Published Oct 07, 2026 | 4:00 PM ⚊ Updated Oct 07, 2026 | 4:00 PM
The NMC said the framework is intended to ensure that healthcare communication remains factual, transparent and evidence-based.
Synopsis: The National Medical Commission has tightened rules governing how doctors and hospitals advertise, including on Instagram and other digital platforms. The new guidelines prohibit paid or fake reviews, patient testimonials, ‘guaranteed’ treatment claims and misleading AI-generated promotions, while allowing factual health education and public-health communication.
The National Medical Commission (NMC) has introduced a comprehensive framework to regulate how doctors, hospitals and medical institutions advertise and communicate with the public, explicitly prohibiting misleading medical claims, paid or fake patient reviews, promotional testimonials and several forms of digital solicitation.
The Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by Hospitals/Medical Institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners, issued by the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board on Tuesday, 6 October, came into immediate effect.
The guidelines have been framed in the context of a Supreme Court writ petition and existing professional conduct regulations, with the stated objective of preventing the commercialisation of healthcare while protecting patients from misleading claims.
The NMC said the framework is intended to ensure that healthcare communication remains factual, transparent and evidence-based.
“These Guidelines are framed to regulate advertisements and digital communications relating to medical practice and healthcare services in an ethical, truthful, transparent and responsible manner. They aim to protect patients and the public from misleading or unsubstantiated claims, safeguard patient privacy and autonomy, and uphold the dignity and integrity of the medical profession,” reads the new guideline.
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The guidelines cover advertisements and promotional communication across traditional and digital platforms, including television, radio, websites, social media, messaging platforms, podcasts, influencer marketing, sponsored posts and AI-generated promotions.
The NMC has defined advertising broadly to include communication that directly or indirectly promotes the professional services, reputation, qualifications, achievements, facilities or commercial healthcare services of a doctor or medical institution.
At the same time, factual communication is permitted. Hospitals can communicate information about their facilities, equipment, technology and diagnostic services, provided they do not make claims of superiority, guaranteed outcomes or other unverifiable representations.
The guidelines specifically prohibit promotional practices that could encourage patients to seek unnecessary investigations, treatments or procedures.
They also bar doctors from making exaggerated or unverified claims about their services, including claims that suggest guaranteed outcomes or superiority over other practitioners.
One of the more significant provisions concerns online ratings and patient reviews.
The NMC has prohibited doctors and hospitals from soliciting, purchasing, procuring, manipulating or publishing fake, paid or misleading patient reviews, ratings, testimonials, endorsements or recommendations to promote medical services.
The guidelines go further by stating: “A Registered Medical Practitioner shall not request or share patient testimonials, recommendations, endorsements or reviews for professional promotion on social media. No Registered Medical Practitioner or hospital/medical institution shall solicit, purchase, procure, manipulate or cause to be published fake, paid or misleading patient reviews, ratings, testimonials, endorsements or recommendations for the promotion of medical services.”
This could affect doctors and hospitals that routinely showcase patient feedback on Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, websites, and other platforms to attract patients.
The guidelines also make it clear that the rules apply even when the communication is routed through an advertising agency, influencer or another intermediary. Simply outsourcing the promotional activity does not automatically absolve a doctor or institution of responsibility.
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The NMC has also placed strong restrictions on using patient-related material for promotion.
Patient photographs, videos, medical records, clinical images, treatment details, testimonials and other identifiable information cannot be used for advertising unless the use is permitted under applicable law and the necessary consent and safeguards have been followed.
Importantly, obtaining consent does not automatically make a prohibited promotional practice permissible.
“Patient consent shall not, by itself, make permissible any testimonial, endorsement, promotional patient story, before-and-after depiction, success claim or other advertising practice that is otherwise prohibited under these Guidelines or applicable law. Where consent is legally required, it shall be specific, informed, voluntary, documented and capable of verification,” said the guideline.
The guidelines also require hospitals and doctors to take reasonable precautions to prevent patients from being identified unnecessarily, including cropping, blurring or blacking out identifying information where disclosure is legally permitted.
The NMC has specifically included artificial intelligence within the definition of advertising.
AI-generated and AI-assisted promotional communication will be treated as advertising when its content or manner of dissemination has a promotional character. This brings emerging forms of digital promotion under the same ethical framework as conventional advertisements.
The guidelines also require doctors to disclose their name, qualifications, registration status and State Medical Register or National Medical Register number when publishing electronic media posts. Clinical establishments must similarly disclose the details of the doctors associated with their posts.
The NMC has not prohibited doctors from using social media or other public platforms altogether.
Doctors can participate in health-awareness programmes, public health campaigns, academic discussions and educational activities, provided these do not promote their personal practice, solicit patients or become a vehicle for promotional marketing.
The guidelines state: “Medical Practitioners may participate in health awareness programmes, public health campaigns, academic discussions, educational content, provided that such activities do not promote personal practice, do not solicit patients and are not monetised through promotional marketing. Hoardings/Billboards in public space may be used by hospitals/medical institutions and RMPs only for dissemination of factual information like infrastructure, facilities, etc.”
This distinction allows doctors to continue public-health communication while drawing a line between education and patient acquisition.
The guidelines recognise the growing role of influencers, digital marketing agencies and online platforms in healthcare promotion.
The NMC states that using third-party agencies, influencers, or digital platforms will not, by itself, shield a doctor or medical institution from responsibility if the content was authorised, commissioned, sponsored, adopted, or knowingly permitted by them.
This effectively places responsibility on healthcare providers to oversee their digital marketing arrangements.
The guidelines apply to registered medical practitioners as well as hospitals and medical institutions. They should be read alongside the NMC Act, 2019, existing professional conduct regulations, and applicable laws governing clinical establishments.
The NMC’s public notice makes clear that compliance is not optional.
“Accordingly, the National Medical Commission (NMC) hereby informs all Registered Medical Practitioners and other concerned stakeholders to ensure compliance with the provisions of the annexed Guidelines. The Guidelines shall come into force with immediate effect,” reads the guideline.
(Edited by Sumavarsha)
