Can doctors advertise on Instagram in Turkey, can a clinic website show prices, can before-and-after photos be shared? In Turkey the answers changed with a new regulation published on 12 November 2025. In this article we explain, point by point, what doctors and healthcare providers in Turkey can and cannot do.
Short answer: In Turkey, doctors and healthcare providers may not advertise; they may only inform. Sharing prices, discounts and campaigns, using patient thank-you messages as advertising, claiming superiority and steering patients to a specific doctor are prohibited. Before-and-after photos can be shared only with the patient’s explicit consent, under the same photo conditions and with dates. Promotion aimed at patients abroad is allowed under specific conditions as part of health tourism. These rules apply only in Turkey.
The difference between advertising and informing
The regulation bans open or covert advertising of healthcare services but allows information. Roughly: explaining what a treatment is, how it is done and who it suits is information. Saying “the best hair transplant is here”, “30 percent off this month” or “our patients love us” is advertising.
What doctors and clinics may not do
- Prices and campaigns: No prices, discounts, campaigns or promotions.
- Patient thank-you messages: Patients’ thanks and satisfaction may not be used as advertising.
- Superiority and comparison: No claims such as “the best”, “the only” or “the leader”, no comparisons with other providers and no disparaging them.
- Steering: Patients may not be directed, directly or indirectly, to a particular doctor or provider.
- Titles: No specialist titles that are not on the doctor’s diploma.
- Draws and gifts: Healthcare services may not be promoted through draws, gifts or incentives.
- Unproven methods: No unproven treatments, and no misleading presentation of scientific data.
- Unsolicited contact: No calls or messages to people without their permission.
Social media and before-and-after photos
The regulation sets detailed rules for images:
- The patient gives written or electronic explicit consent, can withdraw it at any time and can see the image before it is shared.
- Before and after photos are taken in the same setting and technical conditions, with the procedure date and photo date stated.
- It is stated that the image belongs to a real patient and to the sharing healthcare professional; if quoted, the source is given.
- No make-up or retouching; no footage taken during surgery and no images of intimate areas.
- Patient comments and likes are not allowed on such posts.
- For surgical and interventional procedures, a visible note says that results vary from person to person and that the patient should talk to their doctor in detail.
- Getting a patient’s consent in exchange for a fee or discount, and publishing such images as sponsored posts, is prohibited.
Rules for clinic websites
A clinic website falls under the same rules: no prices or campaigns, no patient reviews used as advertising. The site must also clearly show the date of the last update and contact details for the editor. We explain how we build compliant sites on our doctor and clinic website design page.
Health tourism: promotion aimed abroad
The regulation has separate rules for international health tourism. Licensed healthcare facilities and intermediary organisations may promote their services to patients abroad, provided that:
- The promotion does not target people living in Turkey.
- A separate platform is used for foreign audiences, stating that the service is offered as health tourism.
- The authorisation certificate is published on the website or social media account, and the HealthTürkiye logo is used.
- Treatments the provider is not authorised for, or that the Ministry has banned, are not promoted.
So a hair transplant clinic in Istanbul may advertise to patients in Germany or the UK, but may not show the same ad to people living in Turkey. That is why we set up campaigns for foreign patients with country targeting. See our health tourism marketing and Google Ads management pages for more.
What happens if the rules are broken?
The regulation provides administrative sanctions for healthcare facilities and health tourism intermediaries. It also allows referrals to the Ministry of Trade and the Advertising Board under consumer law, action under the personal data protection law for data breaches, and access-blocking requests for dangerous content. For doctors not in private practice, the relevant provisions of the Medical Practice Law apply and professional bodies are notified.
Clinics outside Turkey
The rules in this article apply only to doctors and healthcare providers operating in Turkey. Every country has its own rules: in Germany, for example, the healthcare advertising law (HWG) restricts before-and-after images for aesthetic surgery. If your clinic is outside Turkey, check the rules of your own country.
Frequently asked questions
Can doctors in Turkey run sponsored ads on Instagram?
Healthcare advertising aimed at people living in Turkey is not allowed. Informational content can be shared. Licensed health tourism providers can promote to patients abroad if they follow the rules.
Can a clinic website in Turkey show a price list?
No. Promotion by healthcare providers in Turkey may not include prices, discounts or campaigns.
Is this article legal advice?
No. We have summarised the main rules of the regulation; for your specific situation, please consult a legal adviser.
Official source: Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Healthcare Services (Turkish Official Gazette, 12 November 2025, no. 33075). Information checked on 23 October 2026.
