Advertising of medical services and their legal regulation

Advertising is and has been the means par excellence to publicize a product or service. Nowadays, with the influence of social networks and the internet, it is much easier to reach thousands of people with a minimum investment of resources, and this is why, when it comes to products and services that involve the health of the population, their advertising must be highly regulated and monitored.

For this reason, the government has not stood idly by, and it is through the Federal Commission for Protection against Health Risks (COFEPRIS) that it has undertaken hard work to monitor, correct and punish all those who advertise, irregularly, their products and services, particularly those of health care.

Indeed, the advertising of medical or health care services, such as general medicine, specialized medicine, nutrition, psychology, optometry, dentistry, and others, are strictly monitored by COFEPRIS.

The verification task is as simple as checking from a computer whether the advertising broadcast on social networks complies with the corresponding legal and regulatory requirements so that, if not, an advertising verification procedure is initiated, which can result in penalties of up to one million seven hundred thousand pesos.

But let's not be alarmed either, this can be avoided if proper preventive work is done; so the question arises, what do we need to do to avoid a sanction of such magnitude? Here we share the following key points:

1. Have a duly completed and updated Operating and Health Responsible Notice. It is important to constantly review it to adapt it to any changes that may exist in the establishment.

2. When creating the advertisement, comply with the provisions of the General Health Law and the Regulations of the General Health Law with regard to Advertising, mainly, without ignoring the other regulations and regulations applicable to the service; one of these obligations and very important, for example, that the advertising material must include a legend indicating the educational institution that issued the professional degree, the professional identification number, the institution that issued the certificate of specialty and the number of the certificate of specialty.

3. Although it is an obligation provided for in previous laws, it is so important that it must be highlighted. Depending on the service and advertising material, either an Advertising Notice or an Advertising Permit must be processed.

4. Respect the advertising presented in the notice or permission, that is, we must not alter what has already been notified to COFEPRIS or that was authorized to us.

If the requirements indicated here are met, there should be no problem and you can broadcast your advertising without any impediment.

Now, what should you do if you have already been notified of an advertising verification where irregularities are reported? The first thing is to immediately suspend advertising, and then, with the support and accompaniment of a specialist, to correct all the points warned by the authority and, finally, to make the actions taken known to us, within the period that has been granted to us.

In conclusion, the ideal thing to avoid obstacles in your business and to be able to continue providing your services and helping all your patients, is to be properly advised and to carry out a good prevention and regulatory strategy in terms of advertising.

Do you have questions or would like help on the subject? At RMG we are experts 😉, we will be happy to support you.