Community Guidelines: Reviews and Content Policy

1. 1.1
   Scope. These Community Guidelines (the “Guidelines”) govern all content submitted to Health-Tourism.com by patients, visitors, members and Providers — reviews, ratings, patient stories, photographs, videos, comments, questions, Provider replies and listing content (together, “Content”). They form part of the Terms of Use and the Provider Terms. Health Tourism Inc. (“HTI”) applies them to everyone equally.
2. 1.2
   Why they exist. Patients rely on reviews to make decisions about their health and their money. The rules below keep reviews honest and useful, protect patients' and clinicians' privacy and reputation, and meet the legal duties that apply to review hosting and content moderation in the United States[1][2], the European Union[4][5] and elsewhere.

1. 2.1
   First-hand and honest. A review must describe your own experience as a patient (or as the companion of a patient, stated as such) with the Provider reviewed, at the time stated, and must reflect your honest opinion. Do not review a Provider you did not visit, a treatment you did not have, or an experience that is not yours.
2. 2.2
   One per episode. Post one review per treatment episode per Provider. You may update your review as your recovery progresses; updates are shown with their dates.
3. 2.3
   No payment, no conditions. You must not accept, and no one may offer you, money, discounts, free services, refunds or anything else of value in exchange for writing a review, for its sentiment or for removing or changing it. Providers may invite every patient to review through the Service's invitation; they may not select who is invited or pressure anyone. These rules implement the FTC rule on consumer reviews[1].
4. 2.4
   Insiders. Owners, employees, contractors and agents of a Provider, their immediate family members, and HTI staff may not post reviews of that Provider (or of competitors) unless the relationship is clearly stated in the review. Undisclosed insider reviews are removed and may lead to the Provider's suspension.
5. 2.5
   Relevant and specific. Focus on what happened to you: communication, care, facilities, timing, price versus quote, follow-up. Avoid speculation about things you did not witness and avoid medical conclusions you are not qualified to draw; you may describe your symptoms and outcome.
6. 2.6
   Verification. We label a review “Verified patient” when we can match it to an Enquiry or Booking on the Service, or when you show us evidence privately (an appointment confirmation or invoice, which we do not publish and delete after checking). Other reviews are labelled unverified. We may ask for evidence before publishing and may decline to publish a review we cannot connect to a real visit.
7. 2.7
   Your right to review. Nothing in these Guidelines limits your right to publish an honest review here or elsewhere, which the Consumer Review Fairness Act protects[3]. A Provider that conditions care, a refund or a warranty on a review breaches the Provider Terms; tell us.

• Illegal content under the law of the country where it is posted or where it is accessible, including defamation, incitement, terrorist content and content infringing intellectual-property rights.
• Fake, misleading or manipulated content: fabricated experiences, AI-generated reviews presented as real, altered images presented as unaltered, impersonation, and coordinated or bulk posting.
• Hate, harassment and threats: attacks on a person or group because of a protected characteristic, bullying, intimidation, threats of violence or legal action used to intimidate.
• Other people's private information: names, contact details, images or health information of patients, companions, clinicians or staff who have not consented, and any information that could identify another patient.
• Medical misinformation presented as fact: claims that a treatment cures a condition, dosage advice, or advice to stop prescribed treatment. You may describe your own experience and opinions.
• Commercial content in reviews: advertising, referral codes, links to competing services, or Provider self-promotion outside its own Listing.
• Sexual content, graphic violence or gore, except clinical images relevant to a review (for example a surgical scar) that are not gratuitous and are marked as sensitive.
• Content about children beyond a parent's or guardian's account of their own child's care, without the child's identifying details.
• Conflicts of interest not disclosed: reviews by insiders, competitors or anyone with a financial interest in the outcome.
• Off-topic content: reviews of a Provider's politics, unrelated businesses, or the Service itself (use the contact form for feedback about us).

1. 4.1
   One reply, no disclosures. A Provider may publish one reply per review. Replies must be courteous and factual, may correct facts and explain policies, and must not disclose the reviewer's identity, diagnosis, treatment details or any health information beyond what the reviewer disclosed, even to rebut the review. Where a Provider cannot respond without disclosing such information it may state that privacy rules prevent a detailed reply.
2. 4.2
   No retaliation. A Provider may not threaten, sue for the purpose of intimidation, contact a reviewer's employer or family, refuse aftercare, withhold records or impose any detriment because of an honest review.
3. 4.3
   Listing content. Listing content must comply with Section 3 and Section 8 of the Provider Terms: accurate, current, lawful, substantiated, with consented images, no unverifiable superlatives, no lapsed accreditations and no misleading price presentation.
4. 4.4
   Review integrity. Providers must not write, procure, buy, incentivise, select or pressure reviews, and must disclose insider relationships. Breach is a material breach of the Provider Terms and may be reported to the competent consumer-protection authority.

1. 5.1
   Tools. We use automated systems to detect spam, duplicate and bulk submissions, prohibited words, personal data such as phone numbers, and signals of fake reviews (device and account patterns, timing, language similarity). Automated systems may hold Content for review but do not remove Content on their own except for spam and duplicates. Trained reviewers decide every other removal, restriction and label, applying these Guidelines consistently and taking account of context, the public interest and fundamental rights.
2. 5.2
   Pre- and post-publication. Reviews are checked before publication, usually within 2 business days. Published Content may be re-reviewed when reported or when we find new information. We may edit Content only for format, length and to remove personal data of third parties, and we mark edited Content.
3. 5.3
   Statement of reasons. When we remove, restrict, label or decline to publish your Content, or suspend your ability to post, we notify you (where we have your contact details) with: the measure taken and its territorial scope; the facts and circumstances relied on; whether automated means were used in detecting or deciding; the legal ground or the Guideline provision breached and why the Content falls under it; and how to complain and appeal. This follows Article 17 of the Digital Services Act[5] and we apply it to everyone.
4. 5.4
   Legal orders. We act on orders from courts and competent authorities to remove Content or provide information, after checking their validity and scope, and we inform the author unless prohibited.
5. 5.5
   Transparency. We publish an annual transparency report with the number of notices and complaints received, the actions taken, the use of automated tools and median handling times.

1. 6.1
   How to report. Use the “Report” link under any review or reply, write to us through our legal contact form, starting your message with “Content report”, or write to Health Tourism Inc., 7 Times Square, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10036, United States. A report should include: the URL or location of the Content; the reasons you consider it illegal or in breach of these Guidelines, with the law or Guideline provision where you can; your name and email address (not required for reports of sexual content involving minors); and a statement that you believe in good faith that the information in the report is accurate and complete.
2. 6.2
   What happens next. We confirm receipt without undue delay, assess the report diligently, impartially and objectively, and tell you our decision and the reasons, including how to challenge it. If we act, the author receives a statement of reasons under Section 5.3. Reports from trusted flaggers designated under the Digital Services Act are handled with priority[5].
3. 6.3
   Copyright. Reports of copyright or trademark infringement follow the Copyright Policy, which implements the Digital Millennium Copyright Act[7] and equivalent laws.
4. 6.4
   Misuse. We may suspend, after warning, the processing of reports from people who frequently submit manifestly unfounded reports, and the posting rights of people who frequently post manifestly illegal content, for a reasonable period, having regard to the number, proportion, gravity and intent.
5. 6.5
   Hosting. We host Content supplied by others and do not adopt it. To the extent permitted by law, including 47 U.S.C. §230[6] and the hosting provisions of the Digital Services Act, acting on reports does not make us liable for Content we did not remove.

1. 7.1
   Who can appeal. Anyone affected by a decision to remove, restrict, label or not publish Content, to suspend or terminate posting rights or an account, or to act or not act on a report, may complain within six months of being notified of the decision.
2. 7.2
   How. Use the “Appeal” link in the notification, the request form (type: content appeal) or write to us through our legal contact form, starting your message with “Appeal” and the reference in the notification.
3. 7.3
   Process. Appeals are free, handled by a person who was not involved in the original decision and not solely by automated means, decided within 30 days (sooner where urgent), and answered with reasons. If the appeal is upheld we reverse the decision without undue delay. If it is refused we tell you about out-of-court dispute settlement bodies certified under the Digital Services Act where they apply, and your right to go to court.

1. 8.1
   Changes. We may update these Guidelines as Section 20 of the Terms of Use describes. Material changes to what Content is allowed take effect 30 days after notice and apply to Content posted after that date; earlier Content is assessed under the Guidelines in force when it was posted unless the law requires otherwise.
2. 8.2
   Contact. our legal contact form · Health Tourism Inc., 7 Times Square, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10036, United States

We keep every published version. Ask us through our legal contact form for a copy of an earlier version or a redline between two versions.