Medical advertising law needs an update

Turkish law on doctors’ advertising is unclear with legislative gaps so enforcement and interpretation of advertising limitations are inconsistent.

Turkish law on doctors’ advertising is unclear with legislative gaps, so enforcement and interpretation of advertising limitations are inconsistent.

Advertising services is permitted in Turkey, provided the advertising contents are not false, misleading, deceptive, or manipulate the consumer’s will. Turkish legislation restricts advertisements for the health sector, prohibiting promotion of many health services – but in practice they are contradictory.

Doctors are permitted to announce their clinic, working hours and specialties, but cannot make advertisements and announcements. Doctors and dentists are permitted to write their name, surname, address, specialty, academic title and examination times/days in newspapers, as well as other platforms.

Private hospital websites can contain information about the services offered by health professionals, but cannot include treatment information of any kind.

Turkish Medical Association’s medical ethics rules mean doctors cannot:

• Advertise while practicing their profession.
• Use advertisements for commercial means.

Doctors in Turkey are permitted to publish their qualifications, medical specialties, and contact information. But any information going beyond these limited items is technically prohibited in Turkey.

Regulators in Turkey have adopted inconsistent approaches to interpreting and applying the various provisions. As a result, collective bans on certain types of advertising for doctors are not always implemented in practice by local medical chambers or the Turkish Medical Association.

Turkey’s approach to regulating health-related advertising has not kept pace with developments in the industry, nor with technological and media advancements.

Detailed information allows prospective patients to assess and compare medical professionals, to ultimately identify the most appropriate person for their purposes, based on whatever indicator the patient deems most appropriate.

Making such detailed information about health professionals publicly available in Turkey involves a range of logistical and regulatory compliance difficulties.

Regulatory bodies need to consider Turkey’s legislative regime for doctors’ advertisements, to keep up with the modern world.