TMS marketing for clinics: patients, referrers and claims you can make

Who TMS patients are and how they find a clinic

A typical TMS patient is an adult with depression who has been through months of medication trials, often with a psychiatrist and a therapist already involved. They arrive by three routes:

1. A clinician suggests it. Their psychiatrist, primary care doctor or therapist mentions TMS and may refer them directly.
2. They research treatment-resistant depression and find TMS, then look for a clinic nearby.
3. A family member searches for them, often after watching several treatments fail.

Each route needs something different: referrers need a fast, reliable process; researchers need clear explanations; families need to know what treatment involves day to day. Daily sessions over several weeks are a real commitment, so logistics such as parking, session length and hours matter more than in most specialties. For the wider practice picture, see our guide to psychiatry practice marketing.

Claims you can and can't make about TMS

TMS systems are FDA-cleared medical devices, and each system's clearance covers specific indications. Your marketing claims must stay inside the clearance for the device you actually use.

Step 1: Look up your device. Search FDA's 510(k) and De Novo databases for your system and read the indications for use. Examples of what you'll find:

The general regulation for repetitive TMS describes treating major depressive disorder in patients who have failed at least one antidepressant medication (opens in a new tab), and FDA classifies TMS systems for psychiatric conditions as prescription devices (opens in a new tab). If your device isn't cleared for an indication, don't market it for that indication.

Step 2: Substantiate every outcome claim. The FTC's Health Products Compliance Guidance (opens in a new tab) (December 2022) expects health claims to rest on "competent and reliable scientific evidence," generally randomized, controlled human trials, and it applies to devices as well as supplements. Quote a response or remission rate only from a peer-reviewed study you cite by name, with the population it studied. Our FTC health claims guidance explains the standard.

Step 3: Avoid these phrases: "cure," "permanent relief," "works when nothing else does," "no side effects," and "drug-free alternative to medication" when your device's clearance is as an adjunct.

Explaining insurance coverage and prior authorization

Most patients will ask about coverage before anything else. Describe the pattern, then show a real example.

Commercial plans that cover TMS for depression usually require prior authorization and some combination of:

• A confirmed diagnosis of major depressive disorder, often rated severe on a validated scale
• Documented trials of several antidepressants at adequate doses and durations
• Sometimes augmentation therapy or psychotherapy
• No exclusions such as certain implanted metal devices

One payer's published policy, as read on October 22, 2026: Aetna's Clinical Policy Bulletin 0469 (opens in a new tab) requires members to be 15 or older with severe major depressive disorder confirmed by a psychiatrist. For adults, it requires an inadequate response to two antidepressants from at least two different classes, each for at least 8 weeks, plus augmentation therapy for at least 8 weeks. It allows a maximum of 30 sessions (5 days a week for 6 weeks) plus 6 tapering sessions. Other plans differ, and policies change.

On your website and in consults:

• Say plainly that criteria vary by plan and that you'll check benefits.
• List what records speed up authorization: medication history with doses and dates, prior therapy, and rating-scale scores.
• Never promise approval.
• State self-pay pricing if you offer it.

Building referrals from psychiatrists and therapists

Referrals are the steadiest source of TMS patients. Build them in four steps:

1. List local prescribers and therapists who see adults with depression, starting with those already sending you patients.
2. Send a one-page referral sheet: candidacy in plain terms, the cleared indication for your device, the session schedule, the insurers you work with, what records to send and your fax or e-referral details.
3. Promise a response time, such as confirming every referral within two business days and reporting when authorization is submitted and decided.
4. Close the loop. With the patient's permission, update the referring clinician when treatment starts and ends. Make clear the patient returns to their care.

Many referring psychiatrists worry about losing their patient. Saying explicitly that you co-manage and hand back builds trust. For more on referral channels, see our psychiatry marketing basics.

Ads for TMS: what Google and Meta allow

TMS isn't a prescription drug, so Google's healthcare and medicines policy (opens in a new tab) restrictions on drug terms don't apply directly. That policy does bar promoting speculative or experimental treatments, so keep ads within cleared indications.

The bigger limits are about targeting and wording:

• No condition-based retargeting. Google treats health as a sensitive interest category in personalized advertising (opens in a new tab), so remarketing lists, Customer Match and lookalike segments aren't available.
• No personal attributes on Meta. Meta's personal attributes policy (opens in a new tab) bans ads that imply knowledge of someone's mental health. "Are you depressed?" and "Depression getting you down? Get help now" are out. "Depression counseling" style service descriptions are allowed. See Meta's health ad rules.
• No pixels on consult forms. Tracking code on a page where someone requests a TMS consult can send health information to the ad platform.

For a broader comparison of channels, see advertising a psychology practice.

Pages a TMS program needs on its website

1. What TMS is, in plain language, with the cleared indication for your device.
2. Who is a candidate, and who isn't, including common exclusions.
3. What treatment involves: session length, daily schedule, total weeks and what patients feel during a session.
4. Insurance and prior authorization, as described above, plus self-pay pricing if offered.
5. For referring clinicians: the referral sheet, fax or e-referral details and your response commitment.
6. Consult request form that asks only for contact details, insurer and preferred times.

Measuring consults, authorizations and treatment starts

TMS has a long funnel, so measure each stage by source:

Keep all of this in your practice systems and report to vendors in counts only.

Common mistakes

• Running awareness ads before the referral process works.
• Quoting remission rates without a citation or the population studied.
• Advertising indications your device isn't cleared for.
• Asking "Are you depressed?" in an ad.
• Losing consult requests between the website and the phone.

Where Medfy fits

Medfy rebuilds your website with a page per service, including TMS, and HIPAA-compliant forms whose submissions land in a patient CRM and inbox, so consult requests sit in one access-controlled place. Optional Google Ads management and Meta ads + AI creatives add-ons cost $199/month each, with ad copy checked against healthcare policies, and ad platforms never receive patient data. To see how your current site and ads hold up, start with a free marketing audit.

Frequently asked questions

How do TMS clinics get patients?

Mostly through referrals and education rather than impulse ads. Patients usually reach TMS after several medication trials, so their psychiatrist or therapist is often the one who suggests it. Build relationships with prescribers and therapists, give them a one-page referral sheet, and publish clear pages on candidacy, the treatment schedule and insurance. Search ads can then catch patients researching options on their own.

Can TMS ads mention depression?

Yes, as a description of the service, not as a statement about the viewer. Meta's personal attributes policy allows wording like 'Depression counseling' but bans 'Depression getting you down? Get help now' because it implies the viewer's condition. On Google, health is a sensitive category, so no remarketing lists or Customer Match. Keep the indication within your device's FDA clearance and avoid outcome promises.

How should a clinic explain TMS insurance coverage?

Explain the pattern, then offer to check. Most commercial plans cover TMS for depression only after prior authorization, usually requiring a confirmed diagnosis, documented medication trials and sometimes psychotherapy. Link to or summarize one payer's published policy as an example, say criteria vary by plan, and invite patients to request a benefits check. Never promise approval, and state self-pay pricing if you offer it.