In this guide · 7 sections
Short answer
Under the TCMPB Ethical Code, website information must be factual, accurate, verifiable and not laudatory or comparative. Websites may not show patient testimonies or photos or videos of treatment results linked to identifiable people. Public ads for Chinese proprietary medicines need an HSA permit.
TCMPB rules that apply to your website
The TCMPB publishes its Ethical Code and Ethical Guidelines for TCM Practitioners in English and Chinese. Section 4.4 covers information about TCM practitioners' services. It says practitioners may provide information about their qualifications, areas of practice, practice arrangements and contact details, but that information must not become blatant advertising in the commercial sense.
| The Code says information must be | And must not be |
|---|---|
| Factual | Extravagant in its claims |
| Accurate | Misleading or sensational |
| Verifiable | Persuasive or laudatory (praising yourself) |
| Fair to others | Comparative or disparaging |
Paragraph 4.4.5 applies these standards directly to websites. A practitioner who appears on a website is responsible for making sure the information about them, and any hyperlinks from the site, meet the standards. Clinic and practitioner websites also must not be sponsored by pharmaceutical or other commercial companies.
TCM clinics are not among the services licensed under the Healthcare Services Act, so the HCSA advertising regulations covered in our clinic website rules guide do not apply to a standalone TCM clinic. The TCMPB Code is the main rulebook.
What a TCM website can and cannot show
Paragraph 4.4.5(b) of the Code gives specific website rules. Combined with the general standards, they translate into this:
Allowed
- Practitioner names, registered areas of practice and qualifications
- Clinic address, hours, fees and contact details
- Factual descriptions of services such as acupuncture or tuina
- General illustrations, not tied to real patients
- Educational articles on health topics that stay factual
Not allowed
- Testimonies from satisfied patients, on the site or linked from it
- Photos or videos of treatment results with identifiable patients or practitioners
- Animation used to promote the practice
- Claims like 'best', 'most experienced' or comparisons with other clinics
- Sponsorship of the website by product companies
The testimony rule is the one clinics break most often by accident.
The Code also says a remote initial consultation with a previously unknown patient, through a web platform or email, is inappropriate; only general information may be provided. A contact form or WhatsApp button for booking is fine. Offering diagnosis through a chat widget is not.
Herbal products and Chinese proprietary medicines online
Many TCM clinics also sell herbal products. Product advertising is regulated by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA), separately from the TCMPB Code.
HSA's page on advertisements and promotions of medicinal products states that you need a valid HSA permit before publishing medical advertisements or running sales promotions directed at the general public for Chinese proprietary medicines and several other product types. HSA lists static displays and videos on the internet among the covered formats. The permit number must appear in the advertising.
For traditional medicinal materials (raw herbs), a permit is needed if the advertisement contains medicinal claims. Advertisements without medicinal claims do not need prior approval, but HSA still requires that claims are accurate and substantiated and that you avoid comparative claims, exaggerated terms, guarantees of results or 'no side effects', and endorsements used without permission.
Herbal product page check
Bilingual English and Chinese pages for search
Many TCM patients search in Chinese, others in English. A site that shows both languages mixed on one page usually ranks poorly in both. Google's guidance on managing multilingual sites recommends separate URLs for each language version.
Give each language its own URL
For example, yourclinic.sg/en/acupuncture and yourclinic.sg/zh/acupuncture, rather than switching text with a button on one URL.
Add hreflang tags
Tell Google which pages are translations of each other using hreflang (en-SG and zh-SG or zh-Hans-SG), as described in Google's localized versions guide.
Write, do not machine-translate
Use the terms patients actually search for in each language. Have a Chinese-speaking practitioner check the Chinese pages.
Translate titles and descriptions too
Each page's title and meta description should be in that page's language.
Match your Google Business Profile
Keep the clinic name consistent with your approved English and Chinese names, and add your booking link.
The TCMPB Code also requires the clinic's English and Chinese names to be approved by the Board. Use exactly those names in your page titles, footer and Google profile. Our Google Business Profile guide covers the local listing.
Booking and patient data
Online booking for consultations, acupuncture and tuina reduces calls and no-shows. Keep the booking form short: name, contact, preferred practitioner and time, and a brief reason for visit. Leave detailed history-taking for the consultation itself.
The Code asks practitioners to make sure the way they communicate or store confidential patient information is secure, specifically mentioning websites and email. In practice, that means a booking tool with proper logins and MFA, no patient details in a shared personal Gmail, and a privacy notice on the form. Our guide to online booking systems compares tools that work for small clinics.
Do it yourself or get help?
A simple TCM clinic site with practitioner details, services, fees, hours and a booking link is well within reach of a website builder. Bilingual structure with hreflang, and keeping every page inside the TCMPB standards, is where most DIY sites slip. This page is general information, not legal advice; check the Code and HSA's guidance for specific wording.
Our Business Website package (S$1,490) builds up to six pages with a booking button and on-page SEO; see our website cost guide for how that compares. Online Booking System (S$390) adds appointment types and reminders, and Speed and SEO Fix (S$390) sorts out titles, sitemaps and Search Console for an existing site.
Frequently asked questions
The TCMPB Ethical Code says websites may not have, or provide hyperlinks to, testimonies from satisfied patients or other TCM practitioners. That rules out patient story sections and review carousels on the clinic website. Patients can still leave reviews on independent platforms, but avoid embedding or linking to them from your site.
No, if they relate to identifiable patients or practitioners. The TCMPB Code says photographs or video clips showing results of treatment, or procedures being conducted, are not allowed on websites when they relate to identifiable practitioners or patients, directly or by inference. General illustrations not tied to real people are allowed.
To advertise or run sales promotions for Chinese proprietary medicines to the general public, HSA requires a valid permit, and the permit number must appear in the advertisement. This covers internet displays and videos. Raw traditional medicinal materials need a permit only if the advertisement makes medicinal claims. Check HSA's guidance for your specific products.
Ideally both, as separate pages. Give each language its own URL, link the versions with hreflang tags, and write each version for the way patients search in that language. Mixing both languages on one page tends to rank poorly in each. Use the clinic's Board-approved English and Chinese names consistently.
The TCMPB Code says a remote initial consultation with a previously unknown patient, whether through a web platform or email, is inappropriate, and only general information may be provided. Use the website for information and booking, and carry out the first consultation in person, where proper history-taking and examination are possible.