Medical practice in Kenya is regulated by the Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council, whose Code of Professional Conduct and Discipline restricts practitioners from canvassing or touting for patients and from self-laudatory advertising, while allowing accurate factual information about a practice. As private healthcare and digital health grow quickly in Kenya, practitioners increasingly need to navigate these rules on websites and social media.
For an ethical practice, the rules fit the growth model naturally. Where you can't advertise your way to patients, you earn them — by being findable, clear, responsive and genuinely helpful.
At a glance — the framework
- KMPDC
- Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Council — registers practitioners and sets the Code of Professional Conduct and Discipline.
- Code of Conduct
- Restricts canvassing, touting and self-laudatory advertising; permits accurate factual information.
- Facilities
- Private health facilities are licensed and regulated; advertising must stay within professional conduct rules.
- Where it applies
- Websites, social media and other channels are covered by the same conduct expectations.
- Default stance
- Inform factually; do not solicit or self-promote. Confirm specifics with the KMPDC.
The line: factual information, not canvassing
The key distinction is between providing accurate information and canvassing for patients. Telling people clearly who you are, where you practise and what you do is generally acceptable; touting, self-laudatory claims and soliciting patients are not. The same expectations apply online — a social post is held to the same standard as a billboard.
Commonly restricted in Kenya
- Canvassing or touting for patients — actively soliciting patients.
- Self-laudatory advertising — "best", "top", superiority claims about yourself or your clinic.
- Testimonials used to claim superiority — patient testimonials implying you're better than peers.
- Guarantees and misleading claims — promising outcomes or overstating results.
- Undignified or unprofessional promotion — including on social media.
- Promoting prescription medicines to the public — restricted.
What stays firmly allowed
- Accurate factual information — the information the Code permits about your practice.
- Patient education — accurate, non-self-laudatory information about conditions and care.
- Accurate practice details — services, qualifications, registration, location and hours.
- A complete, factual Google Business Profile — how many Kenyan patients find local care.
- Responsiveness — fast, helpful replies on WhatsApp and phone.
- Honest reputation — professional handling of reviews, never fabricated.
Where self-promotion is restricted, substance wins
Kenya's rules reward the clinic that competes on substance rather than noise. Within the Code, you can be clearly findable, you can educate patients generously, and you can be the practice people recommend — and in Kenyan healthcare, trust and referral carry real weight. Build those and you grow without crossing into prohibited canvassing or self-promotion.
The ethical way to grow a practice in Kenya
The KMPDC Code points at the fundamentals we teach. Be genuinely findable through an accurate, factual Google Business Profile and website. Educate patients honestly, because information is permitted where touting is not. Respond quickly on WhatsApp. Run a practice people return to and recommend — personal word of mouth isn't advertising and is the most trusted channel there is. That trust-first system is in our guide to getting more patients ethically, adapted to Kenya's rules.
Before you publish — a quick compliance check
- Are we informing, not canvassing or touting for patients?
- Have we removed self-laudatory and superiority claims?
- Have we removed testimonials that imply we're better than peers?
- Have we removed guarantees and misleading claims?
- Does our social media meet the same professional-conduct standards?
- Is our information accurate and our KMPDC registration correct?
Nishu Sharma is a healthcare growth coach and founder of the Ethical Healthcare Community, creator of the Patient-First Growth Framework. Her mission: help 100,000+ doctors, clinic owners and hospital owners grow with ethics and AI, so patients get their trust back in healthcare. Read her full story →