The Regulation on Promotional and Informational Activities in Healthcare Services, published in Official Gazette No. 33075 of 12 November 2025, governs communication by healthcare professionals, private healthcare institutions and international medical tourism intermediary organisations.
This page is a practical summary of the regulation, not a legal opinion. Assess content and campaign decisions separately against current legislation, Ministry statements and advice from a legal specialist. Read the official regulation ↗
Who Does the Regulation Cover?
- Doctors, dentists and other healthcare professionals
- Private hospitals, medical centres, outpatient clinics, private practices and relevant healthcare facilities
- International medical tourism intermediary organisations
- Teams and agencies producing content or advertising on behalf of these people and institutions
The Boundary Between Promotion and Information
Healthcare facilities may share their address, contact details, working days and hours, available specialisms, the professional and academic titles of their healthcare staff, and information protecting and improving health. Healthcare professionals may likewise provide their specialism, academic title, consultation location and times, and preventive health information within their own field.
Practices Generally to Avoid
- Statements that constitute explicit or implicit advertising
- Content directing patients towards a particular healthcare service or institution
- Scientifically unproven, misleading or exaggerated statements
- Comparisons presenting a service as superior to other doctors or institutions
- Using expressions of patient satisfaction for advertising
- Prices, discounts, campaigns, promotions and similar sales messages in domestic communication
Patient Images and Explicit Consent
The use of patient images must not be assessed solely on the basis that “we obtained permission”. The scope of explicit consent, image processing, storage, publication channel and withdrawal process should be recorded. Patient privacy, KVKK and the regulation’s visual-content conditions must be applied together.
- Patient images must not be used without explicit consent.
- Images must not be edited in ways that misrepresent reality.
- The regulation’s limits must be considered for footage of interventions or surgery.
- Required warning statements must be visible and legible.
- Regulatory differences between sponsored use and organic sharing must be checked separately.
Older Content on Social Media Accounts
Compliance should not be limited to new posts. Websites, Google profiles, Instagram, YouTube, TikTok and previously published advertisements should be inventoried and reviewed. Older content containing campaigns, patient videos, misleading claims or inappropriate images should be assessed.
International Medical Tourism Communication
For promotion aimed abroad, separate accounts or platforms, targeting limits, authorisation details, use of HealthTürkiye and pricing/campaign conditions should be checked against the regulation. It is important not to target people living in Türkiye and to document technically that the campaign genuinely targets audiences abroad.
Website and Social Media Compliance Check
- Create an account inventoryList every website, profile, advertising account and older post.
- Audit claimsCheck “best”, “guaranteed”, certain-outcome and comparative-superiority statements.
- Classify visualsAssess patient images, before-and-after pictures, procedures, teams and clinic footage separately.
- Verify consent recordsEnsure permissions cover the channel, duration, purpose and form of use.
- Separate advertising activitiesTechnically distinguish domestic information from international medical tourism campaigns.
- Establish an approval workflowDefine the roles of the doctor, institution representative, communications team and legal reviewer.
- Review regularlyRecheck new content and historical archives periodically.
Supervision and Sanctions
Provincial assessment commissions may examine promotional activities. Breaches may lead to administrative sanctions, content removal, requests to block access or, where necessary, notification of other authorities. The procedure depends on the specific case and applicable legislation.
Where should your brand start?
Share your website and priority. Let us define the scope together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can doctors share educational content on social media?
Preventive and health-improving information related to their specialism may be shared; it must not become advertising, patient steering, misleading communication or a promise of a certain result.
Can patient reviews be shared?
The regulation limits the use of patient satisfaction statements for advertising. Before sharing, assess the wording, context, targeting and platform together.
Are before-and-after images freely permitted?
Image use depends on explicit consent, avoiding deception, warnings, organic/sponsored use and the regulation’s other conditions. For each case, check the current official text and specialist advice.
Does the agency also bear responsibility?
Although the publishing healthcare institution or professional holds primary responsibility, the agency must also establish compliant production, record-keeping and approval processes.
Conclusion
In healthcare communication, the priority is to establish accurate and trustworthy information standards before expanding promotion. Digital communication becomes safer when content inventories, written approval workflows, patient privacy and regular regulatory checks operate together.