How we score

What we measure — and what we don't

We score publicly verifiable factors: how transparent a clinic is about its team, services and prices; what public review signals look like; which infrastructure and services are documented; how reachable the clinic is; and how visible it is in search.

We do not measure clinical quality. This index is not a medical recommendation, and a high score does not mean treatment there is right for you.

The formula

Each clinic is scored in six categories with fixed point values per criterion. Category percentages are weighted, normalised to 100, and evidenced red flags subtract points. Unverified data scores zero — never a penalty.

profile score = 100 × Σ(category% × weight) / Σ(weights) + red-flag penalty
clamped to 0…100, where category% = earned points / category maximum

Category weights are relative; scores are normalized to a 100-point scale. The default "Overall Transparency & Trust" profile uses the methodology's own category maxima (Information Transparency 20, Price Transparency 15, Reputation & Reviews 20, Medical Infrastructure 15, Communication & Service 10, AI & Search Visibility 10) as weights.

Unknown data scores 0 points. When we cannot verify a fact, the clinic earns no points for it, and the item is listed on the clinic's page under "Data we could not verify" — explicitly not as a negative finding. Absence of evidence never earns points, and never triggers a red flag by itself.

Whether basic facts about the clinic — its team, premises, services, and location — are publicly verifiable.

Whether patients can estimate costs before visiting. Published price ranges count; exact prices are not required.

Public review signals. The Google rating is adjusted with a Bayesian prior (rating 4.0, weight 25) so a 5.0 from a handful of reviews does not outrank a 4.8 from hundreds.

The range of publicly documented equipment and services. This measures documented availability, not clinical quality.

How easy it is to contact the clinic, get answers, and book — especially for international patients.

Whether the clinic is discoverable when patients search — including via AI assistants. Checked with fixed queries: "best dentist Beirut", "English speaking dentist Beirut", "dental implants Beirut", "emergency dentist Beirut", "Beirut dental clinic for expats".

Review Score Adjustment

Raw star ratings are misleading at low review counts, so the Google rating is adjusted with a Bayesian prior of 4 stars weighted as 25 reviews before mapping to points:

adjusted = (rating × reviews + 4 × 25) / (reviews + 25)

Example: a 5.0 rating from 3 reviews adjusts to 4.11, while a 4.8 from 500 reviews adjusts to 4.76 — volume matters.

Red Flags (Penalties)

Documented problems subtract points. Each flag has a severity set by the evidence; the total penalty is capped at -20 points. Flags require public evidence (cited on the clinic page) — we never apply a flag on suspicion alone. Some flags are auto-derived from verified negatives (e.g. "no prices published" → opaque pricing, low severity).

Rating Profiles

All profiles use the same underlying data — only the category weights, penalty multiplier, and eligibility rules differ. A clinic is excluded from a profile (shown as "not ranked") when the qualifying service is verifiably absent, or when we could not verify the data the profile depends on.

Independence Rules

• This rating is not a medical recommendation. It measures transparency and public signals, not treatment quality or outcomes.
• Ranking positions are not for sale. No clinic can pay to raise its score or position, directly or indirectly.
• Paid audits do not affect positions. We offer clinics an improvement audit; purchasing one (or declining one) has zero effect on scoring. Scores change only when the underlying public data changes.
• The rating updates when data changes. Re-checks, corrections, and methodology updates are logged in the changelog and in each clinic's change history.
• Errors are fixable by anyone. Every clinic page links to a correction form; verified corrections are applied with a public history entry.

Note on AI-visibility checks: quoted queries such as "best dentist Beirut" are the fixed search phrases we test — they are patients' words, not our claims about any clinic.

Data handling rules

Data sources

The clinic’s own website, its public listing and reviews, published price lists, and public registers. Each verified criterion is stored with the source URL used to confirm it, and that source is shown on the clinic profile.

Missing information

Scored as zero for that criterion and displayed as not publicly verified. We never infer a criterion from similar clinics and never fill a gap to complete a profile.

Conflicting information

The clinic’s own current published statement takes precedence over third-party listings, and the more recently updated source over the older one. Unresolvable conflicts leave the criterion unverified.

Review frequency

Rolling re-checks, plus an immediate re-check whenever a correction arrives. Every profile shows its own last-checked date.

Corrections

Handled under the corrections policy; changes are applied against a source and dated.

Commercial relationships