In short
- Ask for the full name, the licence number and the clinic's exact address, then search the official register yourself.
- A good result shows the same person, entitled to practise, in the specialty of your operation.
- An accreditation only counts if you find the clinic on the accrediting body's own list.
- Walk away if the name is not found, the address differs, or technicians would operate on a hair transplant.
Qualifications should be verified independently, not taken from the clinic or an agent (TravelHealthPro). This guide shows how to do it in the destination's own official registers, step by step. It is not medical advice: whether a treatment is right for you is for a doctor who has examined you to say. The clinic check tool gives you the register to use for your destination and treatment.
1. Ask for the details you need
Ask the clinic, in writing, who will carry out your treatment, what qualifications they have, and whether they are registered with a professional body (General Dental Council). Ask what training they have and how many procedures like yours they have done (NHS). You need:
- the full name of the person who will treat you, as it appears on their licence;
- their licence or registration number, and the region or state that issued it where the country has one;
- their specialty, if you are having surgery;
- the clinic's legal name and the exact address where you will be treated.
2. Search the register yourself
Open the register from the list below or from the destination page, not from a link the clinic sends you. Search with the surname first, then add the first name or the licence number. Many registers are in the local language only: a browser's translate function helps with the buttons. Some registers do not open from every country; if one does not open for you, ask for a copy of the licence in writing before you pay anything.
3. What a good result looks like
- The same person: the name matches, and the licence number matches the one the clinic gave you.
- Entitled to practise now. In Spain, for example, the doctors' register lists doctors registered and authorised to practise (General Council of Medical Colleges). In India, the national register says its data is being updated, so a recent registration may be missing (National Medical Commission).
- The right profession for your treatment and, for surgery, a specialty that matches it (next step).
4. Check the specialist registration
The UK's travel health service notes that membership of specialist medical or dental organisations may indicate certain standards of care (TravelHealthPro), and the CDC (the United States' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) relays advice to seek care from professionals certified in their specialties (CDC). Some registers show it:
- Brazil: search the doctor search with the CRM number (the Regional Council of Medicine registration) and the state; it can be filtered by specialty. A specialty is recognised separately, as an RQE (Registration of Specialist Qualification) (Federal Council of Medicine). For plastic surgery, look for an RQE in Cirurgia Plástica.
- Malaysia: check the surgeon in the Medical Council's register, then in the National Specialist Register.
- Czechia: the Medical Chamber's list can be searched by specialisation.
5. Check the clinic, at the exact address
In Turkey, every facility and every agency offering health tourism needs an International Health Tourism Authorisation Certificate (HealthTürkiye). The Ministry of Health publishes four lists: hospitals, medical centres, private practices and other facilities (Ministry of Health). Find the clinic on the right list and compare the address with the one on your booking. Elsewhere, the NHS advises you to find out how clinics are regulated in your chosen country, and not to pay for a hospital you have never seen (NHS).
6. Accreditation claims: find them on the body's own list
Accrediting organisations keep lists of accredited facilities outside the United States, but accreditation does not guarantee a good outcome (CDC). A logo on a website proves nothing: search the clinic on the accrediting body's own website. Two national examples: NABH in India and MSQH in Malaysia, whose list shows the dates each accreditation runs. Check that it has not ended. Accreditation is not a licence: the clinic still needs one.
7. Red flags
- Technicians operating on a hair transplant. The hair restoration surgeons' society says a licensed provider must perform all surgical incisions, and warns about doctors who advertise their credentials and then delegate the surgery to unlicensed staff. It adds that there is no such thing as "scarless surgery" in hair transplantation (ISHRS).
- The name is not found, or the licence number belongs to someone else. Ask why, in writing, before you pay.
- A different address: the clinic on the authorised list is not the one you are booked into.
- No meeting with the surgeon: do not pay to see a surgeon you have not met (NHS).
- Vague answers. If you are not satisfied with the answers, you do not have to commit to anything that day (GDC).
8. The official registers, by destination
| Destination | The doctor or dentist | The clinic |
|---|---|---|
| Turkey | We found no public online register of doctors. Dentists: the Turkish Dental Association's Find a Dentist searches by name and province; if the name is missing, ask for the chamber and registration number | Ministry of Health lists |
| Hungary | National register of health professionals (doctors and dentists) | No public search: ask for the operating permit (működési engedély) in writing |
| Poland | Central Register of Physicians and Dentists: name or licence (PWZ) number | Register of healthcare providers (RPWDL) |
| Spain | Doctors: Registro de Colegiados. Dentists: General Council of Dentists | Register of health centres (REGCESS) |
| Mexico | National register of professionals (doctors and dentists): for surgery, look for a specialist licence (cédula de especialista). It may not open from outside Mexico: then ask for the licences in writing | Ask for a copy of the clinic's health authorisation |
| Thailand | Doctors: Medical Council's check (English names work). Dentists: Dental Council's check | Licensed hospitals and clinics (Ministry of Public Health); it may not open from outside Thailand |
| South Korea | We found no public register of doctors in English: ask for the specialist (board) certificate in writing | Medical Korea: registered hospitals |
| Malaysia | Doctors: MeRITS and the National Specialist Register. Dentists: practitioner search (choose the Malaysian Dental Council) | Ask for the Ministry of Health licence or registration |
| India | Doctors: Indian Medical Register. Dentists: ask for the registration number and the council that issued it | Ask for the state registration certificate |
| Czechia | Doctors: Medical Chamber. Dentists: Dental Chamber | National Register of Healthcare Providers (NRPZS); it may not open from some countries |
| Croatia | Doctors: Medical Chamber. Dentists: the Chamber of Dental Medicine has no public search: ask for the licence to work independently | See the Croatia page |
| Brazil | Doctors: Federal Council of Medicine (CRM number and state). Dentists: Federal Council of Dentistry | National register of health establishments (CNES) |
Before you pay, go through the rest of the checklist, and read what to do if something goes wrong.