NEW DELHI: The National Medical Commission (NMC) has rolled out detailed guidelines prohibiting self-promotion and celebrity or patient endorsements by Registered Medical Practitioners (RMPs), hospitals and medical institutions in social media, including Instagram and YouTube, as well as in conventional media.
The new rules, which come into immediate effect, also ban AI-generated promotional campaigns and sponsored or influencer-led posts.
The guidelines, which aim to regulate advertisements and promotional communications disseminated through digital and emerging technologies, aim to safeguard patients, the public and public health by preventing false, misleading, exaggerated, deceptive or unsubstantiated medical claims.
It also aims to ensure that information disseminated by RMPs and medical institutions is factual, accurate, transparent, and verifiable.
The ‘Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by hospitals/medical institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners’ states that no RMP or hospital/medical institution shall solicit, purchase, procure, manipulate fake, paid or misleading patient reviews, ratings, testimonials, endorsements or recommendations for the promotion of medical services.
Also, RMPs were directed not to request or share patient testimonials, recommendations, endorsements or reviews for professional promotion on social media.
They were also prohibited from using any celebrity, influencer, patient, employee or third party to promote their professional services through prohibited testimonials, endorsements or recommendations.
It also restricted doctors not to advertise personal achievements or professional success rates or number of patients treated with illustrative assertions such as ‘guaranteed cures,’ ‘best doctors,’ ‘No.1 Specialist, ‘100% success,’ ‘painless treatment,’ ‘miracle treatment,’ ‘exclusive cure,’ or any other unverifiable or exaggerated claims.
They cannot make claims like ‘best,’ ‘No.1,’ ‘leading,’ ‘most trusted,’ ‘top,’ ‘number one,’ or 'unmatched,' unless the claim is objectively verifiable. They also cannot approve or recommend any drug, medicine, remedy, therapeutic article, apparatus, appliance, medical device, diagnostic product, health product or commercial product for use in advertising or publicity.
The rules, which state that doctors should use social media in the "most responsible manner," also stress that they cannot procure, manipulate or cause any third party to procure or manipulate fake followers, likes, reviews, ratings, testimonials, comments, views or other digital engagement, or manipulate search rankings, visibility or algorithms to create a misleading impression of professional standing.
The NMC, which framed the new rules to regulate advertisements and digital communications relating to medical practice and healthcare services in an ethical, truthful, transparent and responsible manner, also warned of action against violators.
This includes disciplinary or corrective measures such as censure, directions for corrective compliance/ethics sensitisation, restriction or suspension of registration, and penalties.
However, the NMC said medical practitioners may participate in health awareness programmes, government health campaigns, academic discussions, and educational content, provided such activities do not promote personal practice, do not solicit patients, and are not monetised through promotional marketing.
They were also permitted to make a formal announcement on starting practice, on change of type of practice, address change, temporary absence from duty, resumption of another practice, succeeding to another practice and public declaration of charge.
The new rules said that hoardings/billboards in public spaces that are let out by concerned municipal or other authorities may be used by hospitals/medical institutions and RMPs only to disseminate factual information about infrastructure, facilities, etc.
“Unverified or unverifiable claims shall be construed as for furtherance of commercial gains, and are prohibited,” said the guidelines.
According to the public notice issued by NMC Secretary, Dr Raghav Langer, the objective of the guideline is to preserve dignity of the medical profession, prevent commercialisation of health care, protect patient interest and prevent misleading medical claims, align hospital advertising practices with professional standards applicable to RMPs, promote transparency while discouraging commercialisation of medical care, regulate digital healthcare promotion and ensure ethical parity across all systems of medicine etc.
The NMC defined advertisement as any form of communication, promotion, publicity, announcement, representation or dissemination of information in any medium, which directly or indirectly solicits, promotes or is intended to promote the professional services, reputation, skills, qualifications, achievements, facilities or commercial healthcare services of an RMP or hospital/medical institution.
“For these guidelines, digital, social-media, sponsored, targeted, influencer-led, search-engine, platform-based, audio-visual, AI-generated or AI-assisted promotional communications shall be treated as advertising where their content or manner of dissemination has a promotional character,” the guidelines issued on Oct 6 said.
The NMC listed detailed prohibited advertising practices for RMPs and hospitals.
This includes ads intended to create unnecessary demand for medical procedures, promote unnecessary diagnostics, promote fear-based marketing, engaging any third party for marketing medical services, permitting the use of their name, image, voice, testimonial or endorsement for promotion of services or any products, participating in promotional campaigns giving an impression of commercialisation of medical practice.
They also cannot publish cases for promotional purposes, advertise surgical results, display "before and after" photographs, publicise celebrity patients, or promote personal success stories unless published strictly for scientific or educational purposes with anonymised patient consent.
They cannot publish any statement that creates unrealistic expectations, misrepresents treatment outcomes, conceals risks, promotes unproven therapies, secret remedies, or treatments whose composition, scientific basis, safety, or efficacy is not adequately established, or that is otherwise prohibited under applicable law.
It also states that no RMP will offer, pay, solicit, receive or participate in any commission, rebate, bonus, gift, gratuity, referral fee, or other consideration in relation to the promotion or advertisement of medical services.
They also cannot offer discounts, limited-period offers, contests, coupons, gifts, cashbacks, referral benefits, free procedures, or similar inducements that could encourage unnecessary medical consultation, diagnostic investigation, or treatment, or otherwise amount to solicitation of patients.
However, it said, if the RMPs or hospitals are found to be flouting the rules and want to appeal they can do so to the Ethics and Medical Registration Board, under the NMC, within 60 days.