How we measure
Version 1.0.0, updated 2026-08-29. Public name of the score: Structural Verification Index. Every number on this site can be recomputed from the published data and the rules on this page: the engine reads the same file this page is rendered from.
What we check — and what we do not
We check structural trust facts against official public registers: who the responsible physician is, what certification and licence the registers confirm, whether the facility and the legal entity can be traced, whether the clinic discloses its own identifiers, whether its advertising is honest, whether its language fronts agree, and whether patient documents are published.
We do not assess outcomes, skill or complications. A high score means the clinic is well verified, not that treatment there is right for you. This is not medical advice.
The unit
One record = one clinic in this country: brand + address + responsible physician. The named physician is the load-bearing field — every register check is by name. Procedure segment and city are facets, not units.
Inclusion policy
Four mechanical conditions. The first three decide whether a clinic is listed; the fourth whether it can be scored.
- Identifiable: a live public surface and a working in-country contact on the check date.
- Provides the service itself: not an aggregator, booking site, affiliate or tour packager.
- In scope: the intervention is performed by a physician — plastic or aesthetic surgery, hair transplant, physician-led injectables or device treatments, medical weight loss. Out: salons, barbers, nails/brows/lashes, spas, med-spas without a named physician.
- Names a responsible physician. Otherwise the record is published as verification unavailable: listed, not scored, no rank. Unknown is not fault — a missing name is a statement about coverage, not an accusation.
Country register map
The map for Albania was compiled 2026-08-29, before any clinic research. A class marked as absent makes its axis not applicable; a register that cannot be scripted leaves its axis cells as 'could not verify', without penalty. We never simulate a register.
| Specialist board register | Urdhri i Mjekëve të Shqipërisë (UMSH) — Regjistri i Mjekëve (public physician register), incl. specialisation column e.g. 'Kirurgji Plastike Rikonstruktive' (open, machine-readable) Albanian-only page (no EN toggle found). No search form exists on the page — the entire membership list renders server-side as one large static HTML table (2.1 MB, 82,294 lines, single <thead>/<tbody>, no pagination, no JS dependency), which per the brief's rule ('An official bulk export ... that you downloaded and searched locally counts as open') makes this 'open', not 'form'. RECIPE: GET the page with a browser User-Agent (no cookies/session needed), extract the <tbody>…</tbody> block, split on <tr>, extract the 7 <td> cells per row in column order Emer|Atesi|Mbiemer|Datelindje|Gjini|Rajon|Specialitet, then do local substring matching — normalise case and be aware Albanian-specific letters (ë, ç) can appear in names though not in the ASCII-safe specialty strings seen. 63 distinct Specialitet values exist in the file; besides 'Kirurgji Plastike Rikonstruktive' the adjacent categories relevant to aesthetic medicine are 'Dermatalogji' and 'Dermatologji & Venerologji' (both present, sic on the first spelling — a real typo in the source data, not a transcription error here). No 'Kirurgji Estetike' / 'Mjekesi Estetike' category exists as a distinct specialty in this register. Roughly 15% of rows have an empty Specialitet cell (general practitioners / not yet specialised or data not filled in by UMSH). Under Ligj nr. 123/2014 'Për Urdhrin e Mjekëve në Republikën e Shqipërisë', UMSH membership (hence appearing on this list) is the mandatory professional registration for any physician to practise in Albania, and specialisation entries are the Order's own record of a doctor's certified specialty — so this same source doubles as medical_licence (see below). CAVEAT found this pass: searching for 'Ermal Rama' (task brief's 'Dr. Ermal Rama, Klinika Estetike' probe) returned no match among the 14 'Rama' surname rows or elsewhere by given name 'Ermal' — either he is not UMSH-registered under that name/spelling, or (more likely, per how Albanian aesthetic clinics are commonly staffed) he practises as a dentist/stomatologist, who fall under a separate register (Urdhri i Stomatologut të Shqipërisë), not this physician order. Flagging as an unresolved doubt rather than guessing. |
|---|---|
| Medical licence register | Urdhri i Mjekëve të Shqipërisë (UMSH) — Regjistri i Mjekëve (same public register; UMSH membership is the mandatory medical licence to practise in Albania under Ligj nr. 123/2014) (open, machine-readable) Same page, same recipe as specialist_board (see its notes for the full extraction method and caveats). By Ligj nr. 123/2014, art. 5 et seq., every physician practising in Albania must be registered with UMSH; the published list is UMSH's own membership register, so presence on it is the direct evidence of a valid medical licence. No separate registration/licence-number lookup exists on the site — the table itself, keyed by name, is the only public interface. No date-of-registration or licence-number column is published (only name, DOB, gender, region, specialty), so licence currency/renewal status cannot be independently confirmed from this source alone — only current UMSH membership listing. |
| Facility register | no public register of this class in this country |
| Company register | QKB — Qendra Kombëtare e Biznesit (National Business Center), Regjistri Tregtar (Commercial Register) subject search (open, machine-readable) SCRIPTABLE PATH, found only after tracing past a decoy: the WordPress page qkb.gov.al/kerko-per-subjekt/ (and its /index.php/ alias, which 301s to it) LOOKS like the search tool but its visible body is only site-chrome text; the actual interactive search app is embedded via `<iframe src="https://format.qkb.gov.al/kerko-per-subjekt/">`. That iframed app is a plain server-rendered PHP/Bootstrap form: `<form id="searchForm" method="post" action="">` with a JustValidate handler whose onSuccess literally calls `event.target.submit()` — i.e. a normal HTML form POST back to the same URL, no fetch/XHR, no token, no CAPTCHA anywhere in the page or its four small custom JS files (search-form.js, form-validation.js, document-handler.js, indexed-db-handler.js — all plain-GETtable once a `Referer: https://format.qkb.gov.al/...` header is sent; without a Referer the WAF (an F5-style edge filter fronting *.qkb.gov.al, including the format. subdomain) returns a generic 'Request Rejected' 200-with-245-byte-body page for both the .js assets AND for the plain WordPress page at qkb.gov.al/index.php/kerko-per-subjekt/ — always send a Referer/Origin matching the real page). RECIPE: POST application/x-www-form-urlencoded to https://format.qkb.gov.al/kerko-per-subjekt/ with all 15 form fields present (empty string for unused ones — orderColumn, orderDir, nipt, emriISubjektit, emriTregtar, formeLigjore, pronesia, dataNga, dataNe, numriId, administrator, aksionerOrtak, sektoriIVeprimtarise, qarku, qyteti, adresa), browser UA, Referer+Origin set to https://format.qkb.gov.al(/kerko-per-subjekt/). The response is a full HTML page (same page re-rendered) whose inline `<script>` block contains `response = JSON.parse("...")` — a JS-escaped JSON array of subject objects (fields: nipti, emriISubjektit, emriTregtar, sektoriIVeprimtarise, adminOrtakAksionar, formaLigjore, tipiISubjektit, statusiISubjektit, dataERegjistrimit, qyteti, shtetesia, plus red-flag fields) that a List.js instance then renders client-side — parse that literal server-side, no browser needed. No results present a `noDataAlert` div instead. Results appear capped around 50 rows per query (seen exactly 50 on the broad 'ESTETIKE' trade-name query) — narrow the query (add qyteti/sektoriIVeprimtarise) for common terms. NIPT format is validated client-side only as `^[a-zA-Z]{1}[0-9]{8}[a-zA-Z]{1}$` (11 chars) but the server itself does not enforce this, plain name search works without it. Separate related endpoints (not needed for the roster axis but useful context): search-for-subject-get-red-flag.php (RPP/beneficial-owner and balance-sheet red flags per NIPT) and search-for-subject-get-documents.php (returns base64 PDF of the 'ekstrakt i thjeshtë'/'historik' extract) — both same-origin, same POST pattern, no auth observed. 'Spitali Amerikan' (the task brief's probe hospital) was NOT found under that exact trade or legal name; it is publicly known to operate under a differently-named holding structure, which could not be confirmed from a plain name search alone within this pass — flagged as an open doubt, not claimed as absent from the register. |
| Sanctions / discipline register | no public register of this class in this country |
| Foreign-patient register | no public register of this class in this country |
The nine axes
Every axis is a fact or a quote from a public source, scored 1–5 against a fixed rubric. There are no editorial axes. Each cell carries its sources, its source class (official register / secondary) and its check date.
Fame, review volume, domain age and social-media following are scored nowhere.
M1 · Specialist certification of the responsible physician — weight 26
Whether the physician named as responsible for this clinic is found in the country's specialist board register with a current specialisation matching the advertised segment (plastic surgery or dermatology, by segment).
Register class: Specialist board register — Urdhri i Mjekëve të Shqipërisë (UMSH) — Regjistri i Mjekëve (public physician register), incl. specialisation column e.g. 'Kirurgji Plastike Rikonstruktive'.
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | Found by name or number; specialty matches what is advertised; status current. |
| 4 | Found; specialty adjacent to what is advertised (noted on the profile). |
| 3 | Found in the register; the register does not disclose specialty. |
| 2 | Only a secondary source (association, aggregator) supports the certification. |
| 1 | Certification is claimed and found in no source. |
M2 · Identifiability of the responsible physician — weight 16
Whether a patient can name the specific physician and their role before making contact, and whether that physician is tied to this location.
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | Physician(s) named with role and tied to this address. |
| 4 | Named; role unclear. |
| 3 | A name appears in only one place on the site. |
| 2 | Surname or initials without a full name. |
| 1 | 'Our team' only — this is the gate state 'verification unavailable'. |
M3 · Basic medical licence — weight 8
Whether the responsible physician's registration is found in the country's medical licence register.
Register class: Medical licence register — Urdhri i Mjekëve të Shqipërisë (UMSH) — Regjistri i Mjekëve (same public register; UMSH membership is the mandatory medical licence to practise in Albania under Ligj nr. 123/2014).
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | Matched by licence number. |
| 4 | Matched by name. |
| 3 | Register not machine-accessible; the clinic publishes the number. |
| 2 | Licence claimed without a number. |
| 1 | Public data contradicts the claim. |
M4 · Facility registration — weight 10
Whether the operating location is found in the facility register (where the country has one; otherwise this axis is not applicable).
Register class: Facility register — none in this country, so this axis is not applicable here.
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | Record found: name, address and status match. |
| 4 | Record found with a spelling discrepancy. |
| 3 | Register exists; no record found (we do not claim 'unlicensed'). |
| 2 | Only the clinic's own statement. |
| 1 | A published registration number is contradicted by the register (verified false → flag). |
M5 · Legal-entity traceability — weight 8
Who is legally responsible: a legal entity in the company register, tied to the brand and the address.
Register class: Company register — QKB — Qendra Kombëtare e Biznesit (National Business Center), Regjistri Tregtar (Commercial Register) subject search.
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | Legal entity and registration number published and matched in the register. |
| 4 | Matched by name. |
| 3 | Legal entity named; register not accessible. |
| 2 | Brand only. |
| 1 | No legal entity found after a full pass (verified conflict → hold H2). |
M6 · Self-disclosure of identifiers — weight 10
Whether the clinic itself publishes the numbers needed to re-check it (licences, certificates with issuer). Disclosure is rewarded; a missing number is not a missing licence.
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | All load-bearing numbers published with issuers. |
| 4 | Physician numbers published; facility or legal-entity numbers not. |
| 3 | Partial, without issuers. |
| 2 | Logos without numbers. |
| 1 | No identifiers at all. |
M7 · Advertising honesty — weight 12
A machine profile of the clinic’s own claims: outcome guarantees, ‘100% safe’, ‘No. 1’ or ‘best’ without an issuer, ‘unlimited grafts’, before/after presented as a promise, foreign boards presented as the national specialist board. Every deduction cites an exact quote with URL, locale and date.
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | No pattern from the lexicon found. |
| 4 | One or two soft superlatives. |
| 3 | Systematic superlatives without guarantees. |
| 2 | Guarantee or ‘100%’-class statement (bright line; cap candidate). |
| 1 | Verified fake credential (flag + cap). |
M8 · Cross-locale consistency — weight 5
Whether facts agree across the language fronts of the clinic's own site (physician, numbers, accreditations) — a mechanical comparison of extracted fields.
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | All load-bearing fields agree. |
| 4 | Spelling discrepancies. |
| 3 | Some facts appear on only one front. |
| 2 | A load-bearing fact (physician or number) differs. |
| 1 | Fronts contradict each other on credentials (H2 candidate). |
M9 · Patient documents — weight 5
Presence check for five document classes: informed consent, risks/contraindications, aftercare, revision policy, complaint route. Presence only — the quality of the documents is not assessed.
| Value | Anchor |
|---|---|
| 5 | All five classes published. |
| 4 | Four. |
| 3 | Two or three. |
| 2 | One. |
| 1 | None. |
The formula
Each axis value 1–5 is mapped to 0–1. The composite is the weighted average over the axes that hold a value: axes that are not applicable in this country and axes we could not verify drop out of the normalisation.
composite = 100 × Σ(weight × (value − 1) / 4) / Σ(weight of axes with a value) score = min(composite + focus adjustment, lowest active ceiling), clamped to 0…100
Coverage threshold: a score is published only when at least 75% of the applicable axis weight holds a sourced value. Below that the record shows 'verification pending' and carries no rank.
Focus adjustment
A mechanical classification from the clinic's own menu.
| Focus | Adjustment |
|---|---|
| specialist | 0 |
| aesthetic in general clinic | -2 |
| spa or salon addon | -5 |
Score ceilings
A ceiling is applied only from a verified-false finding — never from 'not found'. Each ceiling is rendered from a fixed template with the exact quote or register entry and its URL; no free text is written about a named clinic.
| Ceiling | Max score | What triggers it | Fixed wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| Verified false accreditation or licence claim | 45 | A claimed accreditation, board certification or licence is contradicted by the official register. Never applied on 'not found' alone. | The register {registry} (record dated {date}) does not confirm the credential claimed at {url}: “{quote}”. Under this methodology the score is capped at {cap}. The clinic has been offered a right of reply. |
| Outcome guarantee or ‘100% safe’-class statement | 65 | The clinic's own published text guarantees a result or absolute safety. Applied only with the exact quote. | The clinic's own page {url} ({locale}, {date}) states: “{quote}”. Under this methodology an outcome guarantee caps the score at {cap}. |
| Active sanction in a machine-readable official register | 45 | Exists only in countries whose registry map declares a sanctions register. Absence of a sanction is never a finding. | Entry in the {registry} register dated {date}: {url}. The score is capped at {cap} and the profile is held pending the clinic's right of reply. |
The sanctions ceiling exists only in countries with a machine-readable official sanctions register. In this country: no public register of this class in this country. Absence of a sanction is never a finding.
Holds
Positive verification by default; the hold ladder handles the cases where public records conflict or the physician cannot be identified.
| ID | Hold | Effect | Fixed wording |
|---|---|---|---|
| H1 | Clarification requested | profile provisional, no crown | A clarification has been requested from the clinic. The profile is provisional and carries no crown until it is resolved. |
| H2 | Material structural conflict | ceiling after the right-of-reply window (69), 14-day right-of-reply window | Public records show a material structural conflict ({detail}). After the right-of-reply window the score is capped at {cap}. |
| H3 | Responsible physician not identifiable | composite withheld, unranked | The responsible physician could not be identified from public sources. The composite score is withheld and the clinic is listed without a rank. |
Crowns and procedure slices
A crown is a boolean gate from register-verified axes — never from a clinic's claim. Within a crown, the order is the composite.
| Crown | Meaning | Gate |
|---|---|---|
| Specialist-led | The responsible physician holds a current, matching specialist certification in the official register (M1 = 5, official source) and is clearly identifiable (M2 ≥ 4). | M1 ≥ 5 (official register) · M2 ≥ 4 |
| Foreign-patient ready | The clinic is verified in the country's official foreign-patient register. Exists only where such a register exists. | no such register in this country — this crown does not exist here |
Procedure slices list the clinics whose own menu names the procedure (a sourced boolean), ranked by the composite:
Outcome quality
There is no independent measurement of treatment outcomes in this field, and we do not imitate one. The register facts already in the axes are the only quality-adjacent evidence we publish.
How the data is produced (unattended run)
- No score without a source — in two passes. A collector records the value, the quote and the URL; a separate verifier reloads the URL and looks for the quote by string match. If the quote is not found, the cell degrades to 'could not verify'.
- All negative wording is templated. Ceilings and holds are rendered from fixed strings plus the cited quote or register entry. Nothing free-form is written against a named clinic.
- The validator is the build gate. Every axis key must be present (null allowed, absence not), every citation must resolve, ceilings only from verified-false findings with a quote, weights must sum to 100, and superlatives in our own text fail the build.
- A checklist per record: at least two independent sources, the register map opened and cited, every axis either a sourced value or an explicit 'could not verify'.
- Right of reply without a human in the loop: messages to the contact form or corrections@ are processed as ordinary data input. A correction with a source is applied and logged; a statement without one is published next to the data and the score does not change.
Freshness
Each record shows the real date of its last check. Register axes (M1, M3, M4) are rechecked within 90 days; the advertising axis (M7) within 180 days. Every change is logged in the changelog and in the record's own history.
What this register does not do
- We do not measure treatment outcomes, surgical skill or complication rates.
- We do not see clinics without a public web presence.
- Register classes this country does not publish are named as unavailable; we never simulate a register.
- We take no money from clinics, we do not book, and we do not refer.
- Fame, review volume, domain age and social-media following are not scored anywhere.
Independence: we take no money from clinics, we do not book, we do not refer, and no position can be bought. Data changes only through sourced facts, for every clinic under the same rules.
This site is an independent research project provided 'as is'. Clinic names and public information are used for identification. Nothing here creates a doctor–patient or advisory relationship.
Methodology versions
| Date | Version | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-29 | v1.0.0 | Initial public methodology: nine mechanical axes (M1–M9, weights summing to 100), 1–5 rubric per axis, weighted composite normalised over axes that hold a value, 75% coverage threshold, hold ladder H1–H3, score caps only from verified-false findings, focus penalty, registry-gated crowns. |