Ethics & Compliance
How we work, who we work with, and what we won't do.
Addiction treatment marketing has a history of bad actors: patient brokering, fake "helplines" that sell callers to the highest bidder, hijacked listings, and ads that promise things no one can deliver. Those practices hurt people at the hardest moment of their lives, and they're a big part of why Google and Meta now require certification before a treatment center can advertise.
We built RecoveryGrow to be the opposite. This page spells out the standards we hold ourselves and our partners to, so you know what you're getting before you ever talk to us.
On this page
Our mission
RecoveryGrow helps ethical treatment centers reach more of the people who need them, honestly and within the rules.
We're based in Huntington, West Virginia, a city that's been at the center of the opioid crisis. Every one of us has been touched by addiction, and we take this work personally.
Our values
Tell the truth. We tell centers what's actually working and what isn't, even when it's not what they want to hear. And every claim in our ads has to be true.
People first. Behind every lead is someone reaching out for help, or someone who loves them. We build every campaign and follow-up process around treating them that way.
Measure what matters. We report on admissions and cost per admission, not clicks and impressions, so everyone is focused on helping real people get into care.
Do it right when no one's looking. We follow the rules on every platform, in every state, on every campaign, even when cutting a corner would be easier.
Who we work with
We work with treatment centers that put patient care first. We may review the licenses and certifications listed on a center's website, and we may ask for documentation, such as its LegitScript certification and state license, for advertising and vetting purposes.
To run treatment ads on Meta or Google, a center must be LegitScript-certified or actively going through certification. We won't help anyone get around that requirement.
We can decline to work with any center, and we can end a partnership at any time, if we have reason to believe a center is involved in patient brokering, insurance fraud or deceptive marketing, or is putting patients at risk.
What we won't do
Some of these are illegal. Some are just wrong. We won't do any of them:
- charge per patient, per admission or per referral;
- buy, sell or pass the same lead to multiple centers;
- run "neutral" helpline sites or call lines that quietly route people to whoever pays;
- use another center's name, listing or brand to pull callers away from it;
- target ads based on someone's health condition or recovery status.
Honest marketing, reviewed together
We build every ad, landing page and script to follow Meta's and Google's health advertising policies and LegitScript's standards. But you know your license, your services and your state's rules better than anyone, so compliance is a shared job:
- Every claim about your services, staff credentials, licensing, insurance and outcomes comes from you, and it has to be true.
- You review and approve every ad, page and script before it runs.
- If something can't be verified, we leave it out.
- When platform policies or laws change, we tell you and update your campaigns.
Protecting patient privacy
Nothing we do to win your business requires patient information, and we ask centers not to send it. When client work does touch patient data, we sign a business associate agreement where HIPAA requires one and only use what the work needs. We set up ad tracking so health information isn't sent to Meta, Google or any other ad platform.
Every caller deserves a path to help
Not every person who reaches out will be the right fit for your center. Their insurance might not be accepted, or they might need a different level of care. They still deserve help.
We ask every partner to treat every caller with care, and to point anyone they can't serve toward somewhere that can, including the free SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357 (confidential, 24/7, in English and Spanish) and FindTreatment.gov. We build that step into the admissions follow-up we recommend.
We're a marketing agency, not a treatment provider
RecoveryGrow doesn't provide treatment, clinical advice, placement or referrals, and we don't connect individuals with treatment providers. If you or someone you love needs help, call the SAMHSA National Helpline at 1-800-662-4357. If you're in crisis, call or text 988, or call 911.
See something that doesn't sit right?
If you see something in our work, or in a center we work with, that doesn't meet these standards, tell us. Email accounting@impactagency.io or call +1 (707) 309-6340. We read every message, we'll look into it, and we won't hold it against you. You don't have to give your name.