Massachusetts at a glance
| Rule | Massachusetts | Checked |
|---|---|---|
| PSYPACT (psychologists) | No | 8 October 2026 |
| Counseling Compact (counselors) | No | 8 October 2026 |
| Social Work Licensure Compact | No | 8 October 2026 |
| Health-data or health geofencing law | None | 30 September 2026 |
| Privacy law treating health data as sensitive | None | 30 September 2026 |
Massachusetts licensing boards’ advertising rules
Ads, websites and directory profiles all count as advertising to a licensing board. These are the Massachusetts 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.
Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine
- Physician advertising may not be false, deceptive or misleading, intimidate or exert undue pressure, guarantee a cure, or claim professional superiority the physician cannot substantiate. (243 CMR 2.07(11)(a))
- A physician's advertisement or professional notice must include the physician's name, business address and degree (M.D. or D.O.). (243 CMR 2.07(11)(d))
Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers
- Social workers may not advertise in a false, deceptive or misleading way, and licensed social workers must disclose their licensure level in any print, electronic or other advertising about their practice. (258 CMR 20.14(1) and (2)(a))
Telehealth across Massachusetts's borders
Massachusetts is not in PSYPACT, so a psychologist licensed here needs a license in each other state where they want to treat clients by telehealth, and ads should stay inside those states.
Massachusetts has not enacted the Counseling Compact, so a counselor licensed here needs a separate license for each other state.
Physicians, psychiatrists included, need a license in each state they treat patients in; the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact can speed that up where a state takes part.
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. Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Vermont and New Hampshire each have their own page.
Health data, tracking and Massachusetts law
Massachusetts 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.
This is not legal advice.
How the states compare: state health-data laws.
What patients search for in Massachusetts
Searches a month that name a Massachusetts 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Boston | 450 $11.00 | 350 $5.00 | 250 $3.50 | 150 $13.00 | 100 $2.50 | 200 $1.40 | 40 $1.40 | 350 $1.60 |
| Statewide | 150 $5.00 | 70 $3.00 | 150 $5.00 | 300 $14.00 | 20 | 30 $2.50 | 10 $1.30 | 30 $2.00 |
| Worcester | 100 $7.00 | 200 $3.00 | – | 40 | – | – | – | 150 $1.10 |
| Springfield | 20 $2.00 | 100 $1.50 | – | 10 | – | – | – | 150 $0.90 |
| Lowell | 40 $2.00 | 40 | – | – | 150 | – | – | – |
| Newton | 40 $2.00 | 50 $2.50 | – | – | 60 | – | 40 | – |
| Cambridge | 150 $7.00 | 30 $2.50 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
Of the cities measured, Boston gets the most of these searches. Its biggest single search, “therapist boston”, 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, Massachusetts patients look most for therapists (about 950 a month), then psychiatrists (840). Boston alone accounts for 47% of them. A click on a therapist search here costs about $8.05 on average, above 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
- Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine, checked 5 October 2026
- Massachusetts Board of Registration of Social Workers, checked 5 October 2026