Louisiana at a glance
| Rule | Louisiana | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| PSYPACT (psychologists) | Passed, not in effect yet | 8 October 2026 |
| Counseling Compact (counselors) | Yes, live | 8 October 2026 |
| Social Work Licensure Compact | Enacted, not issuing licenses yet | 8 October 2026 |
| Health-data or health geofencing law | None | 30 September 2026 |
| Privacy law treating health data as sensitive | None | 30 September 2026 |
Louisiana licensing boards’ advertising rules
Ads, websites and directory profiles all count as advertising to a licensing board. These are the Louisiana rules we check copy against, with links to the official text. Boards update their rules, so read the current version before you rely on a summary.
Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners
- Physicians may not solicit patients or promote themselves through advertising or other public or private communication that is fraudulent, false, deceptive or misleading. (La. R.S. 37:1285(A)(7))
- A physician may claim to be "board certified" only if, among other criteria, the ad includes the full name of the certifying board and the specialty or subspecialty. (La. R.S. 37:1285(A)(32))
Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners
- Licensed professional counselors must state their credentials accurately in advertising, and any testimonials they use may not be solicited from current or former clients or others vulnerable to undue influence. (LAC 46:LX.2107(A)(3))
Telehealth across Louisiana's borders
Louisiana has passed PSYPACT legislation that takes effect on January 1, 2028. Until then, a psychologist licensed here needs a license in each other state where they want to treat clients by telehealth.
Louisiana is one of the first states where the Counseling Compact is live, so a licensed professional counselor based here can already apply for privileges to practice in the other live member states instead of a separate license in each.
It has also enacted the Social Work Licensure Compact, which isn't issuing multistate licenses yet; the compact's commission expects its licensing system in 2027.
For physicians, psychiatrists included, Louisiana is in the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, which speeds up getting a license in other member states but doesn't replace it.
Telehealth ads should only reach places where the clinician can legally treat: see PSYPACT and Counseling Compact states.
Practices near a state line often see clients from next door. Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi each have their own page.
Health data, tracking and Louisiana law
Louisiana has no comprehensive consumer privacy law or consumer health data law in effect as of 30 September 2026. Federal rules and a practice's own HIPAA duties still apply.
The Louisiana Data Privacy Act, already passed, takes effect on January 1, 2027 and will treat health data as sensitive data.
This is not legal advice.
How the states compare: state health-data laws.
What patients search for in Louisiana
Searches a month that name a Louisiana city, with the average cost per click, from Ahrefs (checked between 30 September and 5 October 2026). A dash means too few to measure; “near me” searches aren't counted. The Statewide row is searches that name the state.
| City | Therapist | Psychiatrist | Ketamine | IOP | Weight loss | Functional med. | Concierge | GI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans | 450 $5.00 | 350 $4.00 | 30 $4.00 | 80 $3.00 | 90 $3.50 | 30 $1.00 | 10 $1.70 | 90 $1.90 |
| Baton Rouge | 400 $4.00 | 350 $2.50 | 20 | 20 $5.00 | 50 | 20 $0.90 | 20 | 20 $2.00 |
| Lafayette | 200 $1.90 | 200 $3.00 | 30 | 20 | – | 80 $3.50 | – | 200 $1.60 |
| Shreveport | 150 $4.50 | 150 $3.50 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 20 $0.90 | 100 | 200 $2.50 |
| Lake Charles | 100 $1.70 | 50 | – | – | 20 | 10 | – | 200 $1.60 |
| Statewide | 50 $1.70 | 20 $3.50 | 30 | 10 | 20 | – | – | – |
Of the cities measured, New Orleans gets the most of these searches. Its biggest single search, “therapist new orleans”, gets about 450 a month. To turn a cost per click into a cost per booked patient, put your own numbers into the patient acquisition cost calculator.
Across the searches measured here, Louisiana patients look most for therapists (about 1,350 a month), then psychiatrists (1,120). New Orleans alone accounts for 29% of them. A click on a therapist search here costs about $3.82 on average, close to the $4.00 median across the 306 therapist searches measured on our state pages.
Fill The Lobby is a remote US healthcare marketing agency; the ads and pages we write for practices are checked against rules like these. See how we handle compliance.
Sources
- PSYPACT, compact map, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, member map, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, 10 states now offering privileges, checked 8 October 2026
- Counseling Compact, Pennsylvania becomes the 40th member, checked 8 October 2026
- Social Work Licensure Compact, enacted in 35 states, checked 8 October 2026
- Interstate Medical Licensure Compact, participating states, checked 14 October 2026
- IAPP, US State Privacy Legislation Tracker, checked 30 September 2026
- Ahrefs Keywords Explorer, US search volumes and cost per click, checked 30 September 2026
- Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners, checked 5 October 2026
- Louisiana Licensed Professional Counselors Board of Examiners, checked 5 October 2026