing a controlled substance without a real evaluation, records or follow-up violates the Controlled Substances Act and DEA telemedicine rules.
Source: 21 U.S.C. 829 and 841(h); 21 CFR 1306.04 (prescription issued for a legitimate medical purpose); 21 CFR 1306.05 (manner of issuance, so a prescription must carry the patient and practitioner details); FTC Act section 5
Safer wording: Do not advertise controlled substances. A licensed clinician must decide whether to prescribe after a real evaluation.
21 CFR 1306.04, 21 U.S.C. 829, 21 CFR 1306.05 · Needs counsel review
CG-DEA-003 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Offering to fill a prescription for a controlled substance based only on an online questionnaire is a listed example of an internet distribution violation.
Source: 21 U.S.C. 841 subsection (h) lists offering to fill a controlled substance prescription based solely on a consumer's online medical questionnaire as an example of a violation
Safer wording: Do not tie a controlled substance prescription to a questionnaire alone. Describe a live evaluation by a licensed practitioner who decides if a prescription is appropriate.
21 U.S.C. 841 · Needs counsel review
CG-EFF-014 · Blocks approval · Citation checked against stored text
Claims of instant, one-visit or universal results, or of working where all else fails, promise outcomes no clinic can substantiate.
Source: FTC Act section 5; FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance; FTC Endorsement Guides, 16 CFR Part 255
Safer wording: Remove the promise of speed or certainty. Say what the service is and that results vary.
16 CFR Part 255 · Needs counsel review
Everything for the industry is on the clinics and medical practices page, and all Pennsylvania rules for any industry are on the Pennsylvania page.
Next step
Check your Pennsylvania clinic copy
Select Pennsylvania in the checker and every flag cites the rule and source listed above.