Real reviews. A fair reply. Same rules for everyone.
How a review on Doctro goes from a patient's visit to a doctor's score, what we remove, and what we never do.
The 7-day timeline
A verified patient writes a review
Only after a proven visit: check-in QR, UPI payment, bill or prescription.
Checked and made public
Our moderator checks it against the same published rules for everyone, then it goes live with the text and the badge "Doctor has 7 days to respond".
The doctor gets a fair reply window
The doctor can reply in public or offer a fix privately: a re-check, a corrected plan or a refund. The patient never has to change the review.
The star score moves
The review counts in the doctor's score, with the doctor's reply shown beside it. Silence never hides a review.
Removed, with the reason shown
- Abuse, threats or obscenity
- Someone else's personal data (phone numbers, addresses, other patients)
- Discrimination
- Nothing to do with the visit
- A factual claim our records disprove, like "he never gave me a prescription" when one exists
- A suspected fake, with evidence
- Extortion, with evidence: "refund me or I post this"
- A court or authorised officer's order
The same list applies to 1-star and 5-star reviews.
Never removed
- Honest negative experiences
- Reviews a doctor simply disagrees with
- Reviews where the doctor did not reply
- Anything a doctor offers to pay to remove
- Reviews called "baseless" or "rage" without evidence
Claims about medical judgement, like "wrong diagnosis", are shown in full to the doctor and blurred in public.
If you are a patient
You can edit your review any time. Tick "Do not contact me" and the doctor can only reply in public. Nobody can pressure you to change it; one tap reports a doctor who asks. A fix offered by the doctor stands whatever you do with your review.
If you are a doctor
Reply in public without naming the patient or their condition. Offer a fix privately from a fixed menu. Report extortion with evidence. Paying for Doctro never changes reviews or ranking.
Appeals
Either side can appeal a decision within 6 months, and a different person decides. From our first paid quarter, an independent reviewer outside Doctro hears appeals and audits a sample every quarter.
Quarterly transparency report
Reviews received, published, removed by reason, appeals won and lost, and the median time to decide. Each doctor page shows live counts: reviews in the reply window, and reviews not shown because the visit could not be verified.
We commit to publishing at least 97.7% of negative reviews.
Why these rules
India's National Medical Commission banned review gating, paid ranking, free-consult offers and per-lead fees for doctors. Our rules follow those guidelines and the Indian Standard on online reviews (IS 19000:2022), so patients can trust what they read and doctors stay safe.
Questions
Can a doctor pay to remove a review?
No. Nothing a doctor pays for changes reviews or ranking.
Why does the score wait 7 days?
So the doctor has a fair chance to reply or fix the problem first. The review text is public within 72 hours.
What if the patient lied about the visit?
Every review needs proof of a visit. Doctors can report a review they believe has no real visit behind it, and the patient gets 7 days to show proof.
Who gets asked to review?
Every proven visit, automatically, with the same message and timing. Doctors and clinic staff can never pick who is asked.