Google reviews for doctors and clinics: what the medical ethics code allows
Every clinic is told to get more Google reviews. Doctors in India work under an ethics code written before online reviews existed. Here is what it actually says, practice by practice, and how to reply without breaking it.
The 2002 ethics regulations NMC applies ban soliciting patients and boasting of cures, and forbid revealing a patient's confidences. Online reviews aren't named in them. So a clinic can let patients review it and reply politely, but should not offer anything for reviews, repost them as testimonials, or confirm a patient's name, treatment or visit in a reply. Ask your State Medical Council before a review drive.
Sources: National Medical Commission
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Which ethics code decides what a clinic can do with reviews
For doctors registered in India it is the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. NMC held its own 2023 conduct regulations in abeyance on 23 August 2023 and applied the 2002 code instead. Dentists follow the Dental Council's code. Google's review policy applies on top of either.
From NMC's notification of 23 August 2023 and the 2002 regulations as amended up to 8 October 2016, read on 24 October 2026. This is our reading of the text, not legal advice. Part of our Google reviews guides.
Dentists. The Revised Dentists (Code of Ethics) Regulations, 2014 apply instead, with their own rules on boastful claims and fees. Our digital visiting card for dentists page goes through them.
What the code is silent on. It was written in 2002, before Google reviews. Where it neither allows nor forbids something, this page says "grey area", and the person who can settle it for you is your State Medical Council.
Clause by clause: what the 2002 regulations say, and what it means for reviews
Five clauses decide most review questions. 6.1.1 bans soliciting patients and boasting of cures. 6.1.2 treats self-publicity on signboards and letterheads as advertising. 7.13 limits what a signboard may carry. 2.2 and 7.14 keep a patient's confidences private. 7.17 bars publishing patients' photos or case reports without permission.
| Clause | What it says | For reviews |
|---|---|---|
| 6.1.1 | What it says"Soliciting of patients directly or indirectly, by a physician, by a group of physicians or by institutions or organisations is unethical." No boasting of cases, operations, cures or remedies, or permitting reports of them to be published. | For reviewsNo offers for reviews. No testimonials reposted as advertising. Asking for reviews at all is the grey area this clause creates. |
| 6.1.1 (permitted) | What it saysFormal announcements are allowed for starting a practice, a change of address or type of practice, absence, resuming, and a public declaration of charges. | For reviewsFees, hours and address on your Google profile fit squarely here. |
| 7.13 | What it saysA signboard carries the name, qualifications, specialty and registration details; anything more is improper. | For reviewsStar ratings and "top rated" banners don't belong on the board. |
| 2.2 and 7.14 | What it saysConfidences a patient entrusts "should never be revealed unless their revelation is required by the laws of the State"; disclosing a patient's secrets is misconduct, with narrow exceptions. | For reviewsA reply must never confirm who the patient is, what they had, or when they came, even to defend yourself. |
| 7.17 | What it saysA physician shall not publish patients' photographs or case reports without their permission. | For reviewsNo patient photos alongside reviews or in replies. |
Twelve review practices, checked against the code and Google's policy
Two practices clearly fit: replying politely with no patient detail, and listing your fees. Two are a grey area the code does not settle: inviting every patient to review. Eight are out, because they trade favours for reviews, publish testimonials, reveal a patient's details, or break Google's own rules.
| Practice | Verdict | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Replying to every review politely, without any patient detail | VerdictFits | WhyNothing in the code stops a courteous reply that reveals nothing about the patient. |
| Listing consultation fees on the Google profile | VerdictFits | WhyClause 6.1.1 lists a public declaration of charges among permitted announcements. |
| A review QR code or tap card at reception, offered to every patient | VerdictGrey area | WhyThe code bans soliciting patients (6.1.1) and predates reviews. Ask your State Medical Council. |
| Staff asking every patient for a review at checkout | VerdictGrey area | WhySame as above. Google allows asking everyone the same way; the medical code is silent on reviews. |
| A discount or free check-up for leaving a review | VerdictAvoid | WhyGoogle removes incentivised reviews as fake engagement, and it is an inducement under 6.1.1's ban on soliciting. |
| Asking only patients you know were happy | VerdictAvoid | WhyGoogle bans selectively soliciting positive reviews. |
| Reviews by staff, family or friends | VerdictAvoid | WhyGoogle removes content from a conflict of interest, including employment. |
| Reposting reviews as testimonials on your website, social media or board | VerdictAvoid | WhyClause 6.1.1: a physician shall not boast of cases, operations, cures or remedies or permit publication of reports of them. |
| Replying with the patient's name, treatment or visit details | VerdictAvoid | WhyClauses 2.2 and 7.14: a patient's confidences and secrets are not to be revealed. |
| Defending yourself by explaining the patient's case in a reply | VerdictAvoid | WhyThe same confidentiality clauses apply, however unfair the review. |
| Posting a patient's photos with their review | VerdictAvoid | WhyClause 7.17 bars publishing patients' photographs or case reports without permission, and 6.1.1 bars boasting of cures. |
| Your star rating on the clinic signboard | VerdictAvoid | WhyClause 7.13 limits a signboard to your name, qualifications, specialty and registration details. |
Google's rules on incentives, selective asking and conflicts of interest are from its Maps user-generated content policy; the clauses are the 2002 regulations'. The same checks for any business are in can you ask for Google reviews?
Check a reply before you post it
Paste a draft reply to a review. The checker flags what the confidentiality clauses rule out - a patient's name, treatment, clinical details or visit date - and what 6.1.1 rules out, such as claims about cures. It is a second pair of eyes, not a guarantee, and it runs in your browser and stores nothing.
What a clinic's card and profile should carry instead
The code is clear about what a doctor may put forward: name, recognised qualifications, specialty, registration number, address, hours and fees. A clinic profile built on those, with booking and directions, is what patients need from a visiting card. Whether to add a review button is the clinic's call, after the grey area above.
Our pages for digital visiting cards for doctors and for dentists go through the profile field by field against each code. The Google review button is an optional Pro feature; a clinic can run Beeps with booking, location and fees and leave it off entirely.
If a fake review does land on your clinic, the steps to report it and the one appeal are in how to remove fake Google reviews.
Reviews for clinics: questions
Can doctors ask patients for Google reviews in India?
The code NMC applies - the 2002 ethics regulations - bans soliciting patients and predates online reviews, so asking is a grey area rather than a clear yes or no. Letting patients review you freely, and replying politely, raises no issue. Offers for reviews, testimonials and any patient detail in a reply are clearly out. Ask your State Medical Council before running a review drive.
Sources: National Medical Commission, National Medical Commission
Which medical ethics code applies to doctors now?
The Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. NMC held its 2023 professional conduct regulations in abeyance on 23 August 2023 and applied the 2002 regulations. Check NMC's site for any later notification.
Sources: National Medical Commission
How should a doctor reply to a negative Google review?
Briefly, calmly and without any patient detail: thank them, say you take feedback seriously, and invite them to call the clinic. Clauses 2.2 and 7.14 keep a patient's confidences private even when the review is unfair, so never explain their case to defend yourself.
Sources: National Medical Commission
Can a clinic put patient reviews on its website?
Reposting reviews as testimonials sits badly with clause 6.1.1, which says a physician shall not boast of cases, operations, cures or remedies or permit the publication of reports of them. Leave reviews on Google, where patients wrote them.
Sources: National Medical Commission
Can a fake review on my clinic be removed?
If it breaks Google's policy - fake engagement, a conflict of interest, abuse, personal information - report it from your Business Profile. Google does not remove a review for being negative. Our guide to removing fake Google reviews has the steps and the appeal.
Sources: Google
Sources
Facts about other companies and the wider market come from the pages below, as published by them. Each was read on the date shown. Beeps Card prices come from our own pricing page.
- National Medical Commission, Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. Checked .
- National Medical Commission, Notification No. R-12013/01/2022/Ethics, 23 August 2023 (Gazette of India, 24 August 2023). Checked .
- Dental Council of India (now the National Dental Commission), Revised Dentists (Code of Ethics) Regulations, 2014 - Notification No. DE-97-2014, 27 June 2014. Checked .
- Google, Prohibited & restricted content - Maps User Generated Content Policy. Checked .
- Google, Report inappropriate reviews on your Business Profile. Checked .