Guide

How to reach physicians.

Physicians are among the hardest professionals to reach: short on time, heavily marketed to, and protected by rules that limit what a company may give them and how it may contact them. The channels that work respect their time and their judgment, and the ones that cut corners create legal exposure for both sides.

Verified October 25, 2026

Vendors
Recruiters
Physician audiences
Open Payments

Which channels reach physicians?

Companies that sell to physicians, from drug and device makers to software vendors and recruiters, use a familiar set of channels. Each reaches a different moment in a physician's week, and most campaigns combine several.

No public source publishes reliable prices for these channels; journal rate cards, network sponsorships and list rentals are quoted per campaign. This page describes what each does and the rules around it, not what it costs.

Verified October 25, 2026

The main channels for reaching physicians

Channel	What it reaches	What to watch
Professional networks and news sites for clinicians	Physicians reading clinical news or managing their careers, often on a phone	Sponsored content must be labeled, and targeting by specialty is only as good as the network's data.
Medical journals, print and digital	Specialists who read their society's journal and its site	Advertising standards set by each publisher, and lead times for print.
Conferences and exhibit halls	Physicians who have set aside time to learn, in person	Booth giveaways, meals and hospitality fall under the gift and payment rules below.
Email to licensed or subscribed lists	Physicians at their work or personal inboxes	List quality, consent and the federal email rules; see the physician email list guide.
Continuing education sponsorship	Physicians meeting education requirements	Sponsors may support an activity but must not shape its content.
Field representatives and speaker programs	Physicians in their offices or at small meetings	Meals, fees and travel are reportable payments and must have a legitimate purpose.

What do the payment disclosure and kickback rules require?

Anything of value a drug or device maker gives a physician, from a meal at a speaker program to a consulting fee, may be reported and published under name. And anything given to induce or reward referrals or prescriptions of items paid for by federal health programs can be a crime, for the giver and the receiver alike.

Vendors outside drugs and devices are not reporting entities, but the kickback statute reaches anyone who pays for federal program referrals, which includes companies selling services that physicians order or refer patients to.

The Anti-Kickback Statute and the Stark law

Free services, generous speaking fees or other perks to physicians who order your product or refer to your service can violate the statute where Medicare or Medicaid pays. Pay fair market value for real work, in writing.

The federal Anti-Kickback Statute makes it a crime to knowingly and willfully pay anything of value to induce or reward referrals of items or services paid by Medicare, Medicaid or other federal health care programs, and paying others to refer patients is as illegal as being paid. HHS-OIG notes that a practice may not advertise that it will forgive copayments. The Stark law separately bars a physician from referring Medicare and Medicaid patients for designated health services to an entity they have a financial relationship with, unless an exception applies.

Source: HHS-OIG: A roadmap for new physicians, fraud and abuse laws, read October 25, 2026

What do the AMA and PhRMA say about gifts and interactions?

Physicians follow their own ethics guidance on what they may accept, and drug makers that adopt the PhRMA code follow its rules on what they may offer. Campaigns that respect both are easier for physicians to say yes to.

Which rules apply to email, fax and calls to physicians?

Messages to physicians are business-to-business, and the federal rules apply all the same. Commercial email needs a working opt-out and a postal address; fax ads need prior permission or an established business relationship and an opt-out notice; texts and calls to cell phones follow the telephone consumer rules.

What may a product claim to physicians?

Physicians read claims critically, and regulators read them more critically still. Say precisely what the product's regulatory status is, back performance claims with evidence the audience can check, and keep promotional and educational materials apart.

Questions to ask

Is the company a reporting entity under Open Payments, and is every planned payment tracked?
Has counsel reviewed any payment to a physician who orders or refers to the product?
Where did the email or fax list come from, and what consent or relationship covers each contact?
Is any education the company supports free of its influence over content?
Does every claim match the product's regulatory status and evidence?

Questions people ask.

What is the best way to advertise to doctors?

It depends on the product and the specialty. Journals and professional networks reach specialists while they read; conferences reach them in person; licensed email lists reach them at scale. Most companies combine two or three and judge them by qualified conversations, not impressions.

Can companies give physicians gifts or meals?

Within limits. Drug and device makers report meals and other transfers of value for public listing, the kickback statute bars anything meant to induce federal program business, and the AMA tells physicians to decline cash and any gift that expects something in return.

Is it legal to email or fax physicians about a product?

Email is allowed with an honest subject line, a postal address and a working opt-out under CAN-SPAM. Fax ads generally need the recipient's permission or an established business relationship, plus an opt-out notice.

Sources

Every rule and figure on this page was read on the source’s own page on the date shown. The guide was last checked on October 25, 2026.

CMS: Open Payments read October 25, 2026
HHS-OIG: A roadmap for new physicians, fraud and abuse laws read October 25, 2026
AMA Code of Medical Ethics: Gifts to physicians from industry read October 25, 2026
PhRMA: Code on Interactions with Health Care Professionals read October 25, 2026
FTC: CAN-SPAM Act, a compliance guide for business read October 25, 2026
FCC: Rules for junk faxes read October 25, 2026
FCC: Stop unwanted robocalls and texts read October 25, 2026
FDA: Is it really "FDA approved"? read October 25, 2026