Our Approach to Ranking

Every provider on American Health Reviews is ranked by our editorial team on effectiveness, speed, value, clinical oversight, and patient experience. Scores are out of 10 and are directly comparable across every provider we review — a 9.5 always means the same thing, regardless of which provider earned it.

This page documents the actual framework behind those scores: how we research each provider, how the five scoring categories are weighted, and how a numeric score turns into the rank, star rating, and pros/cons you see on our review pages.

How We Research Providers

Before a provider is scored, our editorial team completes a hands-on research process:

• Mystery-shop the signup flow. We complete the actual intake questionnaire and consult process ourselves, documenting each step, so our notes reflect what a real patient experiences — not what's described in marketing copy.
• Verify clinician licensing. We confirm that prescribing clinicians are licensed physicians, nurse practitioners, or physician assistants, and note whether oversight comes from a single clinician or a broader clinical network.
• Verify pharmacy accreditation. We confirm the dispensing pharmacy is a licensed U.S. pharmacy and note relevant accreditations, such as LegitScript approval.
• Capture live pricing and policies. Pricing, subscription terms, and refund/cancellation policies are recorded directly from the provider's checkout flow and terms pages, not from press releases or affiliate marketing materials.
• Monitor between full reviews. We revisit pricing, availability, and policies on an ongoing basis so scores don't go stale between full re-reviews.

This research is conducted independent of any partner relationship a provider may have with us. See our Editorial Policy for how we keep advertiser relationships from influencing scores.

The Scoring Framework

Each provider receives a composite score out of 10, built from five weighted categories. Every category is scored independently, then blended according to fixed weights — the weights below are editorial policy, not adjusted on a per-provider basis.

Effectiveness & Clinical Oversight — 30%

The largest share of every score, because it captures whether a provider actually delivers safe, effective care rather than just a fast checkout.

• Transparency about active ingredients, dosing, and formulation
• Verified licensure of prescribing clinicians
• Whether a real clinician reviews each intake, versus automatic approval
• Availability of dose adjustments and clinical follow-up after the first prescription

Pricing & Value — 20%

We compare what a patient actually pays, not a headline price.

• Transparent list pricing, captured directly from checkout
• Cost per dose or per month relative to comparable providers
• Subscription lock-in and how easy cancellation actually is
• Hidden fees — consult fees, shipping charges, membership add-ons

Speed & Accessibility — 20%

How quickly and how widely a provider can actually get someone treated.

• Time from signup to clinician decision
• Shipping and delivery windows
• States served
• Availability of rush or expedited options

Patient Experience & Support — 20%

The day-to-day experience of using the service, before and after the first order.

• Clarity and length of the intake flow
• Support channel availability (chat, phone, email) and response time observed during testing
• Ease of renewals and refills
• Usability of any account portal or app

Trust & Transparency — 10%

Whether a provider is straightforward about who they are and what they offer.

• Licensing and accreditation status, such as LegitScript approval
• Clarity of terms of service, refund policy, and privacy practices
• Accuracy of marketing claims against what we observed in testing
• How clearly a provider discloses its own affiliate or partner relationships

From Score to Rank

The composite score is what drives everything else you see on a review — here's how each field connects back to it:

• Score (0–10): the weighted result of the five categories above, shown to one decimal place.
• Descriptor word (e.g. "Exceptional," "Excellent," "Great," "Good"): a band derived from the score — roughly 9.7+ is Exceptional, 9.3–9.6 is Excellent, 9.0–9.2 is Great, and high-8s is Good. These bands are a guide for readers, not a substitute for the underlying number.
• Star rating (0–5): the score converted to a five-point scale (score ÷ 2), rounded to the nearest half star, for at-a-glance comparison.
• Rank: providers are ordered strictly by composite score, with ties broken by the Trust & Transparency sub-score.
• Pros & cons: each pro or con traces back to a specific category finding — for example, a "discreet, fully online process" pro reflects the Patient Experience category, while a "subscription by default" con reflects Pricing & Value. They're evidence from the scoring, not separate marketing copy.
• Editor's Choice badge: awarded to the single highest composite score in a given category, and re-evaluated at every update cycle.

How Often We Update Rankings

Rankings are not "set and forget" — we keep them current on a fixed schedule:

• Quarterly: a full re-scoring review of every provider we rank.
• Monthly: spot-checks of pricing and availability.
• As needed: an ad hoc re-review whenever a provider changes its pricing, clinical model, or licensing status, or when we receive a credible reader-reported issue.

Editorial Independence

This framework — its categories, weights, and research process — is applied the same way to every provider we review, whether or not they have a business relationship with us. Read our full Editorial Policy for how we keep advertiser relationships separate from the scores themselves.