Doctor and clinic websites: what patients check first, and the rules to follow

What patients check first

1. Are you properly qualified and registered? They look for your degree, specialty, registration number and regulator.
2. Do you treat what I have? Conditions and treatments in plain words, not only specialty names.
3. Where are you and when are you open? Address, map, parking, transport, hours, and whether you offer video appointments.
4. What does it cost, and do you accept my insurance? Fees or a fee range, and insurers, or how the health system covers it.
5. How do I book? A phone number, booking link or form, and what happens next.
6. Will I be understood? Languages, and whether you see children or adults.
7. Is this a safe, real place? A photograph of you and the premises, reviews, and your regulator’s details.

What to include

The rules, by country

Rules on health advertising are strict, national and always changing. The summaries below show the shape and where to look; they are not a substitute for your regulator’s own guidance.

United States

• State medical boards expect factual claims. Avoid guarantees of results and testimonials about outcomes. Rules differ by state and profession, so read your board’s advertising guidance.
• HIPAA applies to covered entities such as most doctors, dentists and clinics. If a contact or booking form collects health details, for example “I’ve had migraines and want an appointment”, that can be protected health information. The vendor that handles it generally needs a business associate agreement with you, and the form should be encrypted. Limit what the form asks for, and use a compliant booking or messaging tool for anything clinical.
• Be careful with analytics and advertising tools on pages where patients book or log in. Check current HHS guidance and take advice.
• Health claims in advertising are also subject to the Federal Trade Commission’s rules on truthful claims.

United Kingdom

• The General Medical Council’s guidance, Good Medical Practice, says that information you publish about your services must be factual and open to checking, and must not exploit patients’ vulnerability or lack of medical knowledge. The same duties of honesty and confidentiality apply online.
• The General Dental Council expects advertising to be accurate and not misleading, disapproves of superlatives and grandiose statements, and does not allow “specialist” or “specialises” unless you or a dentist at the practice is on a GDC specialist list.
• In England, the Care Quality Commission’s Regulation 20A requires registered providers to show their CQC rating, the CQC’s website address and where the full assessment can be found, on every website they maintain. Use the CQC’s own graphics.
• Advertising is also subject to the ASA and CAP codes. Objective claims, including those in testimonials, need evidence behind them.

Europe

• Rules are national. Many countries regulate medical advertising by law as well as through chambers or councils; Germany’s Heilmittelwerbegesetz, for example, restricts health product and service advertising. Titles and specialisations are also protected in many countries.
• Check your country’s medical chamber or council, the health ministry’s rules, and, for data, the GDPR. Health data is a special category requiring particular care.
• List in the language your patients use.

India

• The National Medical Commission and state medical councils regulate professional conduct, and their rules restrict soliciting patients. Keep to your qualifications, registration, specialties and contact details, and check what your council allows before publishing a promotional website.
• Show your registration number, as the councils expect.

Forms, booking and privacy

• Collect the least you need. A name, a phone number and a preferred time are usually enough to book; clinical detail belongs in a consultation.
• Say clearly that the form is not for urgent or confidential medical information.
• Use a booking or messaging tool that protects health data and that you have an agreement with, where the law requires it.
• Make a short privacy notice easy to find: what you collect, why, how long you keep it, and who to contact.
• Keep copies of messages as your professional rules require, and delete what you do not need.

Writing about conditions and treatments

• Google treats health information as a topic where expertise and trustworthiness matter most, so say who wrote the page and who reviewed it, and when.
• Be accurate and balanced. Include risks as well as benefits where relevant.
• Avoid promises, miracle language and fear. Say what you offer, who it suits and what to expect.
• Date your pages and review them. Out-of-date medical information does harm.
• Link to reputable sources such as national health services when it helps.

Photographs, reviews and patient stories

• Do not publish patient photographs, case stories or before-and-after images without clear, written consent that covers this use. Some rules ban them for certain treatments.
• Do not confirm that a reviewer is a patient or discuss their care in a reply. US regulators have fined practices for disclosing patient information in review responses. See how to get Google reviews and reply to them.
• Check your rules on testimonials before you quote any. Several health regulators restrict or discourage them.

Common mistakes

• No registration details, or an incorrect title.
• Calling yourself a “specialist” when you are not recognised as one.
• Superlatives: “best”, “leading”, “most advanced”.
• A plain contact form asking patients to describe their symptoms.
• No emergency notice.
• Stock photographs instead of you and your clinic.
• Old fees, hours and doctors who have left.
• Missing required regulatory information, such as a CQC rating display in England.

For ready-made sections and notices for doctors, see websites for doctors.

Where BeVisible fits

BeVisible has a setup for doctors with specialties, consultation fees and a notice suited to where you work, and it flags wording that regulators often object to as you type. It is guidance, not medical or legal advice, and what you publish stays your responsibility. The contact form on a BeVisible page is a simple enquiry form, so ask patients not to include medical details, and use a booking tool you have an agreement with for anything clinical. You can build and preview free, and publish free for 7 days with no card needed; after that one yearly plan keeps a website online, and one plan covers one website. Start from a photo or type your details.