Ranking and sorting
Payment is not an input to organic order, and never will be. If sponsored placements are introduced they will sit outside the results list, visually separated and labelled Sponsored.
Registration first
Before any weight is applied, results are grouped by whether a medical council registration number is on record: doctors whose number has been checked against the register come first, then doctors whose number is on record and awaiting that check, then doctors with no number at all. A complete, well-reviewed profile without a registration number never sits above a registered doctor. Within each group the weights below decide the order.
The starting model
| Signal | Weight | What it measures |
|---|---|---|
| Query, name and speciality relevance | 35 | How well the doctor matches what was asked for |
| Location match or distance | 20 | Whether the practice is where the patient is looking |
| Registration and active-practice verification | 15 | Whether the credentials and the address are currently confirmed |
| Profile completeness | 10 | Whether the page answers the questions a patient will ask |
| Freshness and contactability | 10 | How recently the practice details were reconfirmed |
| Review confidence | 10 | Rating adjusted for volume — one five-star review does not outrank sustained feedback |
Every result carries a “why this position” breakdown showing its own score against these weights. The model is a starting point, calibrated on whether patients reach an appropriate and contactable doctor — not a permanent formula.
Diversity
Results are adjusted so that one hospital group or one locality cannot occupy an entire first page.
Review scoring
Scores use a minimum-confidence method. A doctor with two reviews does not sit above a doctor with forty consistent ones on average alone.
Other policies
- Verification methodology — What each verification label on a doctor profile means, which source it was checked against, and how often it is re-checked.
- Review policy — What patients may write, what doctors may reply, what we refuse to sell, and our internal moderation targets.
- Corrections, appeals and takedowns — How to challenge anything on a public page, how removal and merges are handled, and what provenance we keep.
- Editorial and medical review policy — Who writes and reviews health content on this site, how sources are handled, and what we will not publish.
- Advertising and sponsorship policy — What can and cannot be paid for on this platform, and how anything sponsored is separated and labelled.
- Privacy policy — What personal data this platform collects, why, for how long, and the rights you have over it under the DPDP Act.
- Terms of use — The rules for using the directory, for doctors listing on it, and for anyone posting a review.
- Grievance process — How to raise a complaint about a profile, a review, your data or the platform, who handles it, and the timelines that apply.