The Tri-State Marketing Compliance Checklist for Med Spas & Wellness Clinics (OH / PA / WV)

2026-07-20 · CompliancePilotAI.io

If your practice operates in Ohio, Pennsylvania, or West Virginia, your marketing is reviewed by more than one audience: the FTC reads it as advertising, the FDA reads it as a statement of intended use, and your state boards read it as professional conduct. This checklist walks the areas where multi-specialty practices most often draw attention — use it as a quarterly self-audit.

Part 1: Marketing claims (every state)

Before & after photos.

• Photos should be unedited — no smoothing filters, flattering-light re-shoots for the "after," or digital retouching. The FTC treats a misleading image the same as a misleading sentence.
• Results shown should be typical of what patients actually achieve, and a "individual results vary" disclaimer should appear with the gallery.
• Use a standalone, signed marketing-photo consent — separate from your clinical intake consent. HIPAA treats marketing use of patient images as its own authorization.

Injectable and device claims.

• Source neurotoxins, fillers, and devices from licensed U.S. distributors, and keep the documentation.
• Website copy about devices should match the device's actual FDA clearance — a device cleared for one indication marketed for another becomes an off-label claim in advertising.

Weight-loss program claims.

• Remove any phrase implying a compounded medication is a brand-name drug: "generic Ozempic," "compounded Wegovy," "same active ingredient as Mounjaro." Compounded formulations are legally distinct products, and the FDA has publicly warned about compounded semaglutide marketing.
• Don't borrow brand-name clinical-trial statistics ("patients lost 15% of their body weight") for a compounded program — that data belongs to the studied, approved product.
• Show pricing plainly: no hidden evaluation fees or undisclosed auto-renewing memberships. Junk-fee practices are an active FTC focus.

IV therapy claims.

• Strip disease and treatment language: "cures hangovers," "boosts immunity," "treats chronic fatigue," "detoxifies heavy metals." Intended use is read from your marketing — those phrases turn a wellness service into an unapproved drug claim.

Regenerative medicine claims.

• No structural-repair promises for stem cells or exosomes: "regrows cartilage," "heals torn rotator cuffs," "reverses degenerative disc disease." The FDA regulates these products under its biologics framework, and no exosome product is FDA-licensed.
• Remove restricted peptides (BPC-157, TB-500, MOTS-c, LL-37) from public menus and service pages. None of them meets any of the three conditions section 503A requires of a compounded bulk drug substance, and public listings are the first thing investigators find. (FDA's advisory committee revisited three of these in July 2026 — confirm the current position before relying on this line.)

Part 2: State-specific operational checks

These are operational rather than marketing items, but board investigations that start with an ad often end here. Verify each item against your board's current rules — they change, and this article is not legal advice.

Ohio. Confirm a physician, PA, or APRN performs the initial patient assessment before delegating injectables or cosmetic lasers. If you offer compounded GLP-1s, review the Ohio Board of Pharmacy's current guidance on compounding GLP-1 drug products with your pharmacy partner — Ohio has issued specific guidance in this area, including limits on batch preparation.

Pennsylvania. RNs may not perform injectables independently — neurotoxins and fillers are medical treatments requiring delegation after a prior clinical exam. Pennsylvania also enforces corporate-practice-of-medicine rules: clinical decision-making must sit with licensed professionals, not a management or marketing entity. If an MSO is involved in your structure, have counsel review it.

West Virginia. Maintain a written emergency protocol for treatment complications (vascular occlusion, anaphylaxis), and make sure your medical director agreement reflects real, documented oversight — boards scrutinize "paper director" arrangements where the supervising physician has no actual involvement.

Part 3: The digital hygiene layer

• Patient photos and intake data belong in systems with signed Business Associate Agreements — never in a staff member's personal camera roll.
• Anyone posting about your practice in exchange for free or discounted treatment — staff included — must disclose it conspicuously (#ad, #paidpartnership). The FTC's Endorsement Guides apply to employees.

How to run this audit

1. Assign one owner — a compliance lead or clinical director.
2. Pull every public asset: website pages, Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Google Business profile.
3. Check each item, fix what fails, and document the audit — a dated record of a good-faith compliance program is itself valuable if a board ever asks questions.

This article is educational content about publicly available regulatory guidance. It is not legal advice; consult healthcare counsel for guidance specific to your practice.