The Good Practice Score

The Good Practice Score helps patients to make a more informed choice when considering cross-border reproductive care. Based on the recommendations of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, the Good Practice Score embraces twenty factors which assess the suitability of a clinic for the delivery of services to international patients.

Good practice score sections

There are several questions asked of each facility that completed a Good Practice Score.

The questions are grouped into the following categories

• Equity in cross-border reproductive care
• Patient information
• Donors
• Surrogacy
• Embryo transfer

All questions must be answered before a score is calculated and then the score is displayed as a percentage on their profile page.

What are the rating factors?

We identified 20 key factors from that provide a measure of whether a clinic is compliant with the ESHRE good practice guide. Based on the level of compliance, we are then able to derive a “Good Practice Score” for cross border reproductive care. Thus a clinic receives a score out of 20 (1 point for each of the criteria that it meets), which is represented as a percentage of applicable answers.

The factors are as follows. Clinics score one point on the Good Practice Score for each question to which they answer “Yes”.

Equity in cross-border reproductive care

1. Are treatment protocols at your clinic the same for both foreign and local patients?

2. Is the same information provided to both foreign and local patients?

3. Is the same counselling and support provided to both foreign and local patients?

4. Are the same fees charged to both foreign and local patients?

5. Is the screening of sperm and eggs for sexually transmitted disease and genetic disease the same for both foreign and local patients?

6. Is the payment and compensation to donors the same for both foreign and local donors?

Patient information

7. Do patients receive clear information about necessary investigations and their cost, about waiting list times and the expected time they will have to spend outside their own country?

8. Are patients given copies of their medical record when they return home?

9. Is counselling and psychological support is available in a language understood by the patients?

10. Are the relevant details of previous investigations and care in the home country requested from all patients?

11. Is the appropriate relevant information given to the patients returning home in order to optimize their care at home?

12. Is a report on the patient's investigations and treatment sent to the patient's physician in the home country or given to the patient to pass on?

13. Does the clinic provide the name of their ombudsman or the person to whom complaints should be directed?

Donors

14. Do you comply with the EU tissues directive, with special regard to the screening process and the non-commercialization conditions?

15. Do you contribute data to a national or international register of donors?

Surrogacy

16. Is single embryo transfer your sole practice?

17. Do you provide legal advice (or access to legal advice) about local rules governing surrogacy?

Embryo transfer

18. Do you publish your policy on single versus multiple embryo transfer?

19. Do foreign patients follow the same stimulation protocol as local patients, taking into account age and previous stimulations?

20. When donor oocytes are used, is embryo transfer limited to two embryos?