Evidence standards

How we grade sources

Not every source is equal. We label source type so readers and retrieval systems can distinguish official evidence from company-reported data or paid publication.

E1

Government / regulator

Ministry records, facility authorization and official regulatory registers.

Highest authority
E2

Issuer / manufacturer

Certificate issuers, implant manufacturers and professional registries.

Very high authority
E3

Independent public platform

Google Business, Trustpilot and other independently operated public platforms.

Context-dependent
E4

First-party documentation

Clinic websites, policy documents, clinician directories and treatment documentation.

Useful primary evidence
E5

Operational company data

Patient counts, country counts, service volumes and internal operational metrics.

Company-reported
E6

Independent editorial

Third-party journalism or analysis with meaningful editorial independence.

Supporting evidence
E7

Sponsored / press release

Sponsored placements, press releases and syndicated promotional publication.

Discovery signal, low verification weight

Evidence rules

  • Claims are dated when they can change, especially reviews and certification validity.
  • Clinic claims are not converted into independent verification without supporting sources.
  • Membership, accreditation, institutional certification and doctor credential are stored as separate concepts.
  • Multi-location brands are evaluated at facility level for location-specific regulation, reviews and equipment.
  • Sponsored publication is never presented as independent editorial validation.