Doctors in India can still post health-education videos after NMC's Guidelines on Ethical Advertising (6 October 2026, notice R-13014/01/2024-Ethics), as long as the video educates, carries the doctor's registration details, and doesn't promote the practice or solicit patients. Here is what that means for every reel, short and YouTube talk you make.
Why this matters now
Patients already meet health advice on social media every week. In a McAfee study reported by Indian Pharma Post on 23 June 2026, 64% of Indian respondents said they see health or wellness advice on social media at least once a week, and 34% see it daily. The same study found 71% had been targeted by health-related scams.
A registered doctor explaining things clearly, in the patient's own language, is a useful counterweight, provided the video follows the rules. Videos count as advertising under clause 3.2 whenever their content or manner is promotional, and podcasts, social media and any audio-visual communication are named media (clause 3.5).
What NMC allows
- Health education: doctors may make educational content and take part in awareness campaigns, provided it does not promote their personal practice, does not solicit patients and is not monetised through promotional marketing (clause 5.1).
- Public-health talks on electronic media in your own name and designation, without promoting your employer organisation (clause 8.2 iii).
- On a clinic or hospital account, factual information such as departments, facilities, timings and fees, with no superiority claims or guarantees (Explanation II, 8.3, 9.1).
What every video must show
Explanation III asks every doctor who publishes on electronic media to disclose their name, qualifications, registration status and SMR/NMR registration number. Put it on screen or in the caption of every video. Example: "Dr A. B. Sahu (example), MBBS, MD (Paediatrics), Odisha Council Reg. No. 00000."
If the video goes out on a clinic's account, Explanation IV asks for the same details of the doctor appearing in it.
What a video must never contain
- "Best doctor", "No. 1", "painless", "100% success", "guaranteed cure", success rates or numbers of patients treated (8.1 iii, ix).
- Fear-based hooks or messages that push unnecessary tests or procedures (8.1 i, vi).
- Before/after images, case results, celebrity patients or patient success stories for promotion. Consent alone doesn't make them allowed (8.1 v, 6.2); the only exception is strictly scientific or educational use with anonymised patient consent.
- Patient faces, names, voices or any identifying detail (6.1, 6.4, 7.4).
- Testimonials, reviews or endorsements, including from staff or influencers (Explanation V, 8.1 xi).
- A call to book with you at the end of an education video (5.1).
- Endorsement of a drug, device or health product (8.1 iv), or offers, discounts and free check-ups (8.1 x).
- Bought views, likes, followers or comments (8.1 xii).
AI in doctor videos (clause 7.2)
- AI-generated promotional campaigns for commercial interest are prohibited. Any AI-generated promotional content that otherwise follows the guidelines must carry a source mark saying it is AI.
- AI must not create or manipulate a patient's image, voice, testimonial or outcome, or create a synthetic representation of an actual patient, doctor or other person (7.2 b). In practice: no AI avatar or cloned voice of the doctor, and no AI "patients".
- Where AI generated or materially altered what viewers see or hear, and that could matter to them, disclose it (7.2 c).
- Never feed identifiable patient information into an AI tool without following privacy and data-protection law (7.2 d).
Working with an editor or agency
Publishing through an agency, editor or platform does not move the responsibility: the doctor stays responsible for content they authorised or commissioned (clause 4.4). Clause 8.1 ii also bars engaging a third party to market medical services, and 8.1 xi bars using a third party to do indirectly what the doctor can't do directly. So outside help should produce education, not promotion, and an agency's fee must never be linked to individual patients it brings in (8.1 viii).
Approve every script before filming and every final cut and caption before posting.
The penalties
Clause 10.1 lists graded action a State Medical Council may take: a warning and mandatory ethics training for a first violation, censure and a monetary penalty for a second, and suspension of registration for 3 to 6 months for a third. Serious violations such as misleading cure claims can mean suspension for 6 to 12 months, and repeated violations removal from the register for 1 to 3 years. Action follows a show-cause notice and a chance to explain (10.2).
Checklist before you post
- 1. Is it education, not promotion of your practice or employer?
- 2. Name, qualifications, registration status and Reg. No. on screen or in the caption?
- 3. No "best", "painless", "guaranteed", success rates or patient numbers?
- 4. No fear-based hook and no push towards tests or procedures?
- 5. No patient faces, voices, stories or before/after?
- 6. No testimonials, review screenshots or product endorsements?
- 7. No "book now", offers or discounts?
- 8. No AI avatar or cloned voice of you or a patient, and AI use disclosed where it matters?
- 9. No bought views or followers?
- 10. Did you approve the final cut and caption yourself?
Frequently asked questions
Can doctors still make reels after the NMC 2026 guidelines?
Yes. Health-education reels are allowed when they educate, carry your name, qualifications, registration status and SMR/NMR number, and don't promote your practice or solicit patients (clause 5.1, Explanation III).
Can I use an AI avatar of myself to save time?
No. Clause 7.2 (b) rules out AI creating a synthetic representation of an actual doctor or patient. Film yourself, even on a phone, and disclose any AI-generated or materially AI-altered visuals where that matters to viewers (7.2 c).
Can I put "Book an appointment" at the end?
Not on an education video. Clause 5.1 allows educational content only when it doesn't promote your practice or solicit patients. Keep factual clinic details, timings and fees on your clinic's website or profile.
Can I show my clinic in the video?
Factual information about facilities is allowed on a clinic's own channels (Explanation II, 8.3, 9.1). In an education talk in your own name, keep the focus on the health topic and don't promote your employer or practice (5.1, 8.2 iii).
Who is responsible if my editor or agency makes a mistake?
You are. Clause 4.4 keeps the doctor responsible for content they authorised or commissioned, even when an agency or platform publishes it. Approve every script, final cut and caption.
Written by Abhishek Senapati
Founder of ClinicLoop, a healthcare-only marketing and AI front-desk team from Rourkela, Odisha. He builds clinic websites, booking systems and patient-education content for doctors, and checks every post against the NMC notice it cites. More about him →
This guide summarises the official NMC notice for general information. It is not legal advice. For your specific situation, refer to the notice itself or your State Medical Council.