Provider Listing Methodology
Recovery Tourism is building a research-led directory for medical tourism, recovery stays, wellness retreats, and related travel support services. A provider, doctor, clinic, hospital, recovery stay, hotel recovery partner, transportation provider, concierge, or other organization may appear in our research before it is ready for a public listing.
A listing is not an endorsement, recommendation, ranking, medical opinion, safety guarantee, or proof that a provider is appropriate for a specific visitor.
What We Research
We may review:
- provider-owned websites and public business pages;
- public accreditation directories;
- public regulator or licensing sources;
- tourism board, association, or industry sources;
- provider-submitted correction or claim forms;
- public service, facility, language, location, and international patient support information;
- public recovery, travel, emergency, complication, and follow-up planning information.
We prefer official or provider-owned sources. Marketing pages, directories, articles, awards, and reviews can help discovery, but they do not replace source review.
Verification Statuses
Internal provider records may use these statuses:
unresearched- identified but not reviewed.candidate- basic source URL captured.source_reviewed- official or provider-owned sources reviewed.contacted- provider outreach started after owner approval.provider_confirmed- provider or authorized representative confirmed details.partner- commercial relationship exists and disclosure language is documented.not_listable- excluded or held because of missing evidence, mismatch, risk, opt-out, duplicate, or poor fit.
Public pages may use plain-language labels rather than these internal terms.
What Accreditation Means
Accreditation can be a useful research signal, but it does not guarantee outcomes, safety, doctor skill, pricing accuracy, legal recourse, or recovery quality. Visitors should confirm the exact facility, scope, program, date, and accrediting body directly with the provider and the accreditor.
Helpful starting sources include:
- CDC Yellow Book medical tourism guidance
- CDC medical tourism travel guidance
- Joint Commission International accredited organization search
- Global Healthcare Accreditation
What We Do Not Do
Recovery Tourism does not:
- provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment, or emergency support;
- rank providers as best or safest without a published methodology and evidence;
- guarantee provider credentials, outcomes, pricing, or availability;
- create a doctor-patient relationship;
- hide paid placements, sponsored profiles, or referral relationships;
- publish provider-submitted claims without review;
- route visitor inquiries to providers without consent and manual gates.
Paid Relationships
Sponsored profiles, paid placements, affiliate relationships, referral relationships, or lead-routing relationships must be disclosed where they appear. Payment does not replace verification status and does not allow a provider to buy a safety claim.
See our sponsored placement disclosure for more detail.
Provider Corrections
Providers can submit corrections or profile updates through the provider claim/update form. Corrections are reviewed separately from any paid profile, sponsored placement, or referral relationship.
Providers can request outreach suppression through the provider opt-out page.
Publication Gates
A provider page should not become public unless the row has:
- a source URL;
- a last-reviewed date;
- a verification label;
- public-safe fields only;
- required disclosures;
- no unresolved suppression block;
- owner approval for the exact publish batch.
Large provider batches, lead routing, outreach, phone calls, and AI directory answers remain blocked until Recovery Tourism records both owner readiness approval and owner send/publish approval.