According to standards issued by the Dubai Health Authority (DHA), doctors and medical facilities in Dubai are prohibited from using overly laudatory statements such as 'best,' '100%,' 'without side effects,' and 'immediate results' when promoting medical services on social media.
These rules apply to all DHA-licensed medical facilities as well as medical professionals who advertise services on social media. DHA specified that this includes information about any product, service, facility, specialist, treatment, or therapy.
DHA emphasized that absolute or exaggerated claims are unacceptable in medical advertising. The list of forbidden words and phrases includes terms such as 'unique,' 'unparalleled,' 'best,' 'exclusive,' 'safest,' 'only,' 'incomparable,' 'unprecedented,' 'magical,' 'miraculous,' 'guaranteed success,' 'no side effects,' '100%,' 'absolutely certain,' 'outstanding,' 'famous,' 'pioneer,' and 'immediate results.'
Furthermore, any claims regarding treatment outcomes must be supported by evidence. Advertising materials must also indicate the risks associated with the treatment.
Medical professionals must ensure that the information they provide is accurate, precise, clear, current, and understandable. This information must be based on recognized medical practice, peer-reviewed research, or generally accepted scientific and medical sources.
The rules also prohibit advertising that misleads people, creates an unjustified need for treatment or service, takes advantage of patients' lack of medical knowledge, or frightens people to encourage the purchase of a product, procedure, or service.
Advertising should not create unrealistic expectations regarding the effectiveness of treatment or service, nor should it prompt people to seek medical help when it is unnecessary.
DHA also stipulated that advertising must not imply that a treatment is guaranteed, 'magical,' or 'miraculous,' or that it is a cure. It is forbidden to claim that a medical professional possesses unique or exceptional skills, or that results are always effective.
Medical specialists must not state that their services or products surpass those of another doctor, specialist, or medical facility. The rules also stipulate that one medical service cannot be claimed to be 'better,' 'as safe as,' or 'safer than' another.
For surgical or invasive procedures, there must be a clearly visible warning in the advertisement. Failure to disclose treatment risks or the absence of necessary warnings is considered unacceptable.
The standards also require that advertisements for invasive or non-invasive procedures clearly state the associated risks. DHA added that medical advertising may contain factual information about the offered services or products, contact details, operating hours, approved qualifications and titles, as well as safety and quality information based on public health evidence.
These regulations apply to all DHA-licensed medical facilities and all medical professionals involved in social media advertising.