What is and isn’t direct marketing

Direct marketing is the communication of any advertising or marketing material to an individual. Direct marketing is not restricted to profit making and includes promoting aims or ideals (for example, fundraising). Direct marketing can be communicated in any way, for example by phone, letter, email or text.

The majority of communications that health and care organisations send to individuals will not be direct marketing, but some communications could be considered direct marketing. The law restricts the way organisations can carry out direct marketing. It is therefore important that you read and understand this guidance. It will help you decide whether the communication you wish to send is direct marketing or not.

The ICO has produced wider guidance on direct marketing for the public sector. This guidance specifically considers the rules on direct marketing in the context of health and care communications. It includes some case studies at the end.

Most communications that you receive from your health and care professional will not be direct marketing. You should only receive messages from them that you would reasonably expect to receive.

For instance, you might receive information from healthcare professionals about things to do with your care. This could be about your treatment, information about amended opening hours for a GP practice or notification that your prescription is ready to collect.

You may also be asked for feedback on parts of your healthcare experience, which helps the NHS improve what it does. Sometimes you may be invited to participate in research which has been reviewed by an NHS Research Ethics Committee. The Health Research Authority (HRA) provides further information about how information is used for research and your choices.

Unless you have previously agreed to it (given your consent), you should not receive a direct marketing message, such as asking for donations to the hospital charity. You have the right to object to any direct marketing message and this must be respected. It should also be easy for you to withdraw your consent, for example, by clicking a link to unsubscribe in an email.