The National Medical Commission (NMC) has introduced these stringent guidelines for doctors’ use of social media for several key reasons:

1. Patient Confidentiality and Privacy:

• By prohibiting patient testimonials and images, the NMC aims to protect patient privacy. Once posted, such content becomes part of the public domain or property of the social media platform, potentially leading to breaches of confidentiality. This aligns with medical ethics that prioritize patient privacy.

1. Professional Integrity:

• The ban on artificially boosting one’s online presence (like buying followers) is to maintain the integrity of the profession. Such practices can mislead the public about a doctor’s actual reputation or competence, creating an unfair playing field and potentially leading to patients making uninformed choices based on manipulated profiles.

1. Avoiding Commercialization of Medicine:

• The restrictions on endorsing products or services aim to prevent the commercialization of medical practice. Doctors are expected to provide unbiased medical advice rather than promote specific products or treatments for financial gain or popularity, which could compromise their professional judgment.

1. Preventing Unethical Solicitation:

• Soliciting patients through social media can lead to ethical issues such as creating unnecessary medical demand, encouraging over-treatment, or exploiting patients’ vulnerabilities. The guidelines are designed to ensure that medical practice remains focused on patient welfare rather than business interests.

1. Upholding Medical Ethics:

• All these restrictions are underpinned by the need to uphold medical ethics. Social media, with its vast reach and influence, can quickly amplify any unethical behavior or misinformation, which could damage public trust in the medical profession. By setting clear boundaries, the NMC ensures that doctors use these platforms in ways that do not undermine their professional responsibilities.

1. Regulation of Misinformation and Misrepresentation:

• Given the potential for misinformation on social media, these guidelines aim to ensure that any health-related information shared by doctors is factual, verifiable, and within their expertise, thus preventing the spread of misleading health advice that could have serious public health implications.

1. Public Trust and Professional Reputation:

• The medical profession relies heavily on public trust. By regulating how doctors present themselves online, the NMC seeks to maintain and enhance this trust, ensuring that the public perceives doctors as credible, ethical, and focused on patient care rather than self-promotion.

These restrictions reflect a broader trend in professional regulation across various fields, where the use of digital platforms introduces new ethical challenges. The aim is to balance the benefits of social media for educational, networking, and communication purposes with the ethical obligations inherent to the medical profession.