A review label on GetClinic tells you what has been checked about that review. It does not tell you anything about the quality of the care described in it, and it is not an endorsement by GetClinic of the clinic being reviewed.
Who may leave a review, and what each label means, is set out in the Review Integrity Policy. The rules below are the parts patients most often need.
A label describes the review, not the care
Each verification label has a defined meaning, and each one is limited. A label answers a narrow question about the review's provenance, and stops there.
One limit is worth stating on its own, because it is the assumption people most often make: the fact that someone made a booking is not by itself enough for their review to be shown as verified treatment. A booking and a treatment are different events, and the label that refers to treatment cannot be applied on the strength of a booking alone.
The equivalent label on a clinic profile is a separate system with separate rules. See what "verified" means on a clinic profile.
What is not allowed
The Review Integrity Policy prohibits three categories of review:
- fake reviews, including reviews written by someone who was not a patient
- incentivised reviews. A clinic must not offer money, refunds, discounts, gifts, priority treatment or aftercare benefits in exchange for a review, unless the arrangement is a GetClinic-approved, legally cleared, sentiment-neutral feedback programme. An incentive conditioned on a five-star or otherwise favourable review is never permitted
- conflicted reviews, where the author has an undisclosed interest in the clinic
These apply in both directions. A competitor writing a negative review is as much a breach as a clinic arranging positive ones.
Clinics cannot choose who gets asked
Review gating is prohibited. A clinic must not survey patients privately and then route only the satisfied ones to the public review form, leaving the unhappy ones somewhere they cannot be seen.
This matters more than the fake-review rule in practice, because gating produces reviews that are individually genuine and collectively misleading. If you were asked how your treatment went and then only invited to review publicly after giving a positive answer, that is reportable.
Objecting is not the same as removing
A lawful negative review is not removed because a clinic objects to it. A clinic disliking what you wrote, or disputing your account of events, is not a ground for taking your review down.
Reviews can be removed for other reasons, such as breaching the rules above or containing unlawful content, and those decisions come with reasons and an appeal route. See reporting illegal content, and appealing a decision.
Your review cannot be used as leverage
A clinic must not condition your treatment, your aftercare, a refund or the handling of your complaint on you changing, removing or not writing a review. Your care and your money are not bargaining chips against your opinion.
If a clinic ties any of those to a review, raise it. That is a marketplace conduct issue and it goes to GetClinic, not to the clinic. See how to make a complaint, and what happens next.
Separately, leaving a public review does not give a clinic permission to reuse your name, your photograph or your outcome in its advertising. That needs your specific permission, and the rules are in your photos: how they are used, and how to withdraw them.
Reporting a review, and what happens next
You can report a review you believe breaches the rules, whether it is about you, about a clinic you used, or about anything else you have grounds to raise. The Review Integrity Policy sets out how reports are handled and how to appeal a decision you disagree with.
A report does not automatically remove anything. It starts an assessment, and where contact details are available the outcome is notified with the reasons the law requires.
GetClinic is a technology marketplace. The clinic you choose provides your healthcare and is responsible for it. 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. A review is one patient's account of their own experience, and it is not a prediction of yours.