How HealthNaro verifies listings: the four levels explained

A directory is only as useful as the trust you can place in each entry. HealthNaro lists clinics and practitioners from public sources, from provider submissions and from data we collect ourselves, and not all of that information has been checked to the same degree. Rather than hide the difference, we label it. Every listing carries one of four verification levels, each with the date of the check shown on the profile. This post explains the levels, how a listing moves between them, and the limits of what a label can tell you.

The four levels

Two design choices are worth spelling out. We call the lowest level "Public listing" rather than "Unverified", because the information is real and sourced; it simply has not been confirmed with the provider yet. And the top level is reserved for a human check: no import, bulk upload or script can set Credentials verified.

Where imported data starts

Most of our listings begin life in a spreadsheet, for example the Kenyan dental dataset collected from public sources in October 2026. When the person who collected the data reviewed each record during collection, the import may publish it directly at Reviewed by HealthNaro, with the check date set to the collection date and an evidence note stored against the record. The importer has to confirm this explicitly with a tick box and a note; otherwise the record is published as a Public listing. Credentials verified is never assigned by an import under any circumstances.

Where we verify many listings at once, each change is uploaded as a single row: the listing, the level, who checked it, the date and the evidence. Rows without evidence are rejected, and every change is written to the audit log.

How a provider moves a listing up

There is no charge for any of these steps. Sponsored placement, where it exists, is always labelled and never changes a verification level or the order of organic results.

How often we re-check

A listing is re-checked sooner if a report is received, an email bounces, a phone number stops working or the provider changes key details. A level is lowered when evidence turns out to be wrong, when a registration lapses or is suspended, when a report is upheld, or when a check is older than its interval and cannot be repeated. A claimed provider is told by email, and the change is recorded in the audit log.

Why the register check matters in Kenya

The public register we use for Kenyan practitioners is the KMPDC online register. When we checked its dashboard in October 2026, it showed about 22,500 registered practitioners but only about 15,300 with a current licence. That gap is the reason Credentials verified is a dated, human check rather than a one-off tick: a licence has to be renewed, and we re-check it at least yearly.

What verification does not cover

A verification label is a statement about what HealthNaro has checked. It is not a statement about clinical quality. We do not inspect premises, observe treatment, review clinical outcomes or assess the quality of care. We do not verify prices, insurance acceptance or availability; where these appear, the provider supplied them and you should confirm them directly. Demonstration listings used to show how the site works are marked with a banner and are never counted as real providers.

How we checked these figures

The definitions, intervals and procedures in this post are quoted from the HealthNaro Verification Policy, last reviewed 31 October 2026, and from the internal design decision of 30 October 2026 that fixed the four labels and the import rules. The KMPDC register counts were read from registers.kmpdc.go.ke in October 2026 and rounded. If the policy changes, the policy page is the authoritative version and this post will be updated to match.

If you want to see the labels in use, the general dentistry page lists dental clinics in Kenya with their current verification level. You can also tell us what you need and we will help you find a suitable clinic; the service is free.