Doctors promoting their facility from personal accounts: what the Saudi MOH action means

On 18 June 2026, Okaz reported that the Saudi Ministry of Health had taken regulatory action against health practitioners whose personal accounts posted similar promotions for one facility at the same time. The posts included prices, booking details and accepted insurers. The ministry described this as a possible marketing campaign in breach of the health advertising controls and professional ethics, and reminded practitioners that health ads go through approved official channels.

This matters to any facility whose doctors create content, which today describes most clinics and medical groups in the Kingdom.

What the ministry picked up on

According to the report, three elements came together:

• Posts with closely matching wording and content.
• Simultaneous publishing from several practitioners' personal accounts.
• Openly promotional content: prices, bookings and insurance.

Together, these turned personal accounts into an advertising channel for the facility. The ministry also made clear that a practitioner may announce a move to a new facility.

Part of a wider pattern

The action follows earlier, clear reminders:

• On 29 January 2025 the ministry penalised a pharmacy over an unpermitted influencer ad. Al Watan published a summary of Article 7 of the health advertising controls at the time.
• In February 2025 the ministry reminded practitioners that advertising themselves, directly or through intermediaries, is limited to what the regulations allow.

Article 7, as summarised by Al Watan:

• The ad states that it is an ad, shows the advertiser's name, contact details and working hours, and is in Arabic.
• Fees are clear, with nothing hidden.
• Risks, possible complications and the need for follow-up are stated.
• A discount states its amount and duration, and needs ministry approval.
• Banned: patient images, data or testimonials; misleading offers; exploiting or targeting children; advertising unlicensed practitioners or facilities.

Separate two kinds of content

Most of the issue is solved by a clear line between what a doctor shares in their own name and what the facility advertises.

Educational content suits a doctor's personal account: explaining a common condition, answering a question patients ask every week, or how to prepare for a test. It builds trust in the doctor as a person.

Advertising belongs on the facility's official channels: prices, offers, booking links and insurer names. It goes out once the requirements of the health advertising controls are met.

Practical steps for this week

1. List the personal accounts of every practitioner at your facility and review the last 3 months of posts.
2. Flag any post with a price, offer, booking link or insurer name, and agree with the doctor to edit or archive it.
3. Stop sending doctors identical scripts to post on the same day. Ask each doctor for content in their own voice about their specialty.
4. Write a one-page guide on what suits a personal account and what goes through the facility's channels, and have each new practitioner sign it.
5. Give every ad or offer a recorded internal sign-off before it goes live, and keep the ministry's approval on file for discounts.

How to check you are on track

Review three numbers at the start of each month:

• Posts on doctors' personal accounts that contain a price, offer or booking link. The target is zero.
• The share of the facility's ads that carry every Article 7 element: the word "ad", the advertiser's name, contact details and working hours.
• Published offers with a recorded ministry approval, against all published offers.

To see how educational content affects bookings, ask every new patient how they heard about you and note whether they name a specific doctor or account. Within two months you will see which doctors bring in patients through purely educational content.

A note on penalties

Some websites circulate figures for fines and closure periods. We have found no official source we can rely on for them, so we leave them aside. This is a general reading of what has been published so far; confirm the details with your lawyer or the Ministry of Health before acting.

If you would like to review your medical team's accounts and your facility's channels together, the Naqar team can work through this list with you step by step.

Sources

• Okaz: MOH action against practitioners promoting a facility from personal accounts, 18 June 2026 (newspaper report, no link)
• Al Watan: pharmacy penalised over influencer ad, with a summary of Article 7, 29 January 2025 (newspaper report, no link)
• Lexis: KSA Health Ministry enforces compliance, February 2025 (industry publication, no link)