Dubai cracks down on doctors making ‘miracle’ claims on social media

Doctors, clinics and health influencers in Dubai face tighter controls over how they promote treatments on social media, with healthcare advertisers prohibited from using exaggerated claims including “the best”, “miracle”, “100%”, “no side effects” and “guaranteed success”.

The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has issued a circular requiring licensed private healthcare facilities and professionals to comply with its standards for medical advertising content across social media.

The rules are designed to prevent patients being misled by exaggerated treatment claims, carefully edited before-and-after images, inappropriate professional titles or promotional content which creates unrealistic expectations about what a medical procedure can achieve.

They apply across platforms including Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, YouTube, Snapchat, WhatsApp and LinkedIn and extend beyond content posted directly by doctors and clinics.

Influencers promoting healthcare services can also fall within the rules.

When a healthcare professional, influencer or administrative employee promotes a treatment, service or outcome while identifying a particular healthcare facility, the content must be approved by that facility’s medical director.

The facility can remain responsible for promotional material filmed on its premises even when the content is recorded on a personal mobile phone or published through an influencer’s or employee’s own account.

That could have particular significance in Dubai, where private healthcare, cosmetic medicine and social media promotion frequently intersect and where doctors and clinics can attract patients from both within the United Arab Emirates and overseas.

Among the clearest restrictions is a lengthy list of language that cannot be used to sell healthcare.

Medical advertisements must not describe treatments using absolute or exaggerated terms such as “magic”, “miraculous”, “unique”, “the best”, “the safest”, “incomparable”, “unprecedented” or “exclusive”.

Claims including “100%”, “absolutely certain”, “assured success”, “has no side effects” and “immediate results” are also prohibited.

The principle behind the restrictions is straightforward: medical treatment involves uncertainty, individual outcomes differ and even widely used treatments can carry risks or side effects. Advertising should therefore not give patients the impression that a particular outcome is guaranteed.

The DHA also prohibits healthcare advertisers from creating an unnecessary need for treatment.

Doctors and clinics cannot use fear or anxiety to persuade people to undergo procedures, exploit a patient’s lack of medical knowledge or publish material that could lead somebody to believe they have a serious or contagious disease without an appropriate basis.

Promotional messages that create unrealistic expectations about appearance or treatment outcomes are similarly restricted.

Healthcare professionals are expected to ensure information they provide is accurate, current, understandable and supported by appropriate medical evidence. Where treatment outcomes are discussed, claims must be substantiated and relevant risks should also be disclosed.

The rules also address one of the most powerful forms of healthcare advertising on social media: before-and-after photographs.

Where such images are used, they must show the same patient and be taken using the same lens. Images cannot be altered in a way that misrepresents the outcome, and advertisements must make clear that results can vary between individuals.

Patient consent is mandatory.

Doctors and healthcare facilities must obtain documented written consent before using a patient’s photograph, video or statement for advertising. Additional parental consent is required when the patient is under 18.

The standards also protect patients from being turned into promotional content during particularly vulnerable moments.

Filming or livestreaming patients inside operating theatres or procedure rooms while they are undergoing surgery, including while under general anaesthesia, is prohibited for promotional purposes.

Professional titles are another area targeted by the regulations.

Healthcare professionals must describe themselves according to the qualifications and speciality recorded on their DHA licence rather than adopting marketing-led titles which could give patients a misleading impression of their expertise.

Terms including “Cosmetic Specialist”, “Aesthetic Consultant”, “Cosmetologist”, “Anti-Ageing Specialist” and “Beauty Expert” cannot simply be used as professional titles where they do not correspond with the person’s licensed status.

Use of the title “Dr” is also controlled. It is permitted for physicians and dentists and can be used by people holding a recognised PhD, although doctoral qualifications must meet UAE recognition requirements.

The standards prevent doctors and clinics from using social media to undermine competitors as well.

Advertisements must not claim or imply that one professional or facility is superior to another without an appropriate basis, while unfounded negative statements about other healthcare professionals, facilities or government bodies are prohibited.

Healthcare organisations are expected to have systems behind the scenes to ensure the requirements are followed.

Medical directors are responsible for ensuring relevant social media content is appropriately approved, staff understand the rules and suitable people are appointed to moderate healthcare accounts. Content must also be retained so it can be reviewed during a DHA audit.

Healthcare professionals are expected to maintain appropriate boundaries between their professional and personal social media activity and protect confidential patient information online just as they would in an offline clinical setting.

Doctors practising between Dubai and other countries also face specific requirements around the way their Dubai-related professional activity is presented online.

The DHA says medical advertising can have a direct effect on people’s healthcare decisions and that inaccurate or misleading promotion can lead to unnecessary procedures, inappropriate treatment and physical or psychological harm.

That concern has become increasingly relevant as healthcare promotion has moved away from traditional advertisements and into social media feeds.

The distinction between medical information and advertising can be much less obvious when a doctor is speaking directly into a camera, an influencer is documenting their cosmetic procedure or a clinic is sharing a patient’s transformation video.

Audiences may also develop a sense of familiarity and trust with healthcare professionals they follow online, potentially making their recommendations particularly influential.

The DHA’s approach places responsibility not only on the person publishing the post but, in many circumstances, on the healthcare organisation benefiting from it.

Dubai has regulated medical advertising on social media for several years. The DHA introduced guidelines in 2019 and subsequently updated its standards, meaning the latest circular should not be interpreted as the emirate regulating healthcare professionals online for the first time.

Instead, the latest move reinforces and details the expectations placed on the rapidly developing relationship between medicine, advertising and social media.

Failure to comply can result in regulatory action.

The broader principle is one increasingly confronting healthcare regulators around the world. A doctor with hundreds of thousands of followers is not simply a healthcare professional when promoting a treatment online; they can simultaneously be an advertiser, content creator and influential source of medical information.

For patients scrolling through dramatic transformations and enthusiastic treatment recommendations, distinguishing independent medical advice from marketing is not always easy.

Dubai’s rules attempt to make that boundary clearer.

Doctors can explain treatments. Clinics can advertise their services. Patients can share their experiences and influencers can work with healthcare businesses.

What they cannot do is promise a miracle.

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