Doctor branding in Kerala, within the NMC's 2026 rules

The NMC's guidelines (public notice dated 6 October 2026) change who can commission doctor branding and what it can contain:

• Third parties. A registered medical practitioner (RMP) "shall not... engage any third party for marketing medical services" (clause 8.1(ii)). The same clause bars self-promotion and soliciting patients directly or indirectly.
• Hospital directories are different. A hospital website directory listing its doctors' names, recognised qualifications, specialties, registration details and availability, serving a patient-information function, "shall be regarded materially distinct from a paid or promotional advertisement" (clause 9.1).
• No promotional portrayal. Hospital communication must not include "promotional portrayal of an individual RMP" (clause 8.3(ii)).
• Registration on every post. Doctors and hospitals publishing on electronic media should disclose the doctor's name, qualifications, registration status and State or National Medical Register (SMR/NMR) number (Explanations III and IV).
• Testimonials. A doctor must not request or share patient testimonials or reviews for professional promotion on social media (Explanation V), and patient consent does not by itself make a prohibited testimonial acceptable (clause 6.2).

Our guide to hospital advertising rules in India explains the guidelines in full. Interpreting them for a specific doctor is a matter for a legal adviser, but in practice the safe ground is accurate information and genuine education, and that is what we build.

• Doctor directory and profile pages on the hospital or clinic website: degrees stated exactly, registration status and registration number (the SMR/NMR number for medical doctors), specialties, special interests, languages spoken and OPD timings at each location, with Physician structured data
• Name search audit: what patients and colleagues find when they search a doctor's name, including outdated clinic addresses, wrong phone numbers and old affiliations
• Listing corrections on Google, Practo, Justdial and professional directories, so every profile shows the same accurate details
• Google presence: advice on whether a doctor needs an individual practitioner listing or should be linked to the hospital's Google Business Profile, so the two do not compete
• Patient education: articles on the conditions and procedures the doctor handles, in English and Malayalam, written to inform rather than to promote
• Explainer video through our medical video production service, answering the questions patients ask in OPD
• Public-health talks and expert comment through healthcare PR, in the doctor's own name and designation, without promoting the employer, as clause 8.2(iii) allows
• Plain, current portraits for directory and profile use, not promotional imagery

1. 1
   Start with the institution. We usually work for the hospital or clinic, covering its consultant team, and agree the scope with management and, where needed, its legal adviser.
2. 2
   Fix the facts. Wrong phone numbers, old addresses and duplicate listings are corrected before anything new is written.
3. 3
   One factual description. We agree a short line for each doctor, such as "Interventional cardiologist with a special interest in structural heart disease", and use it everywhere instead of a slogan.
4. 4
   Education plan. We list the questions patients ask most and turn them into articles and videos on a steady schedule.
5. 5
   Doctor review. We draft; the doctor checks every medical statement, and nothing is published without approval.
6. 6
   Compliance check. Before publishing, each piece is checked for registration details, superiority claims, testimonials and anything that reads as soliciting patients.

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• Multispecialty hospitals that want accurate, consistent directory pages for their whole consultant team
• Dental clinics and skin and hair clinics, where patients often look up the doctor before the clinic
• IVF centres, where patients research the fertility specialist closely
• Hospitals welcoming consultants who have returned to Kerala after working abroad, whose public details are often out of date

A doctor who wants to commission work in their own name should read clause 8.1(ii) with a legal adviser first. Where we take on such work, it is limited to correcting inaccurate information and patient education. To see how projects and retainers are scoped, read how our pricing works.

• Inform, don't solicit. Information shared "without same being promotional and without any intent for commercial benefit" is outside the guidelines' definition of advertisement (Explanation I). We keep doctor content on that side of the line.
• No superiority or outcome claims. The guidelines name "Guaranteed cures", "Best doctors", "No.1 Specialist", "100% success" and "painless treatment" as examples to avoid (clause 8.1(iii)), along with success rates and patient numbers.
• No testimonials, case publicity or before-and-after photos in a doctor's content (clauses 8.1(ii) and 8.1(v)), except strictly scientific or educational publication with anonymised patient consent.
• Registration details shown on electronic media posts, as Explanations III and IV expect.
• Photographs. A doctor's photo must not be used where it amounts to self-advertisement or promotional publicity (clause 9.2), so profile portraits stay plain and informational.
• No AI-made doctors or patients. AI must not be used to create or alter a patient's image, voice or testimonial, or a synthetic endorsement (clause 7.2(b)). AI-generated promotional campaigns for commercial interest are prohibited, and permitted AI content must be marked as AI (clause 7.2).
• No paid promotion of the individual doctor. Department pages and hospital communication can list consultants factually; ads or boosted posts that promote one doctor personally are not allowed (clauses 8.1(ii) and 8.3(ii)).
• Accurate credentials only. Degrees, fellowships and memberships are stated exactly, with no implied titles.

The dental and AYUSH codes of ethics have their own rules on soliciting patients, and data-protection law, including the DPDP Act 2023 as its Rules are phased in, applies to any patient information. Check specific plans with your legal adviser.

Doctor profile work is judged on accuracy and usefulness, not on popularity:

• Share of listings that show correct qualifications, registration details, timings and consulting locations
• What appears on page one for the doctor's name, and whether it is current and accurate
• Visits to directory and profile pages, and how many lead to calls, WhatsApp messages or appointment requests through the hospital
• Views and saves on educational articles and videos, which show whether they answer real questions
• Invitations to give public-health talks or expert comment

We do not promise follower counts, rankings for an individual doctor, or a number of new patients.

A general branding agency may suggest tactics that suit a lifestyle influencer and put a doctor's registration at risk. We work only in healthcare, so the NMC guidelines are part of every brief. Being based in Kochi's hospital belt also means we can photograph and film doctors at your hospital without disrupting OPD, and we know how patients in Kerala look for doctors: often in Malayalam, and often through family WhatsApp groups.

Is personal branding allowed for doctors in India?

Doctors may share factual information about their practice and educate the public, but the NMC's October 2026 guidelines bar self-promotion, soliciting patients and engaging a third party to market medical services. A hospital's directory of its doctors is treated as patient information, not advertising. Check any personal plan with a legal adviser before starting.

Can a doctor hire an agency for personal branding?

Clause 8.1(ii) of the October 2026 guidelines says a registered medical practitioner shall not engage any third party for marketing medical services. Because of this, we usually work through the hospital or clinic on its doctor directory and patient education, and limit any work commissioned by a doctor personally to correcting inaccurate information and education, after the doctor has taken legal advice.

What must a doctor's social media posts show?

Under Explanation III of the guidelines, a doctor publishing on electronic media should disclose their name, qualifications, registration status and SMR or NMR registration number. Hospitals posting about their doctors should show the same details (Explanation IV).

Can doctors post on Instagram and YouTube?

Yes, for genuine patient education: explaining conditions, tests and treatments without promising results, showing identifiable patients or inviting people to book. Posts should carry the doctor's registration details, and patient testimonials should not be requested or shared for promotion.

What is the difference between doctor branding and hospital marketing?

Hospital marketing promotes the institution's departments, facilities and services with factual, verifiable information. Doctor profiles present each doctor's qualifications and availability for patient information. The October 2026 guidelines bar hospitals from portraying an individual doctor promotionally, so the two are planned together.

Will you write content in a doctor's name?

We draft educational content from the doctor's input, and the doctor reviews and approves every word before it is published. Medical accuracy is the clinician's responsibility, and our process is built around that final check.

See how we work with hospitals and clinics in Kannur, Kochi, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Malappuram, Palakkad, Thiruvananthapuram and Thrissur, or browse all 49 Kerala towns we serve.