Terms of use
These terms set out the deal between you and RatedByPatients: what you can do with the site, what you keep when you post a review, what we promise and what we do not. They are written to be read, not to be skimmed past.
1. Accepting these terms
By using this site you agree to these terms, to our privacy policy and to our medical disclaimer. If you do not agree with them, please do not use the site. You must be at least 16 years old to submit anything to us, and 18 or over to leave a review.
2. What this site is
RatedByPatients is an independent information and comparison service. It is not a healthcare provider, pharmacy, insurer or broker, it does not provide medical advice, and it is not affiliated with the companies it reviews. We do not arrange treatment, dispense medication or take part in any transaction between you and a provider.
3. Using the site
You may read, link to and quote this site with attribution. You may not:
- scrape, harvest or systematically copy our data, prices, scores or reviews, or use them to train a model or build a competing database;
- submit false, provider-paid or impersonated reviews, or reviews about a company you work for or compete with;
- attempt to interfere with the site, probe it for vulnerabilities, or access parts of it you are not authorised to use;
- use the site for anything unlawful, or to harass, defame or threaten anyone.
Our scores, methodology, page structure, written content and design are protected by copyright and remain ours. Provider names and logos belong to their owners and are used to identify the companies reviewed.
4. Reviews and other things you post
- You keep ownership of what you write. You grant us a worldwide, royalty-free licence to publish, display, store and excerpt it on the site and in related material, including quoting it in guides and marketing.
- You confirm that your review describes your genuine experience, that no provider has paid or rewarded you for it, and that if we gave you free Plus access for leaving it, you are happy for the review to say so, and that it does not include anyone else’s personal or medical information.
- Do not name individual clinicians or include information that identifies a specific member of staff.
- We moderate before publication and may decline, edit for personal information, or remove content that breaks these rules. We do not remove reviews for being negative, and providers cannot buy their removal.
- You can withdraw your review at any time by asking us.
- Reviews are the opinion of the person who wrote them. Publishing one is not our endorsement of it, and we do not verify individual clinical claims made within reviews.
5. Accuracy and changes
We verify prices and public records by hand and re-check them monthly, and each page carries the date it was last checked. Even so, information can be out of date or incorrect by the time you read it. Prices, plans and eligibility rules change without notice. Always confirm details directly with the provider before you buy or sign up. We may change, suspend or remove any part of the site at any time.
6. Third-party sites and providers
Links to providers and other websites are offered for convenience. We do not control them, we are not responsible for their content, prices, products, clinical services or privacy practices, and a link is not an endorsement. Any dealing you have with a provider - including payment, treatment, prescriptions and disputes - is between you and them.
7. RatedByPatients Plus
Plus is free. You earn it by leaving one review that clears moderation. We take no payment from readers, so there is nothing to refund and nothing to cancel. Reports are based on prices verified at the dates shown in the report; because prices change, a report is a research document rather than a guarantee of what you will pay. If a report is unusable because of an error on our side, contact us and we will correct it or refund it.
8. Advertising and paid placement
Some links earn us a commission and some placements are paid for by providers. All of it is labeled and none of it affects a score, a ranking or the content of a review. The full picture is in our affiliate disclosure.
9. No warranty
The site is provided “as is” and “as available”, without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free or secure.
10. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, RatedByPatients and the people who work on it are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, or for lost profits, arising from your use of the site or reliance on anything published here. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to the greater of the amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim, or one hundred United States dollars.
Nothing in these terms limits liability for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited.
11. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify us against claims arising from content you submit, from your breach of these terms, or from your misuse of the site.
12. Disputes about content
If you are a company and believe something we publish about you is factually wrong, tell us through the contact form with the evidence. We check every claim against the source, and correct what is wrong - visibly, with the page’s updated date changing. We do not remove accurate information, published regulatory records or lawful negative reviews on request. Copyright complaints should identify the material, the work infringed and your contact details, so we can act on them under the DMCA.
13. Ending access
We may suspend or end your access if you break these terms, in particular by submitting fraudulent reviews or scraping the site. You can stop using the site at any time, and ask us to delete anything you have submitted.
14. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of the United States and of the state in which RatedByPatients is established, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.
15. Changes to these terms
If we change these terms we will update the date at the top of this page. Continuing to use the site after a change means you accept the revised terms.
16. Contact
Questions about these terms go through the contact form.