NMC Tightens Rules on Doctors’ Digital Advertising and AI Use

The National Medical Commission (NMC) has introduced new guidelines regulating how doctors and medical institutions advertise and communicate with the public, with a particular focus on social media and digital platforms.

The guidelines aim to prevent the commercialisation of medical practice and protect patients from misleading claims. Doctors can continue to conduct health-awareness programmes, share public-health information and participate in educational discussions, but promotional activities are subject to several restrictions.

Doctors have been prohibited from creating unnecessary demand for consultations, medical procedures or diagnostic tests by using fear or misleading information. They cannot directly or indirectly solicit patients or promote their own practice. They are also barred from endorsing drugs, therapies or medical devices for promotional purposes.

The guidelines prohibit the use of patient success stories, before-and-after photographs and celebrity endorsements to attract patients. Patient information can be used for scientific or educational purposes only after appropriate anonymisation.

Doctors and hospitals are also prohibited from manipulating digital popularity by purchasing or generating fake followers, likes, reviews, ratings, testimonials, comments or views. Attempts to manipulate search rankings or online visibility to create a misleading impression of professional standing are similarly restricted.

The NMC has also prohibited unsupported claims such as “best doctor”, “No. 1 specialist”, “100% success”, “pain-free treatment” and “most trusted”. Such claims must be backed by independently verifiable evidence.

Promotional schemes such as discounts, coupons, cashbacks, contests and limited-period offers are also restricted if they could encourage unnecessary healthcare consumption.

The guidelines specifically address the use of artificial intelligence. Doctors and medical institutions cannot use AI-generated or AI-assisted content to make misleading claims about diagnosis, treatment, qualifications, outcomes or patient experiences. Synthetic testimonials, images or voices that appear genuine must also be clearly disclosed.

Violations will attract graded penalties, ranging from warnings and ethics training to suspension of registration. Repeated or serious violations could ultimately lead to removal from the medical register for one to three years.