Contracts with influential doctors: clarifications from the CNOM

The CNOM published the Charte du médecin influenceur on January 16, 2025 (See our article: Médecin influenceur: les 10 principes du médecin créateur de contenu responsable selon le Conseil national de l'ordre des médecins).

As a reminder, this Charter, entitled "The 10 principles of a responsible content creator", contains 10 principles recalling the ethical and deontological framework applicable to doctors, while reconciling it with the activity of physician-influencer.

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Reminder of the content creator's charter

Physicians who create content :

• Only educational content, popularized medical and scientific content or any other content relating to health issues may be shared on social networks and platforms;
• Are required to update dated content, mention partnerships, use the title "doctor" in their pseudonym only if they hold this title,inform the Order of their activity, exercise caution and moderation in published content and interactions, and use all the means put in place by platforms and social networks toidentify themselvesas doctors, indicate their qualifications and qualify the content as "health content".

In addition, they are forbidden to provide personalized medical advice, promote or encourage practices or therapies that have not been scientifically validated, engage in self-promotion, use paid means to improve referencing, or commercially promote any health product, drug or medical device.

Faced with the growing practice and use of physician influence services, the CNOM's latest report for the 2023-2024 period clarifies these expectations to guarantee physician independence, and sets out good contractual practices for laboratories and their service providers.

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Details provided by the CNOM's 2023-2024 assessment report

In its2023-2024 evaluation report on the application of the LEA (loi d'encadrement des avantages), the CNOM therefore provides a number of clarifications relating to physician influencers, beyond the conditions of application of the LEA to these contracts.

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Regulating the use of physician influencers in public health communications

In line with the Charte du médecin influenceur, the CNOM reiterates that the use of a physician influencer is only justified for certain campaigns, and distinguishes in this respect between "promotional communications" and "environmental communications concerning public health issues". It considers that such recourse is only possible in the latter case, when the communication requires it, on condition that the doctor retains his or her professional independence and provides honest and fair information, in accordance with the medical code of ethics.

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Assessing the operation's compatibility with the physician's ethical obligations: Importance of the contract's content

To enable the CNOM to assess whether or not the planned operation is compatible with the doctor's ethical obligations, it requires that the purpose of the contract be sufficiently detailed and that the articles of the Code of Ethics be referred to, for example in an appendix:

• Article R. 4127-13 CSP: public information
• Article R. 4127-14 CSP: information on new processes
• Article R. 4127-19-1 CSP: communication to the public
• Article R. 4127-20 CSP: use of the name and status of doctor
• Article R. 4127-31 CSP: discrediting the profession
• Article R. 4127-39 CSP: quackery

The contractual provisions should also remind the doctor that he or she must inform the public to whom he or she is addressing of his or her links of interest with the contracting company, in accordance with the applicable regulations.

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Contributions of Order no. 2024-978 of November 6, 2024 on the supervision of commercial influence and the fight against abuses by influencers on social networks

In its report, the CNOM points out thatordinance no. 2024-978 of November 6, 2024, which amended law no. 2023-451 of June 9, 2023 aimed at regulating commercial influence and combating the abuses of influencers on social networks, makes several changes concerning them:

• Clarifications for influencers in the healthcare sector, with a ban on all direct or indirect promotion:
  
  • procedures, techniques and methods for aesthetic purposes that may present risks to people's health.
  • non-therapeutic products, procedures, techniques and methods presented as comparable, preferable or substitutable to therapeutic procedures, protocols or prescriptions.
• Clarification of applicable penalties ;
• More flexible consumer information requirements for retouched and virtual images;
• Introducing respect for the country-of-origin principle ;
• Bringing provisions on the display of commercial intent into line with European law;
• The need to appoint a representative on EU territory for self-employed persons not established in the EU, the Swiss Confederation or the European Economic Area, when targeting an audience in France.  

In practice, these clarifications strengthen the legal security of collaborations between doctors and manufacturers, while reiterating the primacy of medical ethics over any commercial logic.

Keep a close eye on your contracts and partnerships, to which these new expectations and requirements apply.

Audits, contractual updates and compliant templates (charter, clauses, checklist) guarantee effective campaigns. For a diagnosis or a customized model, please contact us.

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