Advertising Restrictions for Doctors: Promotional Activities of Physicians and Private Healthcare Institutions

Att. Emre Senar BOZKURT, LL.M.

Websites, social media platforms and search engines have fundamentally transformed the way people access healthcare services. Today, patients no longer rely solely on recommendations from family and friends. They research healthcare institutions and physicians online, compare areas of specialisation, obtain information about medical procedures and often decide whether to book an appointment based on the content they encounter through digital channels.

Healthcare services, however, cannot be advertised in the same way as ordinary commercial services. Physicians and private healthcare institutions may maintain an online presence, share certain information about their professional activities and provide the public with health-related information. They may not, however, engage in explicit or disguised advertising that promotes themselves, the services they provide or the results they have achieved.

For this reason, it is no longer sufficient to answer the question “May doctors advertise?” with a simple “no”. The real issue is determining where lawful promotion and information end and advertising begins. In addition to the content itself, the platform on which it is published, whether it has been promoted in return for payment, the audience to which it is shown, whether patient data has been used and whether the content directs patients towards a particular person or institution must also be taken into consideration.

Legal Basis of Advertising Restrictions in Healthcare

The advertising activities of physicians and healthcare institutions are not governed by a single law or regulation. The current legal framework is based on the combined application of numerous provisions enacted at different times.

The primary legal basis of the advertising restrictions is Law No. 1219 on the Practice of Medicine and Allied Medical Professions. The Law permits physicians to disclose the location at which they receive patients, their consultation hours and their legally recognised medical specialities, while restricting announcements and advertising activities falling outside these categories.

The Regulation on Medical Deontology also provides that the professions of medicine and dentistry may not be given a commercial character, that physicians may not advertise themselves and that notices of gratitude having an advertising character may not be used. The Rules of Professional Ethics for Physicians similarly prohibit misleading, alarmist and commercially oriented communications, as well as communications giving rise to unfair competition.

Following a legislative amendment in 2025, the advertising restrictions applicable to private healthcare institutions were placed on a clearer statutory footing. A provision added to Supplementary Article 11 of Basic Law No. 3359 on Health Services expressly prohibited private healthcare institutions from engaging in advertising activities exceeding the limits of promotion and information. It also introduced a turnover-based administrative fine system.

The details of the current framework are set out in the Regulation on Promotional and Informational Activities in Healthcare Services dated 12 November 2025. This Regulation repealed the previous regulation dated 29 July 2023 and reconsidered a wide range of matters, including social media publications, patient images, sponsored advertisements and international health tourism. Under the Regulation, advertising is defined as highlighting a product, service, person, institution or organisation connected with healthcare services or the medical professions in a manner that exceeds the limits of promotion and information.

The Boundary Between Advertising and Information

Physicians and healthcare institutions are not required to remain entirely invisible or refrain from publishing anything online. Lawful, scientific and proportionate information may be provided. However, the purpose of such content must not be to direct patients, create demand or present one physician as superior to others.

Healthcare institutions may disclose their addresses, contact details, working days and hours, the medical specialities covered by their licences and the professional and academic titles of the healthcare professionals working within their organisations. They may also share preventive and health-promoting information relating to the fields of healthcare in which they operate.

Physicians may disclose their legally recognised principal specialities and subspecialties, academic titles, the places and times at which they receive patients, scientific publications, training, academic awards and certificates registered by the Ministry, subject to certain conditions. The essential requirement is that the information provided must be accurate, up to date and consistent with official records.

The language used is particularly important in preventing information from becoming advertising. Expressions such as “the best”, “the most successful”, “number one”, “a definitive solution”, “guaranteed treatment”, “pain-free procedure” or “results in a single session” should not be used. Success rates must not be presented without their proper context, scientific research must not be interpreted in a manner that misleads patients and no impression should be created that the same result will be achieved for every patient.

It may not be claimed that practices which have not been scientifically and clinically proven, which have not become established medical methods or which are not recognised by the Ministry as medical procedures can treat diseases or assist in treatment. Creating an impression of superiority by reference to a device, medicine, product, brand or technology used may also be regarded as a breach of the advertising restrictions.

In communications directed at domestic audiences, consultation or procedure fees may not be disclosed and discounts, packages, campaigns or promotional offers may not be announced. Healthcare services may not be made the subject of prize draws, gifts or similar incentives. Contacting a patient by telephone, text message, email or social media message without the patient’s knowledge and consent may also give rise to legal liability.

Promotion on Social Media and Search Engines

The fundamental advertising rules are the same for publications made on Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Facebook, LinkedIn, X, Google and websites. Describing an account as a “personal account” does not eliminate liability where the account is, in practice, used for professional promotion.

Where a physician’s name, title, place of practice, appointment information and treatment-related content are systematically presented on the same account, that account may be regarded as a professional communication channel. There is therefore no absolute distinction, in terms of permitted content, between a publication made through a physician’s personal account and one made through the institutional account of a healthcare facility.

Balanced and scientific health content falling within the physician’s field of specialisation and intended to raise public awareness may be shared organically. For example, an orthopaedic specialist may prepare a general information video entitled “Which symptoms associated with back pain require urgent medical assessment?” If, however, the same video is presented with a message such as “We definitively treat disc herniation without surgery using this method. Book your appointment now”, the content may cross the line from information into advertising.

A high number of followers or views does not in itself mean that advertising has taken place. Nevertheless, repeated emphasis on success, the presentation of only exceptional outcomes, the creation of fear or urgency among patients, references to limited availability and prominent calls to book an appointment will be taken into account when determining whether content constitutes advertising.

The position is clearer in relation to paid and sponsored advertising directed at domestic audiences. As a general rule, physicians and healthcare institutions may not promote social media posts in return for payment, place advertisements through Google Ads or Meta, arrange paid influencer publications or pay to appear at the top of search results or directory listings.

It is permissible to create a free medical practice listing on Google Maps or use a free business profile on social media platforms. These profiles may not, however, be promoted through paid placement, and the titles and categories used must not exceed the scope of the physician’s speciality or the institution’s licence.

A narrowly defined opportunity for sponsored promotion is available to newly opened healthcare facilities during the first month following their opening date. This exception is limited to objective content that complies with the Regulation. Since visual patient content may not be sponsored domestically, the opening exception cannot be used through patient images, before-and-after photographs or similar visual material.

Engaging an advertising agency or arranging for content to be published through an influencer, patient or third-party account does not eliminate the responsibility of the healthcare institution. The Regulation imposes responsibility both on the person who prepares non-compliant content and on the person who publishes or shares it. A physician’s reposting of an unlawful publication from a hospital account through the physician’s own account may also be subject to a separate assessment.

Patient Reviews and Messages of Gratitude

Patient satisfaction may not be used as an advertising instrument. Publishing a screenshot of a patient’s message of thanks, reposting a favourable Google review in a social media story, publishing a video in which a patient states that they were highly satisfied or creating a success story under a heading such as “our happy patient” may be legally problematic.

The fact that the review is genuine or that the patient has consented to its publication does not change the outcome. The prohibition does not concern only the unauthorised use of personal data. Using genuine patient satisfaction to generate demand and promote a healthcare service also falls within the scope of the advertising restrictions.

A patient independently publishing a review on a third-party platform is a different matter. The legislation does not directly prohibit patients from describing their own personal experiences. The physician or healthcare institution may not, however, take that review and incorporate it into its own promotional activities.

Patient confidentiality must also be respected when responding to reviews published on independent platforms. Even where a patient has publicly disclosed their own medical condition, the physician should not confirm the treatment relationship or provide details concerning the diagnosis or procedure. It is safer to provide a general and neutral response that does not confirm that the person received healthcare services.

Patient Photographs and Before-and-After Images

One of the most notable aspects of the new Regulation is that it does not impose an absolute prohibition on before-and-after images, but subjects their use to very strict conditions. It would therefore be incorrect to conclude that “before-and-after photographs are now freely permitted”.

Where a patient image is to be used, the Visual Content Recording and Processing Consent Form annexed to the Regulation must first be obtained in writing or electronically. The patient must be able to view the content to be published before publication and must be entitled to withdraw consent at any time, without being required to provide any reason or satisfy any condition. A refusal to provide consent must not adversely affect the nature, price or quality of the treatment. No discount, payment, gift or other benefit may be offered in return for consent.

Before-and-after photographs must be taken in the same environment and under the same technical conditions. Differences in angle, lighting, camera, distance or position must not be used to make the result appear better than it actually is. The date of the procedure and the dates on which the before-and-after images were taken must be clearly stated.

Filters, retouching, artificial intelligence enhancement, skin smoothing, slimming, lighting manipulation or any other technological alteration that accentuates the result may not be applied to images. Even technical alterations subsequently made for the purpose of concealing the patient’s identity must be approached with caution where they may affect the authenticity of the image.

Visual content used domestically may not be published as sponsored or paid content. User interactions such as comments, likes and resharing must also be disabled. The following risk warning must be displayed in a clearly visible and easily readable manner: “Outcomes may vary from person to person in every surgical or invasive procedure. You are advised to obtain detailed information from your physician before the procedure.” Even where all technical requirements have been satisfied, the manner in which the visual material is presented remains relevant. If a photograph excessively highlights the physician’s success, guarantees an outcome, misleads patients through the selection of exceptional cases or directs individuals towards a particular healthcare institution, the general advertising restrictions will continue to apply.

The publication of patient images taken during surgery, an invasive procedure or another medical intervention is prohibited. The patient’s explicit consent, the fact that the patient’s face is not visible or the description of the publication as being “for educational purposes” does not remove this prohibition. The Turkish Medical Association Guidelines adopt a stricter ethical approach and state that images of a patient in an operating theatre should not be published even where the intervention has not yet begun.

Patient Consent and the Protection of Personal Data

Patient consent is one of the most frequently misunderstood issues in healthcare communications. The assumption that “I have obtained a consent form from the patient, so I may now publish anything” is legally incorrect.

The publication of a patient photograph, video or health-related data requires two separate legal assessments. First, the processing and publication of the photograph, video or health data must comply with data protection law. Secondly, the content of the publication must comply with the rules governing healthcare promotion and advertising.

Explicit consent may, under certain conditions, provide a lawful basis for processing personal data. It does not, however, remove the advertising restrictions. Even where a patient has consented, images taken during surgery may not be published, before-and-after images may not be sponsored, messages of gratitude may not be used for advertising purposes and definitive treatment outcomes may not be promised.

Photographs and health data originally obtained for treatment purposes cannot automatically be used later for promotional purposes. Promotion is a separate and secondary processing purpose, distinct from the provision of treatment. The information obligation, explicit consent, data security, retention period and the platforms on which the content will be published must therefore be considered separately.

Uploading a patient image to Instagram, YouTube or another global platform may result in the disclosure of data to third parties and the transfer of that data abroad. A patient’s consent to the use of visual material does not automatically satisfy the requirements governing international data transfers under the Turkish Personal Data Protection Law, commonly referred to as the KVKK. The data-processing terms of the platform, appropriate safeguard mechanisms and the obligations of the data controller must be examined separately.

Where an agency, social media manager, photographer or cloud service is used, the parties who may access the data, the period for which the data will be retained and the manner in which it will be deleted following withdrawal of consent should be documented in writing. Where a patient withdraws permission for publication, removing the main post alone may not be sufficient. Reasonable remedial steps may also be required in relation to story archives, agency files, internet caches and content reshared by other users.

Use of Speciality Titles and Certificates

Physicians may use only the principal speciality and subspecialty titles recognised by law. A course, certificate, professional association membership or overseas training programme does not create a new legally recognised medical speciality.

Expressions such as “aesthetic specialist”, “functional medicine specialist”, “hair transplant specialist”, “medical aesthetics specialist” or similar descriptions may be regarded as misleading where they are not consistent with the physician’s legally recognised speciality and Ministry records.

Certificates registered by the Ministry may be disclosed under their correct official titles, provided that they fall within the physician’s speciality as stated on the physician’s diploma. Presenting a certificate as though it were a medical speciality, displaying it more prominently than the physician’s principal speciality or combining it with the word “specialist” may give patients the misleading impression that a separate, legally recognised speciality exists.

Academic titles do not replace medical speciality titles. The field of science and medical speciality to which the titles of professor or associate professor relate must be clearly stated. A healthcare institution may not create the impression that it provides services in a speciality not covered by its licence. The individual speciality of a physician does not automatically expand the scope of the institution’s operating licence.

Advertising for International Health Tourism

International health tourism is not a general exception that may be used to circumvent the restrictions applicable to advertising directed at Türkiye. Preparing content in English, using a foreign currency or adding the word “international” to an account name does not in itself create a right to advertise health tourism services.

A healthcare facility wishing to engage in health tourism must hold a health tourism authorisation certificate issued by the Ministry, while an intermediary organisation must hold the relevant authorisation certificate issued by the competent authority.

Communications relating to health tourism must be conducted through a separate website or social media account directed at audiences abroad. The account must clearly state that services are being provided within the scope of health tourism and the authorisation certificate must be displayed.

Persons residing in Türkiye must not be selected as the target audience, Türkiye must be excluded from the campaign’s geographic targeting and automatic audience-expansion functions offered by platforms must be disabled. Sponsored content must be prepared in a language other than Turkish and in the official language of the target country. The use of a foreign language does not make an advertisement lawful where it is, in practice, shown to persons in Türkiye.

Subject to compliance with the applicable conditions, an authorised healthcare facility may use sponsored content, patient stories and certain visual material through an account directed at foreign audiences. The requirements relating to explicit consent, confidentiality, the prohibition on image manipulation, the prohibition on images taken during surgery and the disabling of interactions continue to apply. The HealthTürkiye logo must also be used across all media relating to health tourism.

An intermediary organisation may not present itself as a hospital or healthcare provider. It may explain only the intermediary services it provides, such as consultancy, organisation, accommodation, transport and transfers. It must clearly state that the healthcare service is provided by a contracted healthcare facility and that the intermediary is not itself a healthcare institution.

Sanctions for Breach of the Advertising Restrictions

A breach of the advertising restrictions does not merely result in the removal of the relevant post. Depending on the identity of the person responsible, the account on which the content was published, the data used and the nature of the infringement, the Ministry of Health, the Advertising Board, the Personal Data Protection Board, professional bodies and judicial authorities may become involved separately.

Private healthcare facilities are subject to Supplementary Article 11 of Law No. 3359 and the sanctions framework established by the 2025 Regulation. The minimum amount of TRY 100,000 specified in the Regulation was increased to TRY 125,490 for 2026 following annual revaluation.

For breaches of the fundamental principles governing promotion and patient confidentiality, an administrative fine may be imposed at one per cent of the healthcare institution’s gross service revenue for the previous month, provided that the fine is not less than TRY 125,490. For breaches of the rules governing visual content and international health tourism, the rate may be two per cent of the gross service revenue for the previous month, again subject to the same minimum amount.

Administrative fines may be increased in the event of repeated infringements. Subsequent repetitions may result in the temporary suspension of outpatient clinic activities, cancellation of the health tourism authorisation certificate or other administrative consequences. Where the infringement also involves personal data, a separate administrative fine may be imposed under the KVKK, data-security measures may be ordered and, depending on the nature of the conduct, a criminal investigation may be initiated.

The judicial remedy available against a sanction also varies depending on the nature of the administrative act. As a general rule, administrative fines imposed solely under Laws No. 1219 and No. 3359 may be challenged before the Criminal Judgeship of Peace within fifteen days of notification. Where the decision also includes another administrative measure, such as the suspension of activities or cancellation of an authorisation certificate, the competent jurisdiction must be assessed separately.

Sanctions imposed by the Advertising Board may be challenged before the administrative courts within thirty days of notification. Administrative fines imposed by the Personal Data Protection Board are also subject to review by the administrative courts. The legal basis of the decision, the nature of the measure, the competent court and the applicable time limit must therefore be examined separately in every case.

Conclusion

Advertising restrictions applicable to doctors remain in force in 2026. The current framework does not, however, mean that physicians are entirely prohibited from maintaining an online presence. Physicians and healthcare institutions may disclose their correct professional titles, contact information and working hours, and may publish scientific and preventive health information relating to their fields of activity.

It remains prohibited to announce prices and promotional campaigns, promise definitive outcomes, use messages of gratitude from patients as an advertising tool, place sponsored advertisements directed at domestic audiences or publish images taken during surgery. Before-and-after images may be used only where all requirements relating to consent, confidentiality, equivalent technical conditions, dates, risk warnings, disabled interactions and the prohibition on sponsorship have been satisfied.

For physicians and healthcare institutions, the safest approach is not to remain invisible, but to conduct digital communications through a properly designed legal compliance system. Reviewing content before publication, maintaining records of images and consent forms, retaining targeting information, providing agencies with written instructions and periodically auditing older publications can provide significant legal protection.

In summary, information may be provided, but patient preference may not be purchased through advertising. Treatment outcomes may be shown only where all advertising and visual-content requirements have been satisfied, but those outcomes may not be guaranteed. Patient consent may be obtained, but consent does not remove the advertising restrictions. Content may be prepared in a foreign language, but advertising may not be directed at Türkiye unless the conditions governing international health tourism have been satisfied.

Att. Emre Senar BOZKURT, LL.M.

For further information on this subject, please contact us at info@lexaria.com.tr.

This article has been prepared for general information purposes and does not constitute legal advice or a legal opinion in relation to any specific dispute. The publication date of this review is 29 August 2026. Any subsequent changes in legislation or administrative practice must be reviewed separately.

All rights in this article are reserved and belong to its author, Emre Senar BOZKURT. No part of this article may be used, reproduced, copied, published or distributed without proper attribution or the author’s prior written permission.