Length requirements, language filters, and spam detection apply to every submission. A digital fingerprint of each submission's origin helps prevent the same source from rating the same profile more than once.

Human moderators step in when automated systems flag something unusual — solely to maintain feedback quality and prevent abuse, never to filter critical opinions.

For profiles showing sustained irregular posting patterns, additional temporary measures may be applied to protect the integrity of that profile's feedback.

Patients may be temporarily required to log in with a verified account before submitting feedback on a specific profile. This adds a layer of accountability and helps deter suspicious submissions.

New submissions on a specific profile may be held for admin review before being published. Only those compliant with our Terms of Use will go live.

Can I actually trust the reviews?

No review platform is perfect. RateMDs is committed to monitoring the platform and enforcing our Terms of Use on all ratings we review. We're also committed to actively removing spam and suspicious submissions, and never selectively removing negative feedback to make a provider or clinic look better.

Look for patterns across multiple ratings, not individual outliers. A consistent thread across many patients tells you far more than a single extreme submission. See The RateMDs Rating System for more on how ratings work.

What gets removed — and why?

Feedback is removed when it contains profanity, is identified as spam, or is confirmed as violating our Terms of Use. It is never removed because it gives a low score, or because a provider finds it unflattering. See Why is a rating removed or not published? for the full list of grounds for removal.

Most feedback is published immediately. Delays can occur for two reasons:

• Our team may be reviewing the submission against our Terms of Use — for example, when a profile is showing irregular posting patterns suggesting spam or coordinated activity.
• Some providers subscribe to our Rating Concierge service, which provides a 7-day private preview window for lower-rated submissions. During this window, the provider can reach out to resolve the issue directly, or formally appeal to our Validation Team if they believe the submission violates our Terms of Use. If no action is taken — or if an appeal is denied — the feedback is published at the end of the 7-day period. This window exists to give providers a fair opportunity to address genuine concerns, not to suppress valid feedback.

If you submitted while logged into an account, you can check the status directly. We recommend logging in when you submit — it makes it easier for us to assist you if you have questions.

Could reviews unfairly damage a provider's reputation?

We take this concern seriously. Our moderation process is specifically designed to catch and remove content that crosses into personal attacks, harassment, or content that may be harmful. Feedback must reflect a personal patient experience and comply with our Terms of Use to remain on the platform.

We also acknowledge an inherent asymmetry: patients can speak publicly about their experience, while providers are often constrained by privacy laws from disclosing context. This is why our human review process for flagged content matters — it is there to ensure the process is applied consistently.

I see feedback I think should be removed. What can I do?

Flag it. Flagged submissions are reviewed by our human moderators, and those found to be in violation of our Terms of Use will be removed.