WhatClinic Reviews Charter

WhatClinic Reviews Charter

We are committed to publishing useful, genuine reviews from real patients. We are transparent about how we weed out false reviews, and also why we won't let malicious reviews appear on our site.

What is a verified review?

We work hard to verify all the reviews on our site. All reviews must be confirmed by the author, by phone or email, to be labelled as 'verified'. We do not moderate or publish unverified reviews. You can read more about this process in our Reviews Policy.

What is moderation and why do we do it?

We use automation and manual checks to weed out false reviews. We apply a number of factors to determine if a review is genuine, Moderators might also email or phone the reviewer again for clarification or extra information. They also check each review meets our review guidelines. It can take up to 15 working days to moderate a review, but when it is published, we email the author to let them know.

Why can't patients air their grievances on your site?

It's simple. Our site provides patients with a forum to share the realities of their treatment experience, good and bad. Our reviews often discuss disappointment, complications and other negatives. We often ask people to tell us what the best and the worst bits about their experience.

However, if a patient has a serious complaint about the standard of medical care they received from a clinic, then the fastest, most effective way of dealing with it is by contacting the appropriate medical authority, who has the means and the power to do something about it. This is the most appropriate course of action for them. We cannot publish reviews that are malicious, or defamatory. Our review guidelines help to clarify what defamation is, and you can read those here.

Why do you spend so much time moderating reviews?

Our Moderators put time and effort into engaging with reviewers, by asking follow up questions and by encouraging them to respond to questions from others. We believe that reviews from genuine patients are a useful way for people to understand the realities of the treatment experience.

Medical procedures, unlike say, a trip away, or dinner in a restaurant, are highly complex and vary from one patient to another. We ask that patients focus on their personal experiences, good and bad, and share those, along with any photos, videos or other records that might help them share their story with others.

Here are some of the reasons why a review may not be published:

• The review is clearly false.
• The review came from someone who did not get any treatment.
• The review is clearly malicious, defamatory or unqualified.
• The review was copied from another site.
• The clinic has no record of the patient who left the review, and the patient cannot or will not confirm they were a patient.