Physician websites under Türkiye's promotion regulation: what is allowed and what is not

The regulation and its scope

The Regulation on Promotion and Information Activities in Health Services was published in the Official Gazette of 12 November 2025 (No. 33075) and took effect the same day. Article 13 repealed the previous regulation of 29 July 2023, and references to the old text are now read as references to the new one.

The regulation covers health professionals, private health institutions and international health tourism intermediaries. Article 5(2) requires promotion and information on social media and websites to follow the same principles, so a physician's personal website, academic page and social media accounts all fall within it.

Advertising versus information

The regulation defines advertising as activity that puts a product, service, person or institution forward beyond the limits of information and promotion. Open or covert advertising in health services is prohibited. Information is allowed, and for physicians Article 4 lists its scope: specialty and sub-specialty, academic title, where and when patients are seen, and health-protective information.

The distinction also shapes the wording of a site. The same fact becomes advertising once it is written to steer readers to a particular physician or to present a physician as better than others.

What a physician's site may contain

Under Articles 4 and 5 a physician's site may include:

• Specialty, sub-specialty and academic title
• Where and when patients are seen, and contact details
• Training, registered certificates and scientific publications, provided they fall within the specialty on the diploma
• Informative, health-protective articles
• The date of the last update and the contact details of the site's editor, which Article 5(1)(ı) requires to be stated clearly

What is prohibited

Article 5 also lists content that crosses the line. The main items are:

• Advertising-style posts built on thanks or satisfaction from patients or their relatives
• Fees, discounts, campaigns or promotions
• Content that steers patients, directly or indirectly, to a particular professional or facility, including the use of check-ups, screening or consultancy for that purpose
• Promotion of methods that are not scientifically proven
• Specialty titles based on certificates or training documents outside the specialties set by Law No. 1219
• Paid, sponsored or boosted listings and posts on social media and search engines
• Calls and messages without consent; raffles, gifts and similar incentives

Patient images

Patient images are not banned outright, but Article 7 sets strict conditions. Written or electronic explicit consent is required on the consent form in Annex 1. Patients may see the content beforehand and withdraw consent at any time. A patient who refuses must not be treated differently in diagnosis, treatment or fees, and no payment, discount or gift may be offered for consent.

Images may not be edited or retouched afterwards. Before-and-after photos must be taken under the same conditions and show the dates of the procedure and of the photograph. Images taken during surgery and images of intimate areas may not be shared. Such posts must be closed to comments, likes and reshares, and each must carry the warning that results of surgical or interventional procedures may vary from person to person.

Supervision and sanctions

Each province has a seven-member evaluation commission that decides within 45 days, and press, social media and websites are monitored regularly. Article 12 sets the sanctions: administrative fines under Law No. 3359 for private health institutions; for physicians not in private practice, Articles 27 and 44 of Law No. 1219, with notification to their public employer and professional body; and access blocking under Law No. 5651 for harmful online content.

What this means for an academic physician's website

The regulation does not keep physicians off the internet; it limits how they appear there. An academic physician's website fits comfortably within those limits: specialty and title, publications, teaching, society memberships and health-protective articles are all expressly allowed. Moving informative social media content to the site also keeps it in a permanent, dated archive.

The physician academic websites built by Silsile Labs follow this distinction. Every page shows the last-updated date and editor contact, and the site has no field for patient reviews, fees or campaigns. The panel flags wording that may breach the rules before publication; responsibility for the content stays with the physician.