What is NMC professional conduct regulations?
NMC professional conduct regulations are the ethics rules for registered medical practitioners in India, covering advertising, self-promotion, endorsements and patient dealings. The National Medical Commission notified new regulations in August 2023 and then held them in abeyance within weeks, so the older Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002 are generally treated as applicable. Check the current rule.
Why it matters for hospitals
Most hospital marketing features doctors, and the doctor, not just the hospital, carries the professional risk if content looks like solicitation of patients. A complaint to a state medical council can stall a campaign and damage a senior consultant relationship. Because the regulations have been in flux since 2023, teams need a written position on what they follow today. Rules change, so check the current rule before you rely on this.
How to put it into practice
- Keep a one-page internal summary of the rules your legal team says currently apply, with the date it was last checked.
- Route every doctor-facing asset (profile pages, reels, ads, press quotes) through a named reviewer before it goes live.
- Avoid superlatives, success-rate claims, “best doctor” language and before-and-after imagery unless legal has cleared the format.
- Keep doctor content educational: what a condition is, when to see a specialist, what to expect, not why this doctor is better.
- Track NMC notifications and draft regulations so you can update templates when a new version is notified.
The common mistake
Treating the 2023 regulations as either fully in force or fully irrelevant. Their status has changed, and the safer path is a cautious house standard that a lawyer has signed off.
An illustrative example
A multi-specialty hospital rewrote 60 doctor bios that called consultants “leading” and “top” into factual summaries of training, procedures performed and languages spoken. Enquiries from the pages held steady and the medical director stopped receiving complaints from senior doctors. (Composite example, not a specific hospital.)
Related terms
Further reading
Part of the healthcare growth and digital glossary. Last reviewed 7 October 2026.