Advertising compliance review
Everything published in your name — by you, by your hospital, by your agency, by the directories that list you — checked against the guidelines and the 2002 Code. The output is a list of what to take down and what to refuse. Nobody else in this market sells this.
Before 6 October 2026 this was hygiene. It is now the service with the clearest value, because the penalties are graded and the clock starts at the first violation. Nobody loses a registration over one post. They lose it over the third. The point of a continuous review is that you never reach the third.
Six surfaces, and you only control two of them
| Surface | What we find there | Who controls it |
|---|---|---|
| Your own site and social accounts | Testimonials, superlatives, success rates, before-and-after images, missing disclosure | You |
| Your hospital’s site and campaigns | Your name and photograph used promotionally, achievement framing, outcome claims | Your employer |
| Your agency’s output | Lead-tied fee arrangements, paid placements, bought links, paid rankings | Your contractor |
| Directories and listing platforms | Paid rankings, stale qualifications, reviews you did not solicit but which are displayed as endorsement | The platform |
| Content published years ago | Claims that were ordinary marketing then and are prohibited now | Nobody, until someone looks |
| Collaborations you are being offered | Influencer approaches, sponsored features, award invitations with a fee attached | You, for now |
The third and fourth rows are the ones that matter most, because the guidelines report that publishing through an agency or platform does not absolve you of responsibility, and that using a third party gives no shield where the content was authorised, commissioned, sponsored, adopted or knowingly permitted by you.
Eleven instruments, one checklist
NMC Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication. Testimonials, superlatives, achievements, AI content, paid rankings, search manipulation, intermediaries, and the graded penalty schedule.
IMC Regulations, Regs 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 7.11 and 7.12. Soliciting, the doctor as subject of publicity, photographs on letterheads and signboards, and the public-health writing permission.
Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act. Section 3 and the Schedule of 54 conditions. Six months’ imprisonment on a first conviction, one year on a subsequent one.
UCPMP. Industry funding, gifts, travel and hospitality, and the speaker exception.
ASCI guidelines on labelling synthetically generated content. AI imagery, video and audio must be labelled where it materially influences a decision. Effective about 29 December 2026 — three months from publication. Fabricated endorsements and synthetic exaggeration of results are prohibited whatever the label says.
ASCI influencer guidelines, Addendum II. Health and nutrition claims require relevant qualifications — a medical degree, or certification as a nurse, nutritionist, dietician, physiotherapist or psychologist — disclosed up front. Applies to technical claims only. Date per ASCI’s own guideline index; some legal commentary dates Addendum II 7 April 2025. We have not resolved the discrepancy.
ASCI guidelines on awards and rankings. An advertised healthcare, hospital or treatment award must disclose its published evaluation parameters, the weightings given to each, and — where patient or public perception was an input — the independent study behind it.
ASCI guidelines on disclaimers. A disclaimer cannot correct a misleading claim. Useful when a client wants to rescue a problem sentence with a footnote.
Consumer Protection Act and CCPA Guidelines on Misleading Advertisements. Enforceable without the medical council being involved at all.
Digital Personal Data Protection Act. Patient data, consent, and what your enquiry form is quietly collecting.
PCPNDT Act, s.22. No advertisement relating to pre-natal sex determination, in any form. Relevant to any practice touching obstetrics or imaging.
The full list with sources is on the India page. The 6 October guidelines are set out rule by rule on their own page.
Three lists, and a standing answer
| Output | What it contains | When |
|---|---|---|
| The take-down list | Everything currently live that the rules now prohibit, in order of exposure, with the clause each one breaches | First month |
| The rewrite list | Content that is salvageable, with the replacement wording | First month |
| The refusal list | The collaborations, awards, listings and placements you are being offered, and which to decline | Continuous |
| The contract review | Your agency and platform agreements, checked for lead-tied fees and paid-ranking arrangements | First month |
| The standing answer | A written position on each recurring question, so your team does not have to ask twice | Ongoing |
| Annual re-check | The whole set again. This changed once in the last three weeks and will change again | Annual |
- Advising you on what published material does not comply
- Rewriting non-compliant copy into permitted form
- Reviewing agency and platform contracts for prohibited fee structures
- Vetting collaboration and influencer approaches and telling you which to refuse
- Keeping a dated record of what was checked, against which clause
This is a marketing compliance review against published regulation, not a legal opinion. Enforcement sits with the State Medical Council under the NMC Act 2019, with appeal to the Board within 60 days.
- Act as your lawyer, or tell you that you are legally safe
- Represent you before a State Medical Council
- Certify or clear anything — we check, we do not approve
- Guarantee an outcome of any council or consumer proceeding
- Continue working with you if you insist on publishing something we have advised against
What the clock looks like if nobody is watching
| Violation | Consequence |
|---|---|
| First | Warning and mandatory ethics training |
| Second | Censure and monetary penalty |
| Third | Registration suspended, 3 to 6 months |
| Serious — misleading cure claims, patient inducement, digital mass solicitation | Suspension, 6 to 12 months |
| Repeated | Removal from the medical register, 1 to 3 years |
As reported by Medical Dialogues and The South First, which agree on all five steps. Penalties require a show-cause notice and a reasoned order; appeal lies to the Board within 60 days under s.30(3) of the NMC Act 2019.
The campaign is in your agency’s name. The registration is in yours.
The review is the first thing we do and you keep the list.
If the review finds nothing wrong we will tell you that and charge you nothing for it. We would rather be the firm that found nothing than the firm that invented something.
- Guidelines on Ethical Advertising and Public Communication, NMC Ethics and Medical Registration Board, 6 October 2026 — three independent reports listed on the guidelines page
- IMC Regulations 2002, Regs 6.1.1, 6.1.2, 7.11, 7.12 — text
- Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act 1954, ss.3 and 7 and Schedule — our page
- Uniform Code of Pharmaceutical Marketing Practices 2024 — National Medical Journal of India
- ASCI Code and Guidelines index, giving sign-off dates for all current guidelines — ascionline.in
- ASCI Guidelines for Responsible Labelling of Synthetically Generated Content in Advertising, 29 September 2026 — ASCI press release
- ASCI Guidelines for Influencer Advertising, Addendum II — Khaitan & Co via Legal 500
- Consumer Protection Act 2019; CCPA Guidelines 2022; DPDP Act 2023; PCPNDT Act 1994 s.22 — all sourced on the India page
- National Medical Commission Act 2019, s.30(3) and s.30(4)
Not legal advice. We are a marketing practice. This review tells you where your marketing creates legal questions; a lawyer answers them. Published 22 October 2026 · last reviewed 22 October 2026.