Editorial Policy

Last updated: 27 July 2026

Applies to: All blogs, articles, guides, FAQs and health explainers published on daktar.online

Published by: Daktar AI Technologies Private Limited, operating daktar.online for patients and doctors in India

Jurisdiction: India. Our services and our content are intended for readers in India and are governed by Indian law.

Health content is not ordinary content. What someone reads online can change whether they see a doctor, take a medicine, or ignore a symptom that needed attention. That responsibility sits behind every article we publish.

This policy sets out, publicly and in plain language, how content on daktar.online is planned, written, reviewed, sourced, corrected and updated — so that readers, doctors, partners and regulators can hold us to a standard they can actually check.

It applies to everything in our Health In The Know blog and to any health-related explainer, guide or FAQ on the site. It does not apply to clinical advice given inside a private consultation, which is governed by the treating doctor's professional judgement and the applicable Telemedicine Practice Guidelines.

Patient first, always. Our commercial interest is never a reason to publish something. If an article would drive bookings but leave a reader worse informed, we do not publish it.

Accurate before fast. We would rather publish a week late than publish something we cannot support. No trend, keyword opportunity or seasonal spike overrides this.

Evidence, not opinion dressed as fact. Every clinical claim traces back to a source a reader could check for themselves.

Written for India. Health guidance written for another country often does not fit Indian diets, climate, disease burden, drug availability or healthcare access. We write for the reader in Bhavnagar, Kochi, Lucknow and Guwahati — not a generic international audience.

Clear, not clever. We write at a reading level a worried patient can follow at 11pm. Medical terms are explained the first time they appear.

Content is not a consultation. Articles inform and prepare. They never diagnose, never prescribe, and never substitute for a doctor who has actually assessed you.

Honest about ourselves. Where we use AI, we say so. Where we get something wrong, we correct it in the open. Where content is sponsored, we label it.

Every article passes through defined roles. A single person may hold more than one role, but a person may never be the sole reviewer of content they authored.

Content writers

Draft articles from a commissioned brief. Writers are required to have demonstrable health-writing experience and to work only from approved sources. Writers do not have publishing rights.

Medical reviewers

Every article containing clinical information is reviewed and approved before publication by a doctor holding a recognised medical qualification and current registration with the National Medical Commission (NMC) or a State Medical Council. Reviewers check the article for clinical accuracy, safety, completeness, and whether anything in it could reasonably lead a reader to delay necessary care.

Reviewers are asked to decline any article outside their area of competence. A dermatologist does not sign off cardiology content.

Editors

Own structure, clarity, tone, source verification and compliance with this policy. Editors have final say on whether an article is fit to publish, and can hold or withdraw any piece regardless of who wrote or reviewed it.

Named attribution

Articles carrying clinical guidance display the author and the reviewing doctor by name, with qualification and registration details, and the date of review. Where an article is general or non-clinical in nature (for example, a guide to booking an appointment), it is attributed to the Daktar Editorial Team.

1. Commission — a topic is selected on the basis of genuine reader need, common patient questions, and gaps in reliable Indian-language health information.

2. Brief — the brief defines scope, audience, required sources, and any safety flags (for example, red-flag symptoms that must be included).

3. Draft — the writer produces the article against the brief, with sources cited inline.

4. Editorial check — the editor verifies every statistic and claim against its cited source, checks for missing safety information, and removes anything unsupported.

5. Medical review — a registered doctor reviews for clinical accuracy and patient safety, and either approves, requests changes, or rejects.

6. Compliance check — the article is checked against Section 8 (What we will not publish) and the regulations listed in Section 12.

7. Publish — with author, reviewer, publication date and review date displayed.

8. Scheduled re-review — see Section 6.

An article that cannot clear step 5 does not publish. There is no exception for deadline pressure.

Sources we rely on

In descending order of preference:

1. Peer-reviewed research in indexed medical journals, with preference for systematic reviews and meta-analyses over single studies

2. Clinical practice guidelines from recognised professional bodies

3. Indian government and statutory health sources — Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), National Medical Commission, National Health Portal, National Centre for Disease Control

4. International public health bodies such as the World Health Organization

5. Recognised academic and hospital institutions

6. Direct expert commentary from our reviewing doctors, clearly attributed as expert opinion

Rules our writers work to

- Every statistic, percentage, prevalence figure or study finding must link to its primary source, not to a news article or blog that mentioned it. "A study found…" without a citation is not publishable.

- Sources should generally be from the last five years. Older sources are used only where the evidence is well established and unchanged, or where the source is a landmark study.

- Indian data is preferred for anything about prevalence, risk, cost, diet or healthcare access in India. Where only international data exists, we say so.

- We do not source from content farms, unattributed listicles, AI-generated aggregator sites, commercial product pages, or social media claims.

- Where evidence is genuinely contested or emerging, we say that plainly rather than picking the more dramatic side.

- Where a claim cannot be sourced, it is cut. Not softened — cut.

Medical guidance changes. Content that was accurate in 2024 can be misleading in 2026.

- Every clinical article displays a published date and a last reviewed date.

- Clinical articles are scheduled for re-review at least every 24 months, and sooner where guidance changes.

- Where new evidence, a regulatory change or a guideline revision affects an article, we update it promptly rather than waiting for the scheduled cycle.

- Substantive updates are noted on the article. Minor fixes such as typos and broken links are made without a note.

- Where an article can no longer be made accurate, we retire it rather than leave it published.

We believe readers deserve a straight answer on this, so here it is.

AI tools may be used in producing our content — for research assistance, outlining, drafting, summarising source material, and language editing. Daktar is a technology company and we use the tools available to us.

What AI is never permitted to do:

- Publish without a human editor reading and reworking the draft in full

- Serve as a source of medical fact — every clinical claim is traced back to a human-authored, verifiable source, never to what a model produced

- Substitute for the medical review in Section 3. No article containing clinical information is published without a registered doctor reading and approving it.

- Generate statistics, study findings, citations or quotes. These are verified against the original source by a human, or removed.

- Fabricate patient experiences, testimonials, doctor quotes or case studies

The named reviewing doctor takes responsibility for the clinical accuracy of the published article regardless of how the first draft was produced. Where an article was substantially AI-assisted, we are willing to say so on request.

- Diagnosis or prescription. Articles never tell a reader what condition they have or what medicine to take. Dosing, drug selection and treatment decisions belong in a consultation.

- Cure or guaranteed-outcome claims, including claims of cure or prevention for conditions covered by the Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954.

- Promotion of prescription-only medicines, including Schedule H, H1 and X drugs, consistent with the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and its Rules.

- Miracle cures, unverified home remedies presented as treatment, or content discouraging evidence-based medical care.

- Content that could enable self-harm, including specific methods, dosing thresholds for overdose, or detailed instructions for disordered eating or purging.

- Fear-driven or sensationalised health content designed to alarm readers into booking.

- Fabricated or incentivised testimonials, or patient stories published without consent.

- Before-and-after imagery used to imply guaranteed results.

- Content that stigmatises any person or group by disease status, disability, body size, caste, religion, gender, sexual orientation or mental health condition. We use person-first, non-judgemental language.

- Diagnostic or treatment claims about a named commercial product in editorial content.

Content on daktar.online is provided for general information and education. It is not medical advice, does not create a doctor–patient relationship, and is not a substitute for consultation with a qualified healthcare professional who has assessed your individual circumstances.

Never delay seeking medical advice, or disregard advice you have been given, because of something you read here.

If you are experiencing a medical emergency, call 112 immediately, or 108 for an ambulance in states where that service operates, or go to your nearest emergency department. If you are in mental health distress, Tele-MANAS is available free, 24×7, on 14416 or 1-800-891-4416.

We publish corrections rather than quietly deleting mistakes.

To report an error, email [editorial@daktar.online] with the article link and the specific claim you believe is wrong, ideally with a source. Reports about clinical accuracy are escalated to a medical reviewer.

Our commitment:

- We acknowledge every report within 3 working days.

- Where a claim poses a patient safety risk, we unpublish or amend the article immediately while we investigate, rather than leaving it live.

- Other verified errors are corrected within 10 working days.

- Material corrections — anything that changes the meaning, the clinical guidance or a key figure — are marked on the article with the date and a note describing what changed.

- Minor corrections such as spelling, grammar or broken links are made silently.

- If we investigate and conclude the content was correct, we will tell you why.

If you are not satisfied with how a complaint was handled, you can escalate it to the Editorial Lead via the same address.

- Editorial content is not for sale. No advertiser, sponsor, pharmacy partner, laboratory partner or registered doctor can pay for favourable coverage, inclusion in an article, or removal of content.

- Sponsored or partner-funded content, where published, is clearly labelled as such at the top of the page, names the funder, and is still subject to the medical review and sourcing standards in this policy.

- Affiliate or commercial relationships relevant to an article's subject are disclosed within the article.

- Doctor, pharmacy and laboratory listings on Daktar are not editorial endorsements and are not influenced by editorial coverage. Conversely, a partner's commercial relationship with Daktar does not earn them editorial mentions.

- Reviewers declare conflicts of interest. A doctor with a financial interest in a treatment, product or company does not review content covering it.

- Our writers and editors are not compensated on the basis of consultations booked from an article.

Daktar operates in India, and our content is produced with reference to the Indian legal and regulatory framework, including:

- Telemedicine Practice Guidelines, 2020 (issued under the Indian Medical Council Act framework, now administered by the National Medical Commission) — governing how remote consultations are conducted and what may be advised remotely

- National Medical Commission Act, 2019 and applicable professional conduct regulations

- Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Rules, 1945 — including restrictions on advertising prescription-only medicines

- Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954 — prohibiting cure claims for specified conditions

- Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 and the Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 — governing personal data including health data

- Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and the CCPA Guidelines for Prevention of Misleading Advertisements and Endorsements, 2022

- Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) Code and its Guidelines for Influencer Advertising in Digital Media, including the requirement that anyone making technical health claims disclose their qualifications

- Information Technology Act, 2000 and applicable intermediary rules

Where our content or practice falls short of any of these, we treat it as a defect to be fixed, not a risk to be managed.

- We do not publish identifiable patient information without explicit, documented, written consent, freely given and withdrawable.

- Consultation content is confidential and is never used as editorial material.

- Case studies are anonymised and, where necessary, details are altered to prevent identification. Where details have been changed, we say so.

- Patient testimonials on the site reflect individual experience and are not presented as expected outcomes.

- Personal data is handled in accordance with our [Privacy Policy](https://daktar.online/privacy-policy) and the DPDP Act, 2023.

- Images are licensed, original, or used with permission. We do not use clinical imagery in a way that misleads about outcomes.

- AI-generated illustrative images are permitted for decorative use but are never used to depict a real patient, a real clinical finding, or a real outcome.

- We quote third-party material only within fair-dealing limits and with attribution.

- If you believe we have used your material without permission, contact [editorial@daktar.online] and we will act promptly.

This policy is owned by the Daktar Editorial Lead and reviewed at least annually, or sooner where regulation or practice changes. Material changes are reflected in the "Last updated" date above.

Questions, feedback and corrections: [support@daktar.online]