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On 6 October 2026, India’s National Medical Commission (NMC) released new rules on how doctors and hospitals can talk about themselves in public, online, and offline. The rules took effect the same day. In short: sharing true, useful facts and health education is fine. Selling, boasting, promising results, and using patient stories to attract patients is not.
If you run a clinic, a hospital, or a personal practice, your website, Google listing, Instagram, and WhatsApp messages are all covered. That is why so many doctors are suddenly asking, “Do I need to delete my posts?” and “Can I still do AI SEO under the NMC guidelines for marketing?”
This guide answers those questions one at a time: Your Questions, Answered Simply
The official name is: Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication by Hospitals/Medical Institutions and Registered Medical Practitioners. They were issued by the NMC’s Ethics and Medical Registration Board through a public notice dated 6 October 2026.
Think of them as a rulebook for one simple idea: patients should be able to find honest information about a doctor, but doctors should not “sell” medical care like a product.
Who has to follow them?
| You are… | Are you covered? |
|---|---|
| A doctor registered with a State Medical Council or the National Medical Register | Yes, directly |
| A hospital, nursing home, or multi-specialty clinic | Yes, along with your state’s clinic laws |
| A single-doctor clinic | Yes. Play it safe and treat clinic posts as the doctor’s own posts |
| A dentist | Your own council (Dental Council of India) rules apply first, but a hospital offering dentistry is still covered |
| An AYUSH practitioner | Your own commission’s rules apply to you personally; your clinic may still be covered |
| A marketing agency working for a doctor | The doctor is responsible for what the agency publishes in their name |
The NMC has not asked doctors to disappear from the internet. Doctors can still use social media for factual health education, and hospitals can still share objective details about their services.
A simple way to remember it: if a post helps a patient understand something, it’s usually fine. If it mainly tries to get them to book you, be careful.
Generally okay to share:
The one new habit every doctor needs
Every post you publish online should show your name, qualifications, registration status, and State or National Medical Register number. The easiest fix is a standard footer or caption line you reuse on every post.
The rules list several things that are now off-limits. In plain words, these are the big ones:
Swap this for that: real-life rewrites
| Instead of this | Try this |
|---|---|
| “Ahmedabad’s No. 1 knee surgeon. Painless surgery!” | “Knee replacement: who needs it, what to expect, and how long recovery takes. Dr. A. Sharma, MS (Ortho), Reg. No. XXXXX” |
| “Get 30% off on full-body check-ups this Diwali!” | “Full-body check-up: what’s included and what it costs.” (fee stated plainly, no deadline) |
| A reel of a happy patient saying “Doctor saved my life!” | A 60-second reel busting a common myth about diabetes |
| Before-and-after hair transplant photos | “Hair loss: common causes, treatment options and realistic timelines” |
| “Most trusted maternity hospital. 5,000+ happy deliveries” | “24×7 labour room, NICU on site, NABH accredited” (only if true and current) |
| An AI-generated “patient” telling her recovery story | A clearly labelled AI diagram explaining how the condition works |
Yes, a website is one of the safest places to be, as long as it informs rather than sells. Keep pages about conditions, treatments, risks, recovery, your qualifications, timings, and fees. Remove testimonial sliders, “best” claims, success-rate counters, and “Book now, limited slots!” banners.
Quick fix: add your registration number to the doctor profile page and footer.
No. The guidelines don’t ban SEO. What they target is tricking search engines or patients: fake reviews, bought links, keyword-stuffed pages that exist only to grab bookings, or making a high ranking look like proof that you are the best.
Honest SEO is still fine and is now more valuable than ever:
This is also exactly what AI search tools like Google AI Overviews and ChatGPT look for when they choose which sources to quote.
This is the grey area everyone is asking about. Here is the safest reading for now:
| Situation | Safe? |
|---|---|
| A patient leaves a genuine review on their own | Yes, that’s their choice |
| You politely reply to a review without any medical or personal details | Yes |
| You actively ask patients for reviews | Unclear. Avoid it until the NMC clarifies |
| You offer a discount or freebie in exchange for a review | No |
| You buy reviews or get staff to write them | No |
| You post patient reviews on Instagram or your website to attract patients | No |
Keep it, and keep it accurate. Correct clinic name, category, address, timings, phone, real photos of the premises (no identifiable patients), and fees stated plainly are all fine. Make sure these details match your website exactly.
Yes, if the post teaches rather than advertises. Myth-busters, “when to see a doctor” explainers, seasonal health tips, and Q&A videos are good. Patient thank-you reels, “DM to book” captions, contests, offers, and influencer tie-ups are not.
Your own photo isn’t banned, but it shouldn’t be used as a self-promotion poster.
WhatsApp is named in the rules. Appointment reminders, test-report updates, and genuine health information for your existing patients are low-risk. Bulk promotional broadcasts with offers, or forwarding patient testimonials, are not.
The rules don’t name Google or Meta, but paid, sponsored, and targeted posts are treated as advertising when they promote.
Hospitals: a paid listing with only plain, checkable facts (departments, emergency services, location) is not expressly banned. Check your state’s Clinical Establishments law first, and don’t run ads so often or so aggressively that facts turn into a sales push.
Individual doctors: paid promotion of your own services is very hard to square with the rules. Get legal advice before running any.
Yes, carefully. AI can help you draft an article or make a diagram, but you are responsible for every word being medically correct. You cannot use AI to invent patients, testimonials, voices, results or endorsements. AI-made promotional content must be labelled as AI-made, and AI-driven promotional campaigns for commercial gain are not allowed.
This is the least clear part of the rules. One clause stops doctors from hiring a third party to market medical services, while another only bans paying agencies per patient. Technical work such as website building, maintenance, speed fixes, correcting listings, and helping prepare educational content looks quite different from patient-chasing campaigns. Whatever you choose, you remain responsible for what the agency publishes in your name, so pick a partner who knows these rules.
The new rules reward the same things good websites have always needed: clear facts, useful answers and a clean, trustworthy experience. That’s where we work. Atlas SoftWeb has spent more than a decade building websites and search visibility for businesses across healthcare, education and eCommerce.
For doctors, clinics and hospitals, we help with:
Immediately, on 6 October 2026, the date of the NMC’s public notice. There is no grace period, so it’s worth reviewing your online content now.
Doctors can share factual details and health education, and make formal announcements such as a new clinic or a change of address. Promotional advertising that boasts, promises results, offers discounts or uses patient testimonials is not allowed.
Yes. The rules don’t ban SEO. They ban misleading tactics such as fake reviews, bought engagement, and manipulating rankings to look more reputable. Honest, helpful, accurate content is still allowed.
Yes, for health education and factual updates. Every post should include the doctor’s name, qualifications, registration status and registration number. Patient stories, offers, and “book now” style promotion should be avoided.
The rules aren’t clear on a neutral request. Genuine reviews patients leave on their own are fine. Never pay for reviews, offer anything in return, or repost reviews to promote your practice.
Yes. Electronic posts by a doctor should show their name, qualifications, registration status and State or National Medical Register number.
The rules don’t name Google Ads. Hospitals may share plain, checkable facts about their services, but should check their state’s Clinical Establishments law before running paid campaigns. Individual doctors should get legal advice first.
AI can help create educational content that a doctor has checked for accuracy. Fake patients, fake testimonials, fake results, and AI promotional campaigns for commercial gain are not allowed, and AI-made promotional content must be labelled.
Dentists are registered with the Dental Council of India, so its rules apply to them first. A hospital that offers dental services may still be covered as an institution.
It ranges from a warning and ethics training for a first violation up to suspension for 12 months, or removal from the medical register for 1 to 3 years for repeated violations.
The NMC guidelines 2026 don’t take doctors offline. They ask your online presence to look like your clinic should: honest, accurate, and focused on the patient. Clinics that switch from “selling” to “explaining” now will be the ones patients and search engines trust most.
Not sure where your website stands? Talk to the Atlas SoftWeb‘s web developer about a website and listings review. We’ll show you what to remove, what to fix, and how to stay visible with content patients actually find useful. Book a call with us Today!
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