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Dubai's health authority bars absolute and exaggerated claims in medical advertising on social media, requires outcome claims to be backed up with their risks, and sets conditions for before-and-after images. In Qatar, a 2019 circular discouraged practitioners from promoting themselves at all; a 2022 circular now sets the conditions under which advertising is allowed, including approval of the advertised services.
Patients can use these rules as a filter. You cannot judge a clinic's clinical work from its Instagram, but you can see whether it follows the rules it is bound by.
Dubai: what the standard says
The Dubai Health Authority's Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (code DHA/HRS/HPSD/ST-21, version 1.1, effective 3 October 2022) apply to all DHA licensed facilities and professionals. Five clauses matter most to patients.
- Banned wording. Section 6.11: "the best", "safest", "100%" and "immediate results" must not be used.
- Outcome claims. Section 6.6: outcome claims must be substantiated and include the risks.
- Before and after. Section 9.6 asks for the same person, no editing, and a no-guarantee statement.
- Licence number. Section 5.2: an official account must state the MOHAP medical advertisement licence number.
- No comparisons. Section 8.1.9: no claims of superiority over other providers.
Paid promotion has its own clause. Section 6.7 says paid relationships must be disclosed, which is the rule a sponsored post breaks when it never mentions the payment.
Qatar: from no promotion to conditional advertising
Qatar's Department of Healthcare Professions set a strict starting point. In Circular 01/2019 it said practitioners should not advertise or promote themselves, citing the dignity of the profession under Law No. 2 of 1983.
Circular 01/2022, which amends the 2021 circular on advertising and social media, now sets the conditions for advertising that does appear. Advertisements may cover only services and privileges approved by the Ministry of Public Health. In any advertisement, the licence number and credentials must be stated exactly as registered. Patient material is protected: patient pictures and videos may not be used without consent. And social media content needs written approval by both the medical director and the practitioner.
What we could not confirm
Abu Dhabi's Department of Health runs its own system for health media and advertising, but we could not retrieve a public guideline setting out the content rules, so we do not summarise them. The federal Ministry of Health and Prevention licenses health advertisements, including in printed and digital directories; its published guideline would not open for us either. Kuwait's Ministry of Health lists an advertising e-service, but we found no published content rules to link to.
If you run a clinic, your regulator decides what you may publish, not this page.
How a patient can use this
- Treat "best", "safest", "100%" and "guaranteed results" on a Dubai clinic's account as a sign it is not following the standard.
- Look for the advertisement licence number on a clinic's official account.
- Check any before-and-after post for the no-guarantee statement and the risks.
- If a clinic claims to be better than another clinic, remember the standard tells it not to.
How this site applies the same lines
We publish price ranges, not recommendations. We name no clinics, rank nothing, show no before-and-after images and make no claims about treatment results. Our editorial policy sets that out in full, and clinics can see how the same rules shape our website plan for dental clinics.
Where these figures come from
- DHA Standards for Medical Advertisement Content on Social Media (DHA/HRS/HPSD/ST-21, version 1.1, effective 3 October 2022) apply to all DHA licensed health facilities and healthcare professionals engaged in social media advertising: all DHA licensed facilities and professionals
- Section 6.11 of the DHA standard says absolute statements, exaggerated claims and alarming expressions such as "the best", "safest", "100%", "assured success", "has no side effects" and "immediate results" must not be used: "the best", "safest", "100%" and "immediate results" must not be used
- Section 6.6 of the DHA standard says all social media advertising must be substantiated, especially when it relates to treatment outcomes, and should always include the associated risks: outcome claims must be substantiated and include the risks
- Section 9.6 of the DHA standard says before-and-after images must show the same individual with the same lens and no editing, and carry the statement "there is no guarantee that the result will be the same, as it might vary from one individual to another" and the risks: the same person, no editing, and a no-guarantee statement
- Section 5.2 of the DHA standard says a health facility's official social media account must state its medical advertisement licence number issued by the Ministry of Health and Prevention (MOHAP): the MOHAP medical advertisement licence number
- Section 8.1.9 of the DHA standard says professionals should avoid claiming their own services or products are superior to those of another physician, professional or facility: no claims of superiority over other providers
- Section 6.7 of the DHA standard says facilities and professionals receiving financial or other benefit for promoting products or services should have a transparent, documented relationship that is disclosed to patients: paid relationships must be disclosed
- Qatar's Department of Healthcare Professions Circular 01/2019 (1 August 2019) called on all healthcare practitioners not to publish advertisements or promote themselves, others, medical products, drugs, or surgical or non-surgical interventions: practitioners should not advertise or promote themselves
- Qatar's DHP Circular 01/2022 (26 April 2022, amending Circular 1/2021) says advertisements must only contain the clinical privileges approved for the practitioner, and facility advertisements must only be about regulated health services that have MOPH approval: only services and privileges approved by the Ministry of Public Health
- Qatar's DHP Circular 01/2022 says practitioners' credentials in advertisements, including licence number, licence type, specialty and place of work, must be stated exactly as recognised by the DHP Registration Section: the licence number and credentials must be stated exactly as registered
- Qatar's DHP Circular 01/2022 prohibits using patients' pictures and videos in advertisements without their consent: patient pictures and videos may not be used without consent
- Qatar's DHP Circular 01/2022 says advertisement content on social media platforms must be approved in writing by both the facility's medical director and the practitioner: written approval by both the medical director and the practitioner