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The National Medical Commission (NMC) has tightened the rules governing advertising and public communication by registered medical practitioners (RMPs), hospitals and medical institutions, bringing a wide range of digital marketing practices — from influencer campaigns and patient testimonials to AI-generated content, online reviews, search visibility and paid rankings — within its ethical advertising framework.
The Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by Hospitals/Medical Institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners, issued by the NMC’s Ethics & Medical Registration Board on October 6, 2026, have come into force with immediate effect. The framework says its objectives include preventing commercialisation of healthcare, protecting patients from misleading medical claims, ensuring healthcare communication remains informational and evidence-based, and regulating promotional communication involving digital and emerging technologies.
At the centre of the guidelines is a broader definition of advertising. The NMC considers communication, promotion, publicity or dissemination of information in any medium to be advertising where it directly or indirectly promotes professional services, reputation, qualifications, achievements, facilities or commercial healthcare services of an RMP or medical institution. The definition specifically extends to digital, social media, sponsored, targeted, influencer-led, search-engine, platform-based, audio-visual, AI-generated and AI-assisted promotional communication.
The framework places restrictions on several claims that have become common in healthcare promotion. RMPs cannot use claims such as “Guaranteed cures”, “Best doctors”, “No.1 Specialist”, “100% success”, “painless treatment”, “Miracle treatment” or “Exclusive cure”, among other unverifiable or exaggerated claims. Comparative claims such as “best”, “No.1”, “leading”, “most trusted” and “top” are permitted only where they can be objectively verified through a transparent and independently ascertainable methodology and are otherwise legally permissible.
The guidelines also restrict the use of personal achievements, professional success rates and patient numbers as promotional claims. Where rankings or awards are used, the framework requires them to be independently verifiable, with the relevant methodology, conditions, date and awarding organisation disclosed where applicable.
Influencers, testimonials and reviews face tighter scrutiny
Influencer-led healthcare communication is also brought directly into the framework. RMPs cannot use celebrities, influencers, patients, employees or other third parties for prohibited testimonials, endorsements or recommendations. The guidelines further state that advertising agencies, digital marketing agencies, influencers and online platforms cannot be engaged in a manner where payment or consideration is linked to procuring or referring individual patients.
The framework also takes aim at patient reviews and digital reputation-building. RMPs and medical institutions cannot solicit, purchase, procure or manipulate fake reviews, ratings, testimonials, endorsements or recommendations for promoting medical services. RMPs are also prohibited from requesting or sharing patient testimonials, recommendations, endorsements or reviews for professional promotion on social media.
The restrictions extend to artificial digital engagement. RMPs and hospitals cannot procure or manipulate followers, likes, comments, views, reviews, ratings or other forms of digital engagement, nor can they manipulate search rankings, visibility or algorithms to create a misleading impression of professional standing.
For healthcare platforms, the guidelines specifically require compliance with NMC ethical advertising norms and prohibit paid ranking of doctors. Platforms hosting RMPs are also required to maintain transparency in their listing practices.
The provisions put a clear distinction between factual information and promotional communication. Hospital websites can maintain doctor directories containing information such as a doctor’s name, recognised qualifications, specialty, registration details and availability when the purpose is patient information rather than paid or promotional visibility.
AI-generated promotions, agency-led communication also covered
AI-generated healthcare advertising is another area specifically addressed by the NMC. The guidelines state that “AI Generated promotional campaign for furtherance of commercial interest is prohibited.” AI-generated promotional content that otherwise complies with the guidelines and applicable regulations must carry a source mark explicitly indicating that its origin is AI.
The framework prohibits the use of AI to create misleading or deceptive representations relating to diagnosis, treatment, clinical outcomes, professional qualifications or patient experiences. It also prohibits synthetic patient testimonials or endorsements and the manipulation of a patient’s image or voice to create such promotional material. Patient information used as input for an AI system must comply with applicable requirements relating to privacy, confidentiality, data protection and professional ethics.
The guidelines also establish that the responsibility for communication cannot simply be shifted to an agency or third party. Where a communication has been authorised, commissioned, sponsored, adopted or knowingly permitted by an RMP or medical institution, its publication through a digital platform, advertising agency, influencer or intermediary does not by itself absolve the concerned medical professional or institution.
The framework further restricts financial and performance-led patient acquisition practices. RMPs cannot offer, pay, solicit or receive commissions, rebates, bonuses, gifts, gratuities, referral fees, lead-generation fees or other consideration connected with the referral, recommendation or procurement of patients, specimens or materials for medical services.
Discounts, limited-period offers, contests, coupons, gifts, cashbacks, free procedures and similar inducements are also prohibited where they are likely to encourage unnecessary consultations, diagnostic investigations or treatment, or otherwise amount to patient solicitation. The guidelines, however, permit lawful disclosure of charges, packages or fees provided the information is factual, transparent and not misleading.
Fear marketing, before-after claims and patient privacy under the framework
The NMC has also restricted several established promotional formats used in healthcare communication. RMPs cannot advertise in a manner intended to create unnecessary demand for medical procedures, promote unnecessary diagnostics or employ fear-based marketing.
Before-and-after photographs, surgical results, case stories and personal success stories cannot be used for promotional purposes. The guidelines allow such material where it is strictly used for scientific or educational purposes, subject to anonymisation and patient consent.
RMPs are also prohibited from making statements that create unrealistic expectations, misrepresent treatment outcomes, conceal risks, promote unproven therapies or promote remedies and treatments whose scientific basis, safety or efficacy has not been adequately established.
The restrictions extend to product endorsements. An RMP cannot directly or indirectly provide approval, recommendation, endorsement, certificate, report or statement for advertising or publicity of drugs, medicines, remedies, therapeutic articles, medical devices, diagnostic products or other commercial products using the doctor’s name, signature, photograph, voice or professional status.
Patient privacy forms another significant component of the framework. Patient information, photographs, videos, medical records, clinical images and treatment-related information cannot be used for advertising except where legally permitted and where the required consent and safeguards have been followed. The guidelines specify that consent does not make an otherwise prohibited marketing practice permissible. Where consent is legally required, it must be specific, informed, voluntary, documented and verifiable, with measures such as cropping or blurring used where necessary to protect identity.
The NMC, however, distinguishes commercial promotion from public-health communication. Medical practitioners can participate in health-awareness programmes, public-health campaigns, academic discussions and educational activities provided these do not promote personal practice, solicit patients or become monetised promotional marketing. Doctors can also deliver public-health lectures or talks through television, radio and electronic media using their own name and designation, without promoting their employer organisation.
Hospitals and medical institutions can continue to communicate factual and verifiable information about their name, location, departments, facilities, equipment, services, emergency services, accreditation status and charges. However, such communication cannot become comparative, misleading, inducive or promotional in nature.
The guidelines also introduce a graded enforcement mechanism. For RMPs, a first violation can result in a warning and mandatory ethics training, followed by censure and monetary penalty for a second violation. A third violation can lead to suspension of registration for three to six months, while serious violations, including misleading cure claims, patient inducement and digital mass solicitation, can attract suspension of six to 12 months. Repeated violations can result in removal from the medical register for one to three years.
The framework provides for a show-cause notice and an opportunity for the concerned RMP to respond before penalties are imposed. An RMP can appeal a State Medical Council decision before the Ethics & Medical Registration Board of the NMC within 60 days, with a further appeal mechanism also provided under the NMC Act.
The guidelines come against a backdrop of increasing use of digital communication in healthcare and have been framed following the Supreme Court proceedings in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 1160/2023. The NMC says the framework is intended to prevent commercialisation of healthcare, protect patients from misleading claims, safeguard privacy and autonomy, and ensure that medical communication remains transparent, ethical and evidence-based.
For the healthcare advertising ecosystem, the framework now places not only conventional advertising but also influencer-led promotion, digital reputation management, search visibility, paid rankings, patient acquisition, AI-generated content and platform practices within the scope of medical advertising ethics. The guidelines are effective immediately.
