Patients do not choose a hospital from a banner ad. They choose the one they already trust, that shows up when they search, and that makes booking effortless. We build all three — and we do it inside the rules medical marketing actually has to follow.
Most agencies run a clinic the way they run a restaurant. It does not work, and in some cases it is not allowed.
Four things govern this, and they overlap. Medical practitioners are bound by the MCI Code of Ethics 2002, which restricts self-advertisement and soliciting patients — the NMC's replacement regulations were notified in 2023 and then held in abeyance, so the 2002 code is still what applies. The Drugs and Magic Remedies Act prohibits advertising a drug or remedy as a cure for the conditions in its Schedule. Misleading claims about a service fall instead under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and the CCPA's misleading-advertisement guidelines. And before any of that, Meta and Google run their own healthcare ad review, which is stricter than the law in places.
Between them, they rule out most of what a generalist agency reaches for first — guaranteed outcomes, dramatic before-and-after treatment comparisons, cure-claim testimonials.
What it does not rule out is the thing that actually works: education. A cardiologist explaining what a blood pressure number means, in language a worried 55-year-old understands, builds more practice value than any offer ad. It is also fully compliant.
Nobody picks a surgeon because of a discount. Patients and their families research quietly, read reviews, look at the doctor's face and credentials, ask someone they know, and only then call. Your marketing has to work across that whole silent stretch — which means consistent presence, not campaign bursts.
Even a large hospital draws the overwhelming majority of walk-ins from a small radius. That makes your Google Business Profile, your reviews and your map presence more valuable than any single piece of content. It is also the part most hospitals neglect entirely — outdated timings, no department listings, unanswered negative reviews.
Anything with medical substance has to be approved by your doctors before it publishes. We build that into the workflow rather than treating it as a bottleneck: scripts go to your medical team before a shoot, not after an edit.
The claim on the left carries real risk. The version on the right communicates the service without making the risky claim — it is a different claim, deliberately, and it usually performs better anyway.
| Risky claim | Safer alternative | Why, and whose rulebook |
|---|---|---|
| “100% cure guaranteed” | “Treatment options for [condition], explained by Dr. [Name]” | LawASCI Which law depends on what is being advertised. A drug or remedy claimed as a cure for a condition in the Schedule engages the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act. A guarantee about a service does not — that is a misleading advertisement question under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and the CCPA guidelines, and unsubstantiated under the ASCI code. |
| “Best cardiologist in Navi Mumbai” | “Dr. [Name], DM Cardiology — 12 years, 2,000+ angioplasties” | EthicsASCI The MCI Code of Ethics 2002 is explicit about self-advertisement and self-aggrandisement. Stating credentials is the lower-risk route and convinces more — but it is not a blanket exemption: how and where you present them still matters. |
| Before-and-after treatment photos | A procedure explainer: what happens, how long, what recovery looks like | PlatformASCI Not categorically illegal — the risk is practical. Before-and-after imagery implies a typical outcome you would have to substantiate, and it runs into platform restrictions on health and cosmetic advertising. Whether a specific image clears depends on the treatment, the wording around it and the platform. |
| Patient testimonial saying “they cured me” | A patient describing the experience — staff, wait time, clarity of explanation | LawASCI A testimonial does not launder a claim. If the patient asserts an outcome, you are the one who has to substantiate it, and the CCPA endorsement guidelines apply. Feedback about the experience carries far less of that burden. |
| “Limited period offer — 50% off surgery” | “Transparent package pricing for [procedure] — what is included” | EthicsLaw The rule to work to: avoid promotional framing that could pressure a clinical decision, and make sure every price claim is truthful and substantiated — what is included, what is not. Soliciting patients is restricted under the ethics code, and fee-splitting or referral commissions are prohibited outright. |
| “Painless, risk-free procedure” | “What anaesthesia is used, and the risks your surgeon will discuss with you” | ASCILawPlatform The clearest case on this table. An absolute safety claim cannot be substantiated, which puts it on the wrong side of the ASCI code and the misleading-advertisement rules at once — and platforms are unforgiving about it in the health vertical. |
| Naming a rival hospital in a comparison | Your own capability: equipment, ICU beds, response times, accreditation | EthicsASCI The ethics code restricts a physician from disparaging another practitioner, and the ASCI code has its own rules on referring to other people and institutions and on unsubstantiated comparison. Verifiable facts about your own facility sit outside both. |
| Diagnosing in public comments or DMs | “This needs an examination — here is how to book a consultation” | LawEthics Remote consultation is allowed. The Telemedicine Practice Guidelines 2020 permit it over text, audio or video, provided the requirements around identification, consent and records are met. The medium is not the problem — meeting those requirements in a public comment thread is, and anything clinical said in the open raises confidentiality questions besides. |
Four rulebooks apply at once, and clearing one does not clear the others. Indian law and regulation (the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and the CCPA's misleading-advertisement guidelines) is one layer. Professional conduct is a second: the MCI Code of Ethics 2002 — the NMC notified replacement regulations in August 2023 and held them in abeyance three weeks later, so the 2002 code remains the operative professional-conduct reference. ASCI is a third, and it is self-regulation rather than statute, though it runs alongside the legal controls. Meta and Google are a fourth, entirely separate. An ad can be lawful in India and still be rejected by Google; it can clear Meta and still be a problem under Indian law.
A common misreading worth heading off: this is not simply “restricted for the doctor, open for the hospital.” The 2002 code treats soliciting patients as unethical whether it is done by a physician, a group of physicians, or an institution. Institutional advertising is permitted, but with limits on what it may contain — and the NMC has separately reported working on guidelines for unethical advertising by private hospitals.
Most of the rows above are risk judgments, not bright lines. How a specific ad lands depends on the exact wording, the evidence behind it, the medium, who the advertiser is and which platform reviews it. Treat this as a working reference for a marketing team, not legal advice — and put anything with clinical substance past your medical director before it publishes.
Do not take our summary for it — these are the actual documents behind every row above.
Six things, in the order they usually matter.
Complete and correct listings, department and doctor entries, timings, photos, and a real process for requesting and answering reviews. This is the highest-return work for almost every clinic, and it is usually the most neglected.
Short vertical video shot at your facility with your own consultants — symptoms, prevention, what a procedure actually involves. Educational framing keeps it compliant and makes it far more shareable than promotional content.
Fast, mobile-first hospital and clinic sites where booking, calling and finding a department take one tap. Department pages, doctor profiles, and an enquiry path that does not lose people halfway.
Ranking for the searches that precede an appointment — condition and treatment queries, department terms, and "near me" searches in your catchment area. Structured, sourced content rather than keyword filler.
Meta and Google campaigns written to pass healthcare ad review the first time, targeted to your actual catchment, and measured on enquiries and appointments rather than impressions.
A working system for collecting genuine patient reviews and responding to negative ones properly. For a hospital this moves more revenue than most campaigns, because it is what people check last before calling.
For most clinics this is the highest-return hour of marketing work available, and it costs nothing. Open your profile and go down the list.
Before spending anything on ads, spend fifteen minutes doing these five checks on your own hospital. Most clinics find at least two.
Take these to your consultants. Each one is education-first, needs no outcome claim, and answers something patients genuinely search.
Veer Hospital, a multi-specialty hospital in Navi Mumbai. Awareness-led reels, shot on site with their consultants.
Both of these are education-first: a blood pressure and sugar awareness piece, and an explainer on what critical care actually covers. No cure claims, no outcome promises — which is exactly why they run without issue and still get watched. See more of this work in the full portfolio.
No retainer starts with a strategy deck. It starts with fixing what is already broken.
Google Business Profile, listings consistency, website speed and booking path, and where enquiries are currently leaking. Most clinics gain something here before a single new asset is made.
Shoot day at your facility, scripts pre-approved by your medical team, enough footage banked for a consistent cadence rather than a one-off burst.
Paid campaigns on top of a system that now converts, with reporting on enquiries and appointments — not reach.
These get offered to hospitals constantly. Each one carries a risk that outlives whatever it earns.
Yes, with limits. A hospital may advertise itself, but the MCI Code of Ethics 2002 treats soliciting patients as unethical whether it is done by a physician, a group of physicians or an institution — so this is not a case of the hospital being free and the doctor being restricted. Institutional advertising is allowed, with limits on what it may contain. (The National Medical Commission notified replacement regulations in August 2023 and held them in abeyance three weeks later, so the 2002 code remains the operative reference.)
Separately, the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act governs advertising a drug or remedy as a cure for the conditions in its Schedule; misleading claims about a service fall under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and the CCPA guidelines; the ASCI code applies as self-regulation; and Meta and Google apply their own healthcare ad policies on top. Clearing one of those does not clear the others.
In practice that means educational and awareness-led content is safe, while guaranteed-outcome claims, before-and-after treatment comparisons and testimonial-style cure claims are not. We build campaigns inside those limits and ask your medical team to approve clinical content before it goes live.
For most clinics and hospitals the order is: an accurate, well-reviewed Google Business Profile, then a website that makes booking or calling effortless, then awareness content that builds familiarity with your doctors.
Paid ads work best once those three are in place, because they amplify a system that already converts rather than sending traffic into a dead end.
Both — multi-specialty hospitals, single-specialty clinics, diagnostic centres and individual practitioners building a personal practice.
The mix changes: a hospital usually needs department-level content and reputation management, while an individual practitioner needs consistent personal-brand content and a strong local search presence.
Google Business Profile improvements and paid campaigns can move enquiry volume within the first month. Content and organic search compound more slowly, typically showing meaningful movement from month three onwards.
Anyone promising first-page rankings in weeks is either bidding on your own brand name or misrepresenting the timeline.
It depends on scope. A single clinic needing local search, a website and a steady content cadence sits at a very different level from a multi-specialty hospital running department-wise campaigns across several locations.
We scope against the outcome you need — appointment volume, a specific department's footfall, or a new location launch — and quote against that rather than selling a fixed package.
Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra. We work with healthcare clients there, across Mumbai, and remotely across India. Shoots for reels and doctor-led content are handled on site at your hospital or clinic.
Tell us which one, and we will tell you what we would fix first — before you commit to anything.
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