Playbooks
Medical Schema Markup: Physician, MedicalCondition, MedicalProcedure in 2026
Schema is how AI engines verify physician credentials and classify medical content. Most practice sites have none. Here is the implementation that gets cited.
When ChatGPT recommends a cardiologist for atrial fibrillation, it verifies that the practice is actually a cardiology practice with board-certified cardiologists. Schema markup is the primary mechanism. Practices with structured Physician and Person markup with hasCredential get verified and cited. Practices without it have to be inferred, and AI engines often skip inference.
This is the implementation guide.
For the strategic context, see the pillar on AI SEO for medical practices, the physician E-E-A-T post, and the broader schema markup guide. For a structured engagement, see our AI SEO services for doctors.
The schema types every medical practice needs
1. MedicalBusiness or Physician schema on the homepage
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "MedicalBusiness",
"name": "Heart Health Cardiology",
"image": "https://example.com/logo.png",
"url": "https://example.com",
"telephone": "+1-512-555-0100",
"address": {
"@type": "PostalAddress",
"streetAddress": "1500 Medical Plaza",
"addressLocality": "Austin",
"addressRegion": "TX",
"postalCode": "78703"
},
"geo": {
"@type": "GeoCoordinates",
"latitude": 30.2672,
"longitude": -97.7431
},
"medicalSpecialty": [
"Cardiovascular",
"Electrophysiology"
],
"availableService": [
{
"@type": "MedicalProcedure",
"name": "Echocardiogram"
},
{
"@type": "MedicalProcedure",
"name": "Cardiac catheterization"
},
{
"@type": "MedicalProcedure",
"name": "Catheter ablation"
}
],
"healthPlanNetworkTier": [
"Aetna",
"Blue Cross Blue Shield",
"United Healthcare",
"Medicare"
],
"aggregateRating": {
"@type": "AggregateRating",
"ratingValue": "4.8",
"reviewCount": "234"
}
}The medicalSpecialty and availableService fields are critical. AI engines use them directly to match patient queries to practices.
2. Person schema with credentials for every physician
Every physician on staff needs Person schema with full credential markup on their bio page.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "Physician",
"name": "Sarah Johnson",
"honorificPrefix": "Dr.",
"honorificSuffix": "MD",
"image": "https://example.com/team/sarah-johnson.jpg",
"url": "https://example.com/team/sarah-johnson",
"jobTitle": "Cardiologist",
"medicalSpecialty": [
"Cardiovascular",
"Electrophysiology"
],
"worksFor": {
"@type": "MedicalBusiness",
"name": "Heart Health Cardiology"
},
"hasCredential": [
{
"@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential",
"credentialCategory": "license",
"name": "Texas Medical License",
"identifier": "12345",
"recognizedBy": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "Texas Medical Board"
}
},
{
"@type": "EducationalOccupationalCredential",
"credentialCategory": "certification",
"name": "ABIM Board Certification in Cardiovascular Disease",
"recognizedBy": {
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "American Board of Internal Medicine"
}
}
],
"alumniOf": [
{
"@type": "CollegeOrUniversity",
"name": "Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine"
}
],
"memberOf": [
{
"@type": "Organization",
"name": "American College of Cardiology"
}
],
"knowsAbout": [
"Atrial fibrillation",
"Heart failure",
"Coronary artery disease",
"Cardiac catheterization"
]
}The hasCredential array with both medical licenses and board certifications is what makes credentials verifiable. AI engines cross-reference against state medical board and ABMS databases.
3. MedicalCondition schema on condition pages
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "MedicalCondition",
"name": "Atrial Fibrillation",
"alternateName": ["AFib", "AF"],
"code": {
"@type": "MedicalCode",
"code": "I48",
"codingSystem": "ICD-10"
},
"signOrSymptom": [
"Palpitations",
"Shortness of breath",
"Fatigue",
"Dizziness",
"Chest pain"
],
"possibleTreatment": [
{
"@type": "MedicalTherapy",
"name": "Rate control medications"
},
{
"@type": "MedicalProcedure",
"name": "Catheter ablation"
}
],
"riskFactor": [
"Age over 65",
"Hypertension",
"Diabetes",
"Obesity"
]
}ICD-10 codes in the code field help AI engines disambiguate conditions. Use them.
4. MedicalProcedure schema on procedure pages
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "MedicalProcedure",
"name": "Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation",
"procedureType": "Surgical",
"bodyLocation": "Heart",
"preparation": "Fasting required, cessation of certain medications, pre-procedure imaging",
"followup": "Overnight hospital stay, follow-up echocardiogram at 3 months",
"howPerformed": "Performed under general anesthesia. Catheters threaded through blood vessels to heart..."
}5. MedicalScholarlyArticle schema on clinical articles
For articles authored by physicians:
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "MedicalScholarlyArticle",
"headline": "Atrial Fibrillation: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment Options",
"datePublished": "2026-03-15",
"dateModified": "2026-05-20",
"author": {
"@type": "Physician",
"name": "Dr. Sarah Johnson",
"honorificSuffix": "MD",
"url": "https://example.com/team/sarah-johnson"
}
}6. FAQPage schema for FAQ sections
Most AI Overview citations from medical sites come from FAQ sections. Mark them up.
{
"@context": "https://schema.org",
"@type": "FAQPage",
"mainEntity": [
{
"@type": "Question",
"name": "What are the symptoms of atrial fibrillation?",
"acceptedAnswer": {
"@type": "Answer",
"text": "Common symptoms of atrial fibrillation include heart palpitations, shortness of breath..."
}
}
]
}Implementation rules
Use JSON-LD in the page head
Best for Google parsing. Easier to maintain than embedded Microdata.
Match schema to visible content
If schema lists board certification, the bio page should display it visibly. Mismatch is treated as deceptive.
Keep credentials current
Expired licenses or lapsed board certifications must be removed from schema immediately. Stale schema with expired credentials is worse than no schema.
Use ICD-10 codes on condition pages
The code field with ICD-10 helps AI engines disambiguate conditions. Especially important for conditions with multiple names.
Validate every change
https://validator.schema.org/ and Google’s Rich Results Test. Errors break the entire schema block.
What this gets you
Full medical schema implementation gets:
- Verifiable physician credentials feeding AI extraction
- Medical specialty explicitly machine-readable
- Conditions accurately classified via ICD-10
- Procedures matched to patient query intent
- Author attribution chain from article to physician to credentials
- FAQ sections eligible for AI Overview citation
FAQs
Will schema directly improve rankings?
Not as a direct factor. Schema affects eligibility for rich results, AI engine extraction, and credential verification. Downstream effect on visibility is significant.
How long until schema starts working?
Google reprocesses schema within days of a re-crawl. AI engines on a slower cadence, typically 2 to 8 weeks. Visible effect within 30 to 90 days.
What about NP and PA bios?
Use Person schema (not Physician) with accurate credential markup. NPs use hasCredential for “Nurse Practitioner Board Certification.” PAs use “PA-C Certification.”
Should I include hospital affiliations in schema?
Yes. Hospital affiliations are verifiable trust signals. Use memberOf with the hospital as Organization.
What if my practice does not have aggregateRating data?
Omit the field rather than inventing data. AI engines cross-reference review counts against third-party platforms.
Where to go next
The companion posts in this cluster:
- AI SEO for medical practices and doctors: the 2026 playbook
- Physician E-E-A-T and credentials infrastructure
- Condition pages for medical practices
For a structured engagement, our AI SEO services for doctors page covers schema implementation as part of the physician authority work.