The National Medical Commission has released a few guidelines regarding ethical advertising. The guidelines prohibit doctors and healthcare institutions from posting AI-generated promotional content and other social media marketing posts that could be misleading. It bars doctors and healthcare institutions from posting content that commercializes medical practice.
The guidelines have been issued at a time when people post about their work and business on social media to promote it. Doctors and healthcare institutions also contribute through various promotional content on social media, and none of the businesses shy away from using AI to generate content.
On October 6, the guidelines on ethical advertising were issued. These guidelines are made to regulate advertising and digital communication by healthcare professionals and institutions. The guidelines have been implemented immediately.
The NMC has shown its concern about the use of AI in healthcare communication. It has stated that any use of AI for promotional purposes or for commercialized interests is banned after the new guidelines have been issued.
Hospitals and doctors are not allowed to use AI-generated content to create any testimonials, advertisements, patient experiences, or claims about healthcare procedures or outcomes that might mislead the audience.
It is also prohibited for institutions and doctors to generate content impersonating any individual, including a doctor or a representation of a patient experience.
These kinds of AI-generated videos have been posted by many hospitals and private clinics, featuring AI versions of doctors working at the facility or even AI-generated videos of patients talking about their experience with the hospital.
The guidelines also state that AI-generated or AI-assisted content must not be used to create misleading, deceptive or unverifiable representations concerning diagnosis, treatment, clinical outcomes, professional qualifications, patient experiences or healthcare services.
AI cannot be used to create or manipulate a patient’s image, testimonial, voice or clinical outcome, or to create a synthetic endorsement representing an actual patient, doctor or other person.
The guidelines make an important distinction for AI-generated content that is otherwise compliant with the rules. Such content must carry a source mark explicitly stating that its origin is AI. Where AI-generated or materially AI-altered content could reasonably affect the audience’s understanding of the communication, appropriate disclosure is also required.
The guideline covers varied digital platforms, such as websites, apps, podcasts, social media platforms, digital marketing, influencer marketing campaigns, etc.
The guidelines define advertising broadly to include digital and social media communications, sponsored and targeted content, influencer-led campaigns, search-engine and platform-based promotion, audio-visual communication, AI-generated or AI-assisted promotional communication and online healthcare platforms when the content or manner of dissemination has a promotional character.
According to the guidelines, doctors are barred from using social media or any other digital platform to promote medical procedures, profit-based medical services, or solicit patients.
The guidelines also prohibit doctors and hospitals from soliciting, purchasing, procuring or manipulating fake, paid or misleading patient reviews, ratings, testimonials, endorsements or recommendations for the promotion of medical services.
Registered Medical Practitioners are also not allowed to request or share patient testimonials, recommendations, endorsements or reviews for professional promotion on social media.
Under the guidelines, doctors are not allowed to manipulate patient reviews, testimonials, engagement, comments, or search engine ranking on search engines so that no false narratives are created about any businesses.
Physicians are prohibited from using paid rankings or promotional partnerships if those arrangements function as a form of patient solicitation.
Registered Medical Practitioners are also advised to not use claims such as “number one”, “best doctor,” or any similar term in their advertisements.
The NMC guidelines do not discourage online communication for healthcare professionals and institutions. Physicians can participate in online discussions, healthcare campaigns, public health campaigns, or any kind of educational content as long as they don’t amount to promotion or solicitation.
Medical centers are allowed to share objective details about what they offer, where they are, what tools they use, and how much they charge.
The guidelines allow hospitals and medical institutions to share factual and verifiable information about their name, location, contact details, departments, facilities, equipment, services, emergency services, accreditation status and applicable charges.
Registered Medical Practitioners publishing electronic-media posts should disclose their name, qualifications, registration status and State Medical Register or National Medical Register registration number. Clinical establishments publishing electronic-media posts should similarly provide relevant details of the Registered Medical Practitioners associated with the content.
The guidelines provide for corrective and disciplinary action against Registered Medical Practitioners who violate the rules. Depending on the nature and repetition of the violation, action may include warnings, ethics training, censure, monetary penalties, suspension of registration and, in serious or repeated cases, removal from the medical register for a specified period.
The guidelines also provide an appellate mechanism for Registered Medical Practitioners who wish to challenge applicable disciplinary decisions.
(Rh/ARC)