Clinics and medical practices / Virginia
Virginia adds 3 state rules for clinics and medical practices
Virginia adds 3 rules to the 109 federal ones the checker already matches to clinics and medical practices. None of them block approval; all 3 warn. The rules cite 18VAC85-20-30, Va. Code 54.1-2411 and Va. Code 54.1-2915. Of the 44 states with a page for this industry, it has the 44th most rules.
What Virginia adds
These are the Virginia rules whose wording is about licensed practitioners, boards and clinics. They run when Virginia is selected in the checker.
CG-VAS-001 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
The Virginia Board of Medicine bars licensees from advertising information that is false, misleading or deceptive, and requires the practice to keep the scientific or other documentation behind any claim in an ad for at least two years, available to the Board. Proof-claims without a source are the common gap.
Source: 18VAC85-20-30 ("No licensee of the board shall advertise information that is false, misleading, or deceptive"); 18VAC85-20-30 ("Documentation, scientific and otherwise, supporting claims made in an advertisement shall be maintained and available for the board's review")
Safer wording: Cite the study next to the claim and keep the supporting documents for at least two years, or take the claim out.
18VAC85-20-30 · Needs counsel review
CG-VAS-002 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
The Virginia Practitioner Self-Referral Act bars a practitioner from referring a patient for health services to an entity outside the practitioner's office or group practice when the practitioner or an immediate family member is an investor, unless an exception applies.
Source: Va. Code 54.1-2411(A) ("a practitioner shall not refer a patient for health services to an entity outside the practitioner's office or group practice if the practitioner or any of the practitioner's immediate family members is an investor in such entity")
Safer wording: Do not offer referring practitioners an ownership, investment or profit stake in the entity they send patients to. Counsel should review any exception relied on.
Va. Code 54.1-2411 · Needs counsel review
CG-VIR-001 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text
Virginia lists publishing an advertisement for a professional practice that contains a claim of superiority, or that violates Board advertising regulations, as unprofessional conduct. It applies to licensed practitioners.
Source: Va. Code 54.1-2915(A)(15) - advertisement relating to a professional practice that contains a claim of superiority is unprofessional conduct
Safer wording: Describe credentials, services and location factually. Drop best, leading and better-than wording.
Va. Code 54.1-2915 · Needs counsel review
What the checker flags with Virginia selected
Sample wording we wrote, run through the engine with Virginia selected. Only samples where a Virginia rule fires are shown.
Our clinic cures back pain. 100% guaranteed results. Book this week.
- Blocks approval
CG-DIS-001Also matches CG-DIS-016Saying a product or service cures a condition makes it an unapproved drug claim.
Source. FDCA 201(g)(1), 21 U.S.C. 321(g)(1) (drug definition); 21 CFR 101.93(g) (disease claims); FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording. Describe what the service does (for example "supports", "helps manage") and name only outcomes you can substantiate.
- Blocks approval
CG-ABS-002A 100 percent claim is an absolute claim that almost never has support.
Source. FTC Act section 5; FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording. Replace with the measured figure and its source, or remove the number.
- Warning
CG-ABS-015Also matches CG-VIR-002, CG-ABS-001A guarantee of results, including a money-back guarantee tied to results, promises an outcome nobody can promise for health products and services.
Source. FTC Act section 5; FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance
Safer wording. Describe what the service involves and say results vary. A refund policy may be stated without guaranteeing the result.
Dr. Park is the best doctor in town. Our patients always get results.
- Warning
CG-TRH-001Also matches CG-SUP-004, CG-VIR-001Unsubstantiated best, only, lowest-rate or better-than-named-competitor claims about medical providers are superiority claims that need competent evidence and head-to-head substantiation.
Source. FTC Act section 5 and FTC Policy Statement on Substantiation (1984); FTC Health Products Compliance Guidance (2022); state medical advertising rules
Safer wording. Drop ranking and comparison claims unless you hold head-to-head evidence and can disclose the basis. Describe what you offer without comparing yourself to named competitors.
The federal rules that still apply
109 federal and general rules matched to clinics and medical practices run next to the Virginia 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 Virginia rules for any industry are on the Virginia page.
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