How Hospitals in India Can Advertise Online Within NMC and ASCI Rules

Hospitals and doctors in India can market their services online, but they work under tighter rules than almost any other business. The main professional conduct rules for doctors are still the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, which treat soliciting patients as unethical, because the National Medical Commission put its 2023 replacement regulations on hold. On top of that sit the ASCI advertising code, the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, and Google and Meta health advertising policies. This guide explains what those rules mean in practice for hospital websites, social media and ads.

Important: this article explains the rules in plain language for marketing planning. It isn’t legal advice. Have your hospital’s legal adviser review campaigns before they run.

Which rules apply right now

Doctors’ professional conduct: the IMC Regulations, 2002

In August 2023, the National Medical Commission published the Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023, and then held them in abeyance later the same month (NMC notification; Medical Dialogues report). The Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 therefore continue to apply.

Regulation 6.1 of the 2002 Regulations says that soliciting patients directly or indirectly, whether by a physician, a group of physicians, or by institutions or organisations, is unethical. It permits only limited formal announcements, such as starting a practice, changing address or type of practice, and publicly declaring charges (IMC Regulations 2002).

That wording matters for hospitals, because it refers to institutions as well as individual doctors. Hospitals do advertise in India, but campaigns should stay factual and informational, not self-promotional about doctors.

Advertising claims: the ASCI Code

The Advertising Standards Council of India’s code requires advertising claims to be truthful, honest and capable of substantiation (The ASCI Code). For hospitals, that rules out unprovable claims such as “the most advanced cardiac care in the Northeast” or “painless surgery guaranteed”.

Health influencers and doctors on social media

ASCI’s 2023 update to its influencer guidelines requires anyone giving health advice as an influencer to have relevant qualifications, such as a medical degree, and to disclose them prominently at the start of the content (ASCI press release).

Remedies for listed conditions: the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954

This Act prohibits advertising drugs or remedies for the diseases and conditions listed in its Schedule (Act text, India Code). Hospital marketing should promote clinical services and information, not remedies claiming to cure scheduled conditions.

Platform rules: Google and Meta

• Google restricts personalising ads based on health, including medical conditions, treatments and sensitive health topics (Google: Health in personalised advertising). You can’t build remarketing lists from people who visited a page about a condition and show them ads about it.
• Meta doesn’t allow ads that assert or imply knowledge of a person’s health, such as “Struggling with back pain?” addressed to the viewer (Meta Personal Health policy).

Patient data: the DPDP Rules, 2025

India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Rules were notified in November 2025, with obligations phased in (PIB release). Enquiry and appointment forms need a clear notice explaining why personal data is collected.

What hospitals can generally do online

Within those rules, hospitals have plenty of room for useful marketing:

• Factual service information: departments, treatments and procedures offered, facilities, emergency services, OPD timings, insurance and TPA arrangements, and how to book.
• Doctor profiles that stick to facts: name, qualifications, registration details, specialities, languages and consultation days, approved by the doctor.
• Accurate Google Business Profiles for each hospital location, with correct hours and contact details.
• Patient education content explaining conditions, procedures and preparation in plain language, written or reviewed by qualified doctors.
• Announcements: new departments, new facilities, health camps and awareness days.
• Search ads based on service intent, such as “dialysis centre in Guwahati”, with location targeting rather than health-based personalisation.
• Neutral social media ads that describe services without implying anything about the viewer’s health.

What to avoid

Avoid	Why
Superlatives about doctors or the hospital (“top surgeon”, “finest hospital in Assam”)	Unsubstantiated and self-promotional; conflicts with ASCI and the spirit of Regulation 6.1
Guaranteed outcomes (“guaranteed success”, “painless”, “risk-free”)	Claims that can’t be substantiated and can mislead patients
Patient testimonials about clinical results	Risk of misleading claims and patient privacy problems
Before-and-after images of treatment results	Can mislead and may breach platform policies
Ads addressing the viewer’s health (“Do you have diabetes?”)	Breaches Meta’s personal health policy
Remarketing to people who read condition pages	Breaches Google’s personalised advertising rules on health
Remedy claims for scheduled conditions	Drugs and Magic Remedies Act
Using patient photos, names or stories without explicit consent	Privacy and data protection
Health advice on video from unqualified presenters	ASCI’s health influencer requirements

A pre-publication checklist for hospital marketing

Run every ad, post and page through these questions:

1. Is every claim factual and provable? Could we show evidence if ASCI or a patient asked?
2. Does anything promote a doctor rather than inform? Remove superlatives and comparisons.
3. Does it address the viewer’s health or assume a condition? Rewrite neutrally.
4. Does targeting rely on health interests or condition-page visits? Change it to service-intent and location targeting.
5. Does it show a patient or patient story? Confirm explicit written consent, or remove it.
6. Does a doctor appear giving health information? Show their qualification at the start.
7. Has a qualified clinician approved the medical content?
8. Does the enquiry form have a clear privacy and consent notice?
9. Has the hospital’s legal adviser reviewed campaigns in sensitive areas?

How this works in a real campaign

A hospital wanting more orthopaedic OPD enquiries might run Google search ads for searches like “orthopaedic doctor in Guwahati”, pointing to a department page listing the treatments offered, the consultants’ qualifications and OPD days, and a simple booking form with a consent notice. On Meta, it might promote a free bone-health awareness camp with neutral copy, such as “Bone health camp at our Guwahati hospital this Sunday”, rather than asking viewers whether their knees hurt. Enquiries are tracked by department so the hospital can see what the campaign produced.

That’s the approach we use for hospital clients. Read more about our digital marketing for hospitals, or see how the same principles apply to clinics, labs and pharmacies.

Sources

• Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 (Indian Kanoon)
• NMC: Registered Medical Practitioner (Professional Conduct) Regulations, 2023 notice
• NMC puts its 2023 regulations on hold (Medical Dialogues)
• The ASCI Code
• ASCI health and finance influencer guidelines update (PDF)
• Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 (India Code PDF)
• Google Ads: Health in personalised advertising
• Meta: Advertising policy on personal health
• PIB: Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025