vvewell Community Guidelines
Share your experience, respect others and protect privacy. Please follow these guidelines when participating in the community.
About the community
vvewell Community is an online community that connects patients and caregivers from around the world who are seeking medical care across borders. Here you can ask questions and share your experience: how you found a hospital, how you made appointments and communicated with your care team, what paperwork was involved, what it cost and what challenges you faced.
Joining, reading and posting are free. The community is hosted and moderated by the vvewell Community Team.
Community guidelines
1. Share your story, not medical advice.
Share your own experiences with diagnosis, treatment and care. But do not tell others what they should do. Do not recommend specific medications or treatments, and do not diagnose others based on what they describe. Every person's situation is different, and decisions about treatment should be made together with a doctor.
2. Content may be edited or removed.
Moderators look for information that could be misleading or harmful, such as diagnosing another member, giving specific dosages, or claiming a treatment is a cure without a source. We may add an explanation, remove personal information, or remove the content. We will let you know why. Members who repeatedly or seriously break these guidelines may be temporarily muted or have their accounts suspended. We do not edit or remove your content without good reason.
3. Be genuine.
Share only what you have experienced yourself. If you are sharing someone else's experience, say so. Do not claim to be someone you are not, including a doctor or a representative of a hospital or other organization, and do not make up conditions or experiences. When you quote an article, credit the source. Do not use the community for illegal purposes.
4. Use AI responsibly.
If any part of your message was written or assisted by AI, say so. We want to hear your experience in your own words.
5. Protect yourself and others.
Public posts may be read by others, indexed by search engines or shared as screenshots. Do not post personal information about yourself or others, such as real names, phone numbers, addresses, email addresses, medical record numbers, insurance numbers, ID numbers or visa details. Do not post photos of test results, prescriptions, bills or tickets that show this information. If you post something by mistake, delete it right away or ask a moderator for help.
6. Always be civil and respectful. Stay on topic.
Disagreement is okay, but personal attacks are not. Do not mock or lecture other members, and do not post discriminatory remarks about region, nationality, gender or religion. This community is about health and medical care. No politics.
7. No promotions.
Do not post advertisements. Do not solicit. This includes promoting hospitals, doctors, agencies, medications, supplements or insurance products, sharing contact details to offer services, and steering members toward paid services in the community or in private messages. Do not recommend informal resellers of prescription medication or ways to get care or medication outside local regulations. Do not fundraise, recruit research participants without our approval, or promote or share invitations to other communities without approval. You may mention hospitals and doctors by name when sharing your own experience.
Official guides posted by moderators with the vvewell Team label may include vvewell's contact details.
8. Be careful with links and files.
Do not share installers, executable files or archives from unknown sources. Check where a link comes from before you open it.
9. Respect privacy in voice and video chats.
Do not record audio, video or screenshots without the consent of everyone present.
10. Report concerns.
If you see a message or account that seems misleading, violates someone's privacy or looks suspicious, use the platform's report feature or contact a moderator. You can also email admin@vvewell.com.
Know who your moderators are
- Moderators and staff have the vvewell Team label. Volunteers have the Community Volunteer label. Volunteers are not staff.
- Moderators will never send you a private message asking for money, photos of ID, medical records or verification codes. If you receive a message like this, do not reply, and let us know.
- Someone may use a similar name or profile picture to pose as a moderator. If you are not sure, ask a community moderator or email admin@vvewell.com to check.
- Be cautious if a stranger sends you a private message recommending a hospital, a medication or an "inside channel".
Disclaimer
All information shared by members is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions about your health. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read in the community.
In an emergency, call your local emergency number right away. The community cannot provide emergency help.
Views expressed in the community are solely those of the members and do not represent vvewell. Posts by moderators and volunteers reflect personal experience only and are not medical advice.
Privacy and use
- The community is for adults 18 and older.
- Public discussion is not a private consultation. Do not include information that identifies you or another person in posts, replies or attachments.
- Before sharing a photo, hide names, identifiers, barcodes, dates of birth and contact details.
- If we would like to quote your experience in public reference materials, we will ask for your consent first and remove information that identifies you.
- If you accidentally share sensitive information or need help removing content, contact a moderator or email admin@vvewell.com.
How we moderate
- Moderators check content regularly and respond to reports. Volunteers help new members, offer reminders and report concerns. They cannot remove content or take action on accounts.
- We act on personal information, misleading or harmful content, advertising and solicitation, personal attacks and discrimination, politics, impersonation and fabricated stories, unlabeled AI content, and unsafe links or files.
- We do not act on honest negative experiences with care, differing opinions, or discussions about costs. Please avoid personal information and personal attacks.
- We prefer editing to removing content, and reminders to penalties. Content involving privacy, fraud or illegal activity may be hidden while we investigate. Accounts that repeatedly or seriously break the rules may be restricted or suspended.
- We explain why we take action. If you think a decision was wrong, email admin@vvewell.com with your account, a link to the content and a short explanation. A moderator who was not involved will review it and reply as soon as possible.
Changes to these guidelines
When these guidelines change, we will update the version and date on this page and explain important changes. By continuing to participate in the community, you agree to the updated guidelines.