That distinction matters more than it sounds, because it decides who you go to when you have a question, and who is answerable if something about your treatment is wrong.
There are three relationships, not one
The Patient Marketplace Terms of Service set out three separate relationships, and they are governed by different documents.
You are not a party to the third one, and the clinic is not a party to the first. Nothing you agree with GetClinic changes what the clinic owes you clinically, and nothing in a clinic's offer can reduce the refund floor GetClinic publishes.
What GetClinic does not do
The Terms are explicit about this, and the list is short and absolute. GetClinic does not:
- diagnose you, or prescribe anything
- recommend a procedure as a healthcare professional would
- determine your medical eligibility or how urgent your case is
- supervise physicians, or perform any procedure
- provide clinical aftercare
There is no doctor-patient relationship between you and GetClinic. Clinics on the marketplace are independent businesses. They are not GetClinic employees, subsidiaries or medical agents, and GetClinic does not stand behind their clinical judgement.
This is general information about how GetClinic works, not medical advice. Only the clinic's qualified healthcare professionals can decide what treatment is right for you.
What your clinic is responsible for
Your clinic carries the clinical side of this on its own. The Terms place the consultation, the assessment, informed consent, the procedure itself, postoperative care and aftercare on the clinic exclusively, along with the medical records it keeps about you.
Practical services around treatment abroad, such as transfers, accommodation or an interpreter, are provided by the clinic or by another identified provider where an offer names one, not by GetClinic. Where any of that appears in an offer you receive, the offer has to say who is providing it. See who provides what.
If you have a clinical question at any point, before or after treatment, it goes to the clinic. See raising a medical concern, and emergencies.
What GetClinic is responsible for
GetClinic is responsible for the marketplace itself: showing you clinic listings, carrying your messages, generating and keeping your booking record, disclosing the payment terms at checkout, and handling your personal information under the published privacy documents.
At checkout, GetClinic has to identify who is being paid, who is processing the payment, which route the money travels by and what effect the payment has on what you owe. Those can be four different things, and they have to be named. See when you pay, and who you pay.
If something goes wrong with the marketplace, your account, a deposit, a refund or a payment, that is GetClinic's to answer. See how to make a complaint.
Verification is an administrative check
A verification indicator on a clinic profile refers to GetClinic's administrative verification process, which is a check of documents rather than a clinical assessment, and the Terms say so directly. Verification does not guarantee that a treatment is suitable for you, that it will succeed, that there will be no complications, or that a clinic remains compliant after its documents were reviewed.
Read what "verified" means on a clinic profile before you rely on the label for anything.
Where to take a question
Send a medical question to your clinic. Send a marketplace, account or payment question to GetClinic. If you think you are having a medical emergency, contact your local emergency services or a healthcare provider immediately, and do not wait for a GetClinic message.
For anything about how a clinic ended up in front of you, see how clinics are shortlisted for you and the published ranking rules.
GetClinic is a technology marketplace. The clinic you choose provides your healthcare and is responsible for it. GetClinic runs the platform you use to find clinics, ask questions, receive a written offer and record a booking. It does not treat you, and it is not your healthcare provider.