Review Removal › Healthgrades
Healthgrades Review Removal Service
We remove fake and policy-violating Healthgrades reviews for doctors, dentists, and medical practices: reviews from people who were never patients, defamatory claims, personal attacks, and posts that expose private information. We find the Healthgrades rule each review breaks, build the evidence, and file it for you, without putting you at risk under HIPAA.
- ✓ Pay after removal available
- ✓ No upfront fee on pay-after-removal cases
- ✓ Money-back guarantee on agreed removals
- ✓ Free, confidential assessment
- ✓ Firm quote before any work starts
Reviewed by Joseph Chierotti, Defamation Defenders · Updated October 2026
On this page: Can it be removed? · What Healthgrades removes · Process · Timeline · HIPAA and responses · FAQs
Can you remove a Healthgrades review?
Yes, when the review breaks Healthgrades’ Community Review Guidelines. Healthgrades says it rejects or removes reviews that are false, misleading, defamatory, harassing or threatening, that contain profanity or personal information, that impersonate someone, or that mention legal matters. It also says fraudulent reviews are removed and that live reviews can be flagged at any time for another look.
Healthgrades does not remove an honest negative review from a real patient just because a provider disagrees with it. It also says doctors cannot pay Healthgrades to remove reviews. That is where most do-it-yourself flags fail: the report says the review is unfair, not which guideline it breaks and what proves it.
| Key fact | What it means for you |
|---|---|
| Who can review | A patient, or a family member of a patient, who had contact with the practice. |
| Star rating vs. comment | Star ratings count on your profile right away; written comments are moderated and may take longer to appear. |
| Editing | Reviewers can’t edit a review. A new survey from the same person overrides the old one. |
| Flagging | Any live review can be flagged for re-review against Healthgrades’ standards. |
| Paying Healthgrades | Not possible. Removal only happens for guideline violations. |
What Healthgrades will and won’t remove
These grounds come from Healthgrades’ own Community Review Guidelines.
1. False, misleading, or fraudulent content
Reviews that describe treatment that never happened, the wrong provider, or invented events. Fake reviews from competitors, former staff, or people with no patient relationship fall here.
2. Defamatory, harassing, threatening, or inflammatory content
Accusations stated as fact that aren’t true, threats, and posts written to harass rather than describe care.
3. Name-calling, personal attacks, profanity, and intolerance
Insults aimed at a provider or staff member, obscene language, and comments attacking someone’s race, religion, gender, age, disability, or similar traits.
4. Personal information
Phone numbers, email or mailing addresses, full names, or other personal details about staff or other patients.
5. Mentions of legal matters or proceedings
Reviews that discuss lawsuits, malpractice claims, licensing complaints, or other legal proceedings.
6. Impersonation, links, and brand endorsements
Reviews posted under someone else’s identity, reviews containing personal website links, and reviews that promote specific brands or drugs.
Why one bad Healthgrades review costs more than you think
New patients go elsewhere
It ranks for your name
AI answers repeat it
Your team feels it
How our Healthgrades review removal works
Free assessment
Send us the Healthgrades profile and the reviews you’re worried about. We check each one against Healthgrades’ guidelines and tell you which can realistically come down.
Firm quote
You get a flat, per-review quote before any work starts. Pay-after-removal and payment plans are available.
Evidence and filing
We match each review to the guideline it breaks and build the case: patient-record checks done on your side, timelines, conflict-of-interest proof, and screenshots. We prepare and submit the reports for you.
Follow-up
We track each report, answer Healthgrades’ questions, and escalate or resubmit with more evidence when a first request is denied.
Confirmation
When the review is gone from Healthgrades, we confirm it with you and check that Google’s cached copy updates.
How long Healthgrades review removal takes
Most Healthgrades removals we take on resolve within 2 to 6 weeks. Healthgrades does not publish a fixed review time, so timing depends on how clear the violation is, how many reviews are involved, and whether a follow-up submission is needed.
| Stage | Typical timing |
|---|---|
| Free assessment | 1–2 business days |
| Evidence and first submission | Within a week of approval |
| Healthgrades decision | Usually 2–6 weeks from submission |
| Resubmission if needed | Adds 1–3 weeks |
| Google cache update | Days to a few weeks after removal |
HIPAA: why replying to a review can make things worse
Health care providers are bound by HIPAA when they respond to reviews. Confirming that someone was your patient, or correcting their story with details from their care, can be a privacy violation, and federal regulators have fined practices for doing exactly that.
That is why we build removal requests around Healthgrades’ own guidelines and evidence you can share safely, not around a public argument. If you want to respond publicly, keep it general: thank the reviewer, say you can’t discuss any patient’s care online, and invite them to call the office.
How to flag a Healthgrades review yourself
You can flag a review yourself at no cost. Use the flag option on the review and choose the reason that matches the guideline it breaks. Healthgrades also accepts feedback at reviews@healthgrades.com.
- Name the exact guideline the review breaks, not just that it is unfair.
- Stick to facts you can share without disclosing patient information.
- Flag each review separately, and keep screenshots with dates.
- If the review is fake, explain why (no matching appointment, a known competitor or ex-employee, a pattern of similar reviews) without naming a patient.
Where DIY usually goes wrong: vague reports, emotional language, HIPAA-risky details, and giving up after the first denial.
Pay after removal. Money back if we can’t remove it.
You get a firm quote before any work starts. On pay-after-removal cases there is no upfront fee: you pay once the Healthgrades review is confirmed gone. If we agree to remove a review and can’t, you don’t pay for it, or you get your money back. If the same reviewer reposts the same complaint within 30 days, we handle it at no extra charge.
Payment plans available. We accept all major cards and Zelle.
What our clients say
Defamation Defenders has spent more than 10 years removing harmful content and cleaning up search results. Here is what clients have said about working with us.
Healthgrades review removal FAQs
Can you remove a Healthgrades review?
Yes, if it breaks Healthgrades’ Community Review Guidelines. Healthgrades removes false, misleading or fraudulent reviews, defamatory or harassing content, personal attacks and profanity, personal information, and mentions of legal matters. It does not remove honest negative reviews from real patients.
Can I pay Healthgrades to remove a review?
No. Healthgrades says providers cannot pay for good reviews or for removal of negative ones. Reviews only come down when they break its guidelines.
How much does Healthgrades review removal cost?
It depends on the number of reviews and how clear the violation is. You get a free assessment and a firm per-review quote before any work starts. Pay after removal and payment plans are available.
Do I pay if the review isn’t removed?
No. On pay-after-removal cases there is no upfront fee and you pay only once the review is confirmed removed. On prepaid cases, if we agree to remove a review and can’t, you get your money back.
How long does it take?
Most Healthgrades removals we take on resolve within 2 to 6 weeks. Cases that need a second submission take longer.
Can a patient review a doctor they never saw?
Healthgrades lets a patient or a family member of a patient review a practice they had contact with. A review from someone with no patient relationship, such as a competitor or a former employee, can be reported as fraudulent.
Can I respond to a Healthgrades review?
You can, but be careful. HIPAA limits what a provider can say publicly, and confirming someone was your patient can be a violation. Keep any response general and move the conversation offline.
Will removing a Healthgrades review change my rating?
Yes. When a review is removed, its star rating no longer counts toward your average.
What if the reviewer posts again?
A reviewer can’t edit a review, but they can submit a new survey. If the same reviewer reposts the same complaint within 30 days of a removal we handled, we deal with it at no extra charge.
Can you remove a Healthgrades review that’s true but harsh?
Usually not. Healthgrades keeps honest first-hand reviews. We’ll tell you that during the free assessment and can help with review management and suppression instead.
Will the review still show up in Google?
Once Healthgrades removes it, Google drops it when it re-crawls the page. We check the cache and request a refresh when needed.
Do you remove reviews from Vitals, RateMDs, WebMD, Zocdoc, and Google too?
Yes. Most practices have the same reviewer on several sites. We quote all of them together.
Is this confidential?
Yes. Your assessment and case are confidential, and we never contact the reviewer or post anything on your behalf without your approval.
Are you a law firm?
No. Defamation Defenders is a reputation management company. When a case needs a legal letter or court order, we work with partner attorneys.
Related services
- Review Removal Service — all platforms
- Zocdoc Review Removal
- Google Review Removal
- Online Review Management — monitoring, responses, and new reviews
- Search Result Suppression
- Internet Defamation Removal
Find out if your Healthgrades reviews can come down
Send us the Healthgrades profile and the reviews you’re concerned about. We’ll tell you which ones qualify, what it costs, and how long it should take. Free and confidential. Call 1-800-785-1749.
Defamation Defenders is an online reputation management company, not a law firm, and nothing on this page is legal advice. We are not affiliated with or endorsed by Healthgrades. Removal decisions are made by the platform under its own policies; we only take on reviews we believe can be removed, and we tell you before you pay if one can’t.
Published · Last updated by the Defamation Defenders team