Healthcare

Social media posts for clinics, hospitals and pharmacies in India: what the NMC rules allow

What the NMC’s 2026 advertising guidelines mean for hospital, clinic and doctor posts in India: claims, doctors, testimonials, AI pictures, offers and a checklist.

By the Baila Lento team · Published 3 November 2026 · 9 minute read

A doctor and a hospital coordinator reviewing a draft post on a tablet at the front desk

Patients look up a clinic’s Instagram, a hospital’s Facebook page or a doctor’s Google listing before they visit, so healthcare businesses need social media as much as any other. But in India, what doctors and hospitals may say in public is set by the National Medical Commission (NMC), and a post that would be normal for a café can be a professional-misconduct problem for a hospital.

On 6 October 2026 the NMC issued Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by Hospitals/Medical Institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners (public notice No. R-13014/01/2024-Ethics), in force immediately. This guide explains, in plain words, what those guidelines mean for everyday posts, and ends with a checklist to run before anything goes out.

Who the NMC guidelines apply to

Registered medical practitioners (doctors), read together with the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002.
Hospitals, clinics and other medical institutions, read together with the Clinical Establishments Act or the state law that applies.
Every medium: social media, websites and blogs, WhatsApp and other messaging, sponsored posts, influencers, podcasts, online healthcare platforms, and AI-generated or AI-assisted content. A post counts as advertising when it is promotional.
Agencies do not take the responsibility away. If a marketing agency, influencer or platform publishes something a doctor or hospital authorised, commissioned or knowingly allowed, the doctor or hospital is still responsible for it.

Information shared in the normal course for the public, with no promotional intent, is not treated as advertising. Government health campaigns are exempt.

What hospitals and clinics may post

The guidelines allow hospitals and clinics to share factual, objective and verifiable information about:

the name, location and contact details;
departments and the services offered;
facilities, equipment and diagnostic services, stated as facts (“CT scan available on site”), with no claim of superiority, guaranteed accuracy or guaranteed outcome;
emergency services;
accreditation status;
charges, packages and fees, stated factually and transparently.

Doctors may also take part in health awareness and public-health education, as long as it does not promote their own practice or solicit patients. Greetings on national days and days related to medicine are allowed, without advertising in them.

That still leaves plenty to post:

Facts patients need: opening hours, emergency hours, how to book, departments and services, how to reach the lab for home sample collection.
Awareness posts: what a condition is, warning signs to see a doctor about, how to prepare for a test. Keep them general and accurate, and end with “consult a doctor”, not “visit us for a cure”.
Health days: World Heart Day, World Diabetes Day, World Mental Health Day and similar, with a useful, factual message.
Behind the scenes: a new wing opening, a health camp, staff training, with the consent of everyone shown.

Wording the guidelines rule out

Avoid	What the NMC guidelines say	Say instead
“Best hospital in Bengaluru”, “No. 1”, “leading”, “most trusted”, “top”, “unmatched”	Not allowed unless the claim is objectively verifiable by a transparent, independent method; any award or ranking used must be verifiable, with its details disclosed	“Multispeciality hospital in [your area]”
“Guaranteed cure”, “100% success”, “miracle treatment”, “exclusive cure”	Named as prohibited examples	“Consultation and treatment for knee pain”
“Painless treatment”, “risk-free”	“Painless treatment” is a named example; statements that conceal risks or create unrealistic expectations are not allowed	“Our team will explain the procedure and what to expect”
“5,000 successful surgeries”, success rates, number of patients treated	Advertising success rates or patient numbers is not allowed	Describe the service, not the score
“State-of-the-art”, “advanced technology”, “world-class”	Equipment may be described only as fact, without claims of superiority	“MRI and CT scan available on site”
Scare messages (“Don’t wait until it’s too late”)	Fear-based marketing and creating unnecessary demand for tests or procedures are not allowed	A calm, factual awareness post

Other laws still apply on top of the NMC guidelines: the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 bans claims to cure a list of diseases, prescription medicines are not to be advertised to the public, and consumer law covers misleading claims and “free” offers.

Doctors in posts

This is where hospitals most often slip.

Disclose the doctor’s details. When a hospital or clinic names a doctor in an electronic post, it should give the doctor’s name, qualifications, registration status and State Medical Register or National Medical Register number. A doctor posting on their own account should do the same.
No promotional portrayal of an individual doctor. Hospital posts may not promote a particular doctor, and a doctor’s photograph may not be used where it amounts to self-advertisement. A factual doctor directory on the hospital’s website (names, qualifications, specialities, registration details, availability) is treated as patient information, not advertising.
No endorsements. A doctor may not lend their name, photo, voice or signature to promote any drug, device, diagnostic or other product, paid or unpaid.
Permitted announcements are factual and limited: starting practice, change of address or type of practice, temporary absence, resuming practice, and consultation fees.
Check every name and title against what that person actually does, especially when the text was drafted by someone outside the department.

Patients, testimonials and before-and-after pictures

Testimonials: doctors and hospitals may not seek, buy or publish fake, paid or misleading reviews, ratings or testimonials, and a doctor may not request or share patient testimonials or reviews to promote themselves on social media.
Consent is not enough. Patient consent does not make an otherwise prohibited testimonial, patient story, success claim or before-and-after picture acceptable.
Before-and-after pictures, surgical results and celebrity patients may not be published for promotion; only strictly scientific or educational use with anonymised patient consent is allowed.
Privacy: patient names, faces and anything that could identify them must not be shared publicly. Blur or crop files on a desk, screens, wristbands and faces in a waiting room.
Fake engagement: buying followers, likes, comments, views or reviews, or manipulating search rankings, is not allowed.

AI-made pictures and text

The guidelines deal with AI directly:

AI-generated promotional campaigns run for commercial interest are prohibited.
AI content that is otherwise allowed must carry a mark stating clearly that it was made with AI.
AI may not be used to create or alter a patient’s image, voice, testimonial or outcome, or a synthetic endorsement in the name of a real patient or doctor.
AI may not be used to make misleading claims about diagnosis, treatment, outcomes, qualifications or services.

In practice: use real photographs of your own premises and team (with their consent) for anything that represents your hospital, and if you use an AI-made picture for a general awareness post, label it as AI-made in the post.

Offers, packages and free check-ups

Discounts, limited-period offers, contests, coupons, gifts, cashback, referral benefits and free procedures may not be used in a way likely to encourage unnecessary consultations, tests or treatment.
Charges, fees and packages may be stated, if factually and transparently: what is included, what is not, and the price.
Do not attach an outcome to a package (“lose 10 kg in a month”).
Doctors may not pay or receive commissions, referral fees or lead-generation fees for patients, and agency or platform fees may not be linked to individual patient referrals.

Replies and comments

The same care applies when you answer people:

Never confirm in public that someone is a patient, or discuss their reports, diagnosis or treatment, even if they bring it up first.
For anything personal, reply with “please call our front desk on the number on our profile” or move it to a private message.
Never confirm a medicine is in stock or suggest a dose in a comment.
Answer in the person’s own language when you can.

Our guide to replying to Google reviews has example replies for healthcare reviews.

What happens if a doctor breaks them

The State Medical Council acts against the doctor concerned, in grades: a warning and ethics training for a first violation, censure and a monetary penalty for a second, suspension of registration for three to six months for a third, six to twelve months for serious violations such as misleading cure claims or inducements to patients, and removal from the register for one to three years for repeated violations.

A checklist before you publish

Is every statement factual and verifiable: services, facilities, hours, fees?
Does it use “best”, “No. 1”, “leading”, “top”, “most trusted” or similar without independent proof?
Does it promise a cure, a result, success rates or a painless or risk-free procedure?
Does it name a doctor? If so, are their qualifications and registration number shown, and is it information rather than promotion of that doctor?
Does it use a patient testimonial, a review, a patient story or a before-and-after picture?
Could anyone identify a patient from it?
Is any picture AI-made? If so, is it labelled as AI-made, and does it avoid showing a “patient” or “doctor” as if real?
Does it offer a discount, free check-up, contest or referral benefit?
Has someone at the hospital who knows these guidelines approved it?

If the answer to 1 is no, or to any of 2, 3, 5, 6 or 8 is yes, rewrite it. If 9 is no, do not post it yet.

Where Baila Lento fits

Baila Lento writes posts from the facts on record for your business, and for clinical businesses it flags wording such as superlatives, promised results and offers before you approve a draft. Clinical workspaces can use their own photographs instead of AI pictures. Every post still waits for a person at your business to approve it.

This guide summarises the NMC notice of 6 October 2026 for everyday posts. For anything it does not cover, read the notice itself on the NMC website.

Questions people ask

Can a hospital say it is the best in the city?

Not unless the claim is objectively verifiable through a transparent, independent method. The NMC’s 2026 advertising guidelines name “best”, “No. 1”, “leading”, “most trusted” and “top” as claims that need that proof. Describe what you offer instead: “multispeciality hospital in [your area], open 24 hours”.

Can a clinic post patient testimonials on Instagram?

No, not to promote the clinic or its doctors. The NMC guidelines bar doctors from requesting or sharing patient testimonials or reviews for promotion on social media, and say that patient consent does not make a prohibited testimonial or before-and-after picture acceptable.

Do hospital posts have to show the doctor’s registration number?

When a hospital or clinic names a doctor in an electronic post, the NMC guidelines say it should disclose the doctor’s name, qualifications, registration status and State or National Medical Register number.

Can hospitals use AI-generated pictures in social media posts?

AI-generated promotional campaigns for commercial interest are prohibited, and any AI-made content that is otherwise allowed must say clearly that it was made with AI. AI may never be used to create a patient’s image, testimonial or outcome. Real photographs of your own premises and team are the safer choice.

Can a hospital advertise a free health check-up or a discount?

Only if it is not likely to encourage unnecessary consultations, tests or treatment. The guidelines restrict discounts, limited-period offers, coupons, contests and free procedures, while allowing packages and fees to be stated factually and transparently.