Oregon healthcare advertising rules the checker applies

Rules for Oregon

1. CG-ORS-001 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Oregon lets the Medical Board act against a physician who tells a patient that a manifestly incurable condition can be cured. Ads that say a clinic or treatment cures ALS, advanced cancer or dementia make that representation to the public. This reaches licensees and what counts as incurable is arguable, so it is a warning.

   Source: ORS 677.190(3) ("a manifestly incurable condition of sickness, disease or injury can be cured")

   Safer wording: Say what the treatment is studied for, such as managing symptoms or slowing progression, and cite the evidence. Do not claim a cure.

   ORS 677.190 · Needs counsel review

2. CG-ORS-002 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Oregon lets the Medical Board act against a physician for statements the physician knows, or should know, are false or misleading about skill or the efficacy or value of a treatment. Guaranteed-cure and miracle claims are the usual form. This reaches licensees, so it is a warning.

   Source: ORS 677.190(9) ("regarding skill or the efficacy or value of the medicine, treatment or remedy")

   Safer wording: Say what the treatment involves and who it is for, cite a source for any outcome data, and state that results vary by patient.

   ORS 677.190 · Needs counsel review

3. CG-ORS-003 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Oregon lets the Medical Board act against a physician who employs any person to solicit patients, with an exception for managed care organizations and similar groups. Recruiting copy for paid patient solicitors or per-patient pay is the ad form of this.

   Source: ORS 677.190(2) ("Employing any person to solicit patients for the licensee")

   Safer wording: Do not pay people per patient they bring in. Have counsel review any outreach or marketing staff compensation.

   ORS 677.190 · Needs counsel review

4. CG-ORS-004 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   Oregon makes it an unlawful practice to represent that a person has a sponsorship, approval or status the person does not have. The FDA does not approve or certify clinics or doctors, so calling a practice FDA-approved claims an approval it does not have.

   Source: ORS 646.608(1)(e) ("a person has a sponsorship, approval, status, qualification, affiliation, or connection that the person does not have")

   Safer wording: Say what is accurate, for example that the clinic is state-licensed or that a specific drug or device is FDA-approved or cleared for a stated use.

   ORS 646.608 · Needs counsel review

5. CG-ORS-005 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   The Oregon Consumer Privacy Act bars a controller from processing sensitive data, which includes health information, without the consumer consent. Copy saying health data is sold or shared with advertisers describes that processing. The Act has exemptions for HIPAA-covered data, so counsel should confirm it applies.

   Source: ORS 646A.578(2)(b) ("Process sensitive data about a consumer without first obtaining the consumer")

   Safer wording: Say health information is used only with the person consent, or remove the statement and fix the practice.

   ORS 646A.578 · Needs counsel review

6. CG-ORS-006 · Warns · Citation checked against stored text

   The Oregon Consumer Privacy Act bars a controller from selling personal data that accurately identifies a consumer location within a radius of 1,750 feet. Copy that says precise location is sold is the ad form of this.

   Source: ORS 646A.578(2)(d) ("Sell personal data that") and 646A.578(2)(d)(B) ("Accurately identifies within a radius of 1,750 feet a consumer")

   Safer wording: Remove the statement and stop selling precise location data. Counsel should review any location-based targeting.

   ORS 646A.578 · Needs counsel review