How to market a clinic in Singapore under the Healthcare Services (Advertisement) Regulations

A Singapore clinic can market itself through its website, search, listings and replies to enquiries, provided every advertisement is factually accurate, avoids laudatory terms, lists exact prices and does not use paid or reproduced reviews. The rules are set out in the Healthcare Services (Advertisement) Regulations 2021, and MOH's FAQ explains how they apply.

Patients can now meet a clinic through a search summary before they see its website. In March 2025, 18% of Google searches by a Pew Research Center panel of 900 US adults produced an AI summary, and users clicked a result link on 8% of those visits against 15% without one.¹ Pew also found that 88% of those summaries cited three or more sources, which puts weight on a clinic's own factual pages.¹

What every advertisement must be

MOH's guidance says advertisements must be factually accurate and must not contain laudatory statements, which it defines as subjective praise, commendations and compliments. Laudatory statements are prohibited even when they are true.² Its examples include best, better, cutting-edge, gold standard, leading, latest technology, exclusive and first in the world.²

Clinical claims need support. The guidance points to articles in peer-reviewed journals and literature the local medical or dental community accepts as authoritative, says these sources should be cited in the advertisement, and says MOH may ask for them.² Advertisements must not show before-and-after or after-only treatment photographs, even with a disclaimer, though they may be shown to patients during a consultation with proper context.²

Where clinics can advertise

The approved media are newspapers, directories, medical journals, magazines, brochures, leaflets, pamphlets and the internet, including apps and social media platforms.² Leaflets in mailboxes and promotional messages by SMS, MMS or WhatsApp need the recipient's prior written consent.²

Prices

Prices must be listed as exact figures, without a prefix or description and without comparing a usual price with a discounted one. Phrases such as "as low as", a package linked to a discount, time-limited prices, an instalment amount without the total, and words such as discount, promotion, offer or complimentary are given as examples of solicitation.²

Membership plans and pricing structures follow the same rule. A clinic may list only the exact and final price, without a prefix and without showing an original price beside it.²

Reviews and testimonials

Reviews are allowed when patients give them on their own, unpaid and unsolicited. A clinic must not offer anything of value for a review or testimonial, must not modify a review beyond removing offensive words, and must not reproduce reviews, testimonials or photos on its premises, website or social media, including by sharing a patient's post.² Unpaid reviews that patients post on third-party sites on their own initiative are not treated as advertising by the clinic.²

Referral programmes and packages

A clinic may offer incentives in a referral programme, but it must not advertise the programme. Patients can be told about it only at the point of payment, and promotional packages follow the same rule.² Word of mouth from patients is outside the regulations.²

Claims about speed and awards

Claims about how quickly a service is delivered must be realistic. MOH gives a teleconsultation said to be completed within one minute as an example of a claim that may be inaccurate or misleading.² Accreditations and awards may be shown only within the clinic's premises, website and social media, only where they were awarded for compliance with technical standards, and never in an exaggerated or misleading way.²

Search and listings

Search engine optimisation is not advertising in itself, because the process does not seek to encourage the use of a service. Paid search marketing is governed by the regulations, and if optimisation draws on patient reviews and ratings, that content counts as advertising.²

Publish one page per service that answers the question patients search for, with exact fees and cited sources.
Keep the clinic's name, address, hours and phone number identical across the website, maps listing and directories.
Run paid search only with copy that meets the regulations.
Ask for written consent before sending any promotional message, and keep the record.
Answer every enquiry quickly, in the patient's language.

Speed of reply

Marketing brings enquiries, and the reply decides whether they become visits. Research published in the Harvard Business Review found that firms that responded to an online enquiry within an hour were nearly seven times as likely to reach a meaningful conversation as those that responded an hour later.³ In the same audit of 2,241 US companies, 37% responded within an hour and 23% never responded.³

Measure the time from enquiry to first reply each week, by channel, and fix the slowest channel first.

Links and third parties

A clinic is responsible for what its website links to. MOH's guidance says a hyperlink to a page that contains non-factual or laudatory statements about the clinic's service could breach the regulations, and an insurer or partner that advertises the clinic must be authorised and follow the same rules.² Check outbound links and partner pages when you check your own.

Where to check

MOH invites licensees to send a specific advertisement to HCSA_Enquiries@moh.gov.sg with its details for clarification.² Keep a file of each live advertisement, its sources and the date it was checked, so the clinic can answer a request from MOH quickly.

What wai Admin does for growth

wai Admin answers every enquiry from the website, WhatsApp, email and calls, day and night, in English and Mandarin, in one thread for each patient, and takes the fee at booking. The change for the clinic is that every patient its marketing brings in receives a reply the same night, with a time and a fee.

Questions

Are clinics allowed to advertise in Singapore?

Yes, in approved media such as directories, publications and the internet, within the Healthcare Services (Advertisement) Regulations 2021. Advertisements must be factually accurate and must not contain laudatory statements.²

Can clinics post patient testimonials in Singapore?

No. MOH's guidance says licensees must not reproduce testimonials, endorsements or patient photos on their premises, website or social media, or offer anything of value to obtain them.²

Can a clinic in Singapore show before-and-after photos?

Not in advertisements, even with a disclaimer. They may be shown to patients during a consultation with proper context.²

Is SEO allowed for clinics in Singapore?

Yes. MOH says search engine optimisation is not advertising in itself, while paid search marketing and any reviews used in optimisation must meet the regulations.²

Can a clinic send WhatsApp promotions in Singapore?

Only with the recipient's prior written consent. MOH treats SMS, MMS and WhatsApp as push technology under the advertisement regulations.²

Sources

Written and reviewed by the clinical team at wai. Last reviewed 2 September 2026.