# medicaltourism.guide

Site grounding for agents without the medicaltourism.guide repository: its seven charter files, unchanged except that headings sit two levels lower and every term id the pinned version defines, in the frontmatter blocks too, is followed by its label from the pinned version. The YAML blocks are therefore for reading, not parsing; the repo files are the source.

- Domain: medicaltourism.guide
- Pins: editorial-charter@1.3.1, portfolio-icp@1.0.0, medicaltourism@1.0.0
- Repo: 4930f9336a56f15b9d1f1485fa4082f7e57130bd (committed 2026-10-03T14:44:00-07:00)
- Built 2026-10-05T03:25:29+00:00
- Pages: https://taxonomy.tfw.bz/sites/medicaltourism.guide/

## BRAND.md

Version 1.1.1 · status draft · sha256 5bd461c69897a64ca0a48832b5e7546f0036c876e6a69368afbbdcd2502e93f9

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.1.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: medicaltourism.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
archetype: charter:brand-archetype-caregiver (caregiver)
secondary_archetype: charter:brand-archetype-sage (sage)
claims:
  - id: c1
    text: Comparisons draw on published, dated sources, including Joint Commission International accreditation records and national accrediting bodies.
    basis: charter:claim-basis-cited (cited)
    source: about.manifest.json (JCI list, re-verified annually per briefs/strategy.md)
```

### BRAND

#### Name and entity
medicaltourism.guide (Medical Tourism Guide), published by Thomas Prommer. Entity home: https://medicaltourism.guide/en/about/. Contact comms@flywheel.bz. Not affiliated with any clinic, hospital or facilitator.

#### Promise
Compare treatment abroad like with like: every cost comparison states its source, date, currency and what it excludes (travel, follow-up care, complications).

#### Personality
The caregiver: a calm trip planner who walks a nervous first-timer through the whole journey, one practical step at a time, and names the warning sign next to the step it belongs to. Sage underneath: sourced, dated, accredited. Educational information only, never medical advice.

#### Visual pointers
No `design/tokens.json` yet; pre-launch. Follow `DESIGN.md` when the site is scaffolded.

#### Do / Don't
Do: lead with the answer, then the steps. Do: state exclusions on every price. Do: keep the "not medical advice" line on every page.
Don't: rank or endorse providers. Don't: arrange treatment. Don't: invent a reviewer or a patient story. Don't: publish a clinical page before clinical review.

## VOICE.md

Version 1.1.1 · status draft · sha256 7f09f0f820c871947c734edeab2fa1ab7b33a6fb409f260aad4e1f9471b5d7e2

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.1.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: medicaltourism.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
register: charter:voice-register-practitioner (practitioner)
person: charter:voice-person-second (second person)
languages: [en]
addresses: [north-american-self-payers, first-time-planners]
essence: A calm trip planner who walks a nervous first-timer through the whole journey, one practical step at a time.
```

<!-- ASSUMED DEFAULT, 2026-09-17: recommended voice option 'a. Calm trip planner' from ~/reports/site-strategy/medicaltourism.guide.json, pending Tom's review in ~/reports/site-decisions/index.html. If Tom picks another voice this file is replaced. -->

### VOICE: medicaltourism.guide (medicaltourism.guide)

> Loaded by /humanizer (Step 0) and the content publishing gate (drafting Step 1
> + humanizer Step 3). If absent, both fall back to generic mode.

#### 1. Identity & Register
- Voice owner / who speaks: the site, second person, medically reviewed
- Register: practitioner
- Language/locale: en (source language; see Languages below)
- One-line essence: "A calm trip planner who walks a nervous first-timer through the whole journey, one practical step at a time."

#### 2. Audience
- Primary audience: self-paying adults comparing treatment abroad for the first time
- Reader's job-to-be-done: work out whether going abroad is realistic, safe and affordable, and plan it
- Assume they know their procedure and home quote; always explain accreditation, what packages exclude, fit-to-fly and follow-up

#### 3. Tone Axes  (mark where this voice sits)
- Formal   ────●───  Casual
- Authority ───●───  Peer
- Serious  ──●─────  Playful
- Concise  ──●────  Expansive
- Default editorial_track: factual

#### 4. Person, POV & Cadence
- Person: second person ('you'); 'we' only for how figures were checked
- Sentence rhythm: short sentences, lists of steps where order matters
- Paragraph length: 2 to 4 sentences
- Lead with the answer, then the steps
- Every cost figure: source, date, currency, exclusions
- No clinic or hospital rankings
- Name the warning sign alongside the step it relates to

#### 5. Lexicon
- Preferred terms: 'international patient department', 'accreditation', 'all-in cost', 'what the quote excludes', 'fit-to-fly', 'follow-up care', 'facilitator'
- Banned phrases (beyond humanizer's generic list): 'paradise', 'world-class' without a named standard, 'save up to', 'luxury recovery', 'hassle-free', 'top-rated clinic', 'medical vacation'
- Capitalization & spelling rules: JCI spelled out on first use (Joint Commission International); country names in full; currencies as USD, EUR, GBP with the date
- Domain-jargon level: Low. Procedures named in plain terms with the clinical term in brackets once.

#### 6. E-E-A-T / Experience Claims  (anchors gate Step 7)
- Authentic experience this voice can claim: None first-hand. The site does not arrange treatment. Named medical reviewer once contracted.
- Named author + bio source: Byline 'medicaltourism.guide editorial team' plus a named medical reviewer. Do not invent a reviewer or patient stories.
- Quantified credential for bios: Reviewer's license, specialty and years in practice, from their CV.
- Citation posture: CDC Travelers' Health and Yellow Book, State Department, WHO, national health ministries, accreditation bodies, published hospital price lists with dates.
- Original-data hooks this voice owns: The savings calculator and a dated table of published international-patient price lists per destination.
- "What I got wrong" angle: Name where a first-time planner usually miscounts (recovery nights, companion costs, complications) and show the corrected sum.
- Reviewer status (2026-10-03): no named reviewer. No reviewer is contracted or named in the repo, and CHANGELOG.md records medical review as pending. Pages publish under the 'medicaltourism.guide editorial team' byline until one is named.

#### 7. Gold-Standard Examples  (few-shot anchor, highest leverage)
- Example A (seed sample, replace with a published paragraph once live): "What does a knee replacement abroad actually cost? Start with the hospital's quote, then add what the quote leaves out. Flights for you and a companion. The nights you must stay nearby until the surgeon clears you to fly, so ask how many. Physical therapy once you are back. And a buffer for the thing nobody budgets for: a complication that needs treatment after you return. Write each line down next to your home quote. If the gap is still large once everything is on the page, you have a real option. If it shrinks to a few thousand dollars, staying home may be the better trade."
  - Why on-voice: Answers the question with an ordered, practical tally and an honest decision rule.
- Example B (seed sample, replace with a published paragraph once live): "Before you pay a deposit, ask the hospital for its accreditation certificate and check it yourself on the accreditor's public list. A logo on a website is not proof."
  - Why on-voice: Practical, imperative, one checkable action.

#### 8. Anti-References  (do NOT sound like)
- Clinic and facilitator landing pages ('Your smile, our passion')
- Travel-magazine 'medical vacation' features
- Influencer testimonials
- Ranked 'best hospitals abroad' listicles

#### Languages
- de: Sie throughout. Ruhig, praktisch, keine Werbesprache. German readers mostly travel to Hungary, Poland, Czechia and Turkey, so examples and cost bases use euros and German prices. Werbung für ästhetische Eingriffe unterliegt dem Heilmittelwerbegesetz: keine Vorher-Nachher-Bilder im Zusammenhang mit gelisteten Anbietern.
- es: usted throughout. Tono sereno y práctico. Name the reader's country when comparing costs (Spain and Latin American readers travel in different directions); prices in the reader's currency with date.
- fr: vous throughout. Registre posé et concret. Distinguish France, Belgium, Switzerland and Quebec readers when costs or reimbursement (Sécurité sociale, prior authorization for care abroad) are mentioned.
- pt: você (Brazilian Portuguese by default). Tom calmo e prático. Brazilian readers are also a destination market for plastic surgery, so separate 'traveling to Brazil' from 'traveling from Brazil' pages.

## STRATEGY.md

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 d771279cc837696c99243ff17944d627451504b978c4ec1c00083ca522359d64

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: medicaltourism.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
mission_shape: charter:mission-shape-serve-x-to-achieve-y (serve X to achieve Y)
horizon: charter:horizon-12m (12 months)
positioning:
  primary: charter:positioning-axis-price-position (price position)
  secondary: [charter:positioning-axis-authority-depth (authority depth), charter:positioning-axis-locality (locality)]
audiences:
  - kind: charter:audience-kind-consumer (consumer)
    name: North American self-payers
    segment: north-american-self-payers
    job_to_be_done: Compare the all-in cost abroad with the quote at home and judge whether it is safe to go.
  - kind: charter:audience-kind-consumer (consumer)
    name: First-time planners
    segment: first-time-planners
    job_to_be_done: Decide between a facilitator, a package and booking direct, and plan follow-up care back home.
profile_required: true
```

### STRATEGY

#### Mission
We help self-paying patients work out whether treatment abroad is realistic, safe and affordable, and plan it, without arranging it for them.

#### Positioning
Price position first: we are clearer about cost than anyone quoting a headline price, because every comparison carries source, date, currency and exclusions, and the savings calculator does the like-for-like sum. Authority depth second (JCI and national accreditation records, clinical review). Locality third (destination pages for Mexico, Turkey, Costa Rica, Malaysia, Colombia, Hungary, India, South Korea, Thailand). We concede speed of answer: planning takes steps.

#### Audiences
North American self-payers: US or Canadian adults, uninsured, underinsured or facing a long wait, quoted a price at home for dental work, bariatric surgery or a joint replacement they cannot afford. First-time planners who know their procedure and home quote and need accreditation, package exclusions, fit-to-fly and follow-up explained. UK/European and elective cosmetic shoppers are noted, not chosen.

#### Competitors
Facilitators and package sellers (covered neutrally as options), dedicated dental-tourism sites, hospital international-patient departments quoting direct.

#### What we will not do
No clinic, hospital or facilitator affiliation. No ranking or endorsement of providers. No paid ordering or badges; any enhanced hospital profile is a flat fee labelled as advertising. No treatment arrangement. No clinical page without review.

#### Bets for the horizon
1. Launch the English destination and cost clusters with clinical review first (moves pageview_recorded, gsc_clicks).
2. Savings calculator and dated price-list table as the original-data hook (moves content_engaged).
3. Verified hospital directory, free to list, filtered by accreditation only; enhanced profiles once destination pages rank (moves affiliate_clicked, later revenue).

## AUDIENCE.md

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 41b6360f3aa601f11faba7b4d476243467663a9f5667e7b979bff66a5a90adf8

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: medicaltourism.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
segments:
  - slug: north-american-self-payers
    name: North American self-payers
    kind: charter:audience-kind-consumer (consumer)
    archetype: icp:self-pay-medical-planner (Self-pay medical planner)
    priority: charter:segment-priority-primary (primary)
    job_to_be_done: Compare the all-in cost abroad with the quote at home and judge whether it is safe to go.
    funnel_stages: [charter:funnel-stage-awareness (awareness), charter:funnel-stage-consideration (consideration), charter:funnel-stage-decision (decision)]
    languages: [en]
    regions: [US, CA]
    pains:
      - Cannot tell a quality hospital from a marketing site.
      - "Hidden costs: travel, companion, revisions, complications."
      - Fear of being stranded if something goes wrong.
      - Home doctors unwilling to take over aftercare.
    channels: [charter:channel-organic-search (organic search)]
    size_signal: {metric: monthly_searches, value: 3500, unit: count}
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from STRATEGY.md audiences and briefs/strategy.md ICP a (itself an assumed default pending Tom's review)", as_of: 2026-10-03}
      size_signal: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-researched (researched), source: "briefs/strategy.md ICP a size signal: about 3,500 monthly en searches with stored volume (briefs/keywords.json), copied as written", as_of: 2026-09-17}
      channels: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md ICP a 'Where they search' (destination and cost queries); no GSC data, site is pre-launch", as_of: 2026-10-03}
      regions: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from STRATEGY.md audiences ('US or Canadian adults'); no GSC country data", as_of: 2026-10-03}

  - slug: first-time-planners
    name: First-time planners
    kind: charter:audience-kind-consumer (consumer)
    archetype: icp:self-pay-medical-planner (Self-pay medical planner)
    priority: charter:segment-priority-secondary (secondary)
    job_to_be_done: Decide between a facilitator, a package and booking direct, and plan follow-up care back home.
    funnel_stages: [charter:funnel-stage-consideration (consideration), charter:funnel-stage-decision (decision)]
    languages: [en]
    regions: [US, CA]
    pains:
      - Does not know what accreditation, package exclusions and fit-to-fly mean for them.
      - Unsure who to trust between a facilitator, a package and a direct booking.
    channels: [charter:channel-organic-search (organic search)]
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from STRATEGY.md audiences and VOICE.md section 2", as_of: 2026-10-03}
      regions: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent assumption 2026-10-03: STRATEGY.md names no country for this segment; North America assumed to match the primary segment", as_of: 2026-10-03}
      channels: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md ICP a 'Where they search' (companies, facilitator and package queries)", as_of: 2026-10-03}
```

### AUDIENCE

#### North American self-payers
US or Canadian adults who pay for treatment themselves, because they are uninsured, underinsured or face a long wait. The trigger is a price quoted at home that they cannot afford. Their first move is to check what the same procedure costs abroad, so they arrive with a home quote in hand and a need to compare like with like. Source: STRATEGY.md section Audiences, briefs/strategy.md ICP a.

#### First-time planners
Readers who already know their procedure and their home quote and need the planning layer explained: accreditation, what a package leaves out, fit-to-fly and follow-up care. They are deciding between a facilitator, a package and booking direct. Source: STRATEGY.md section Audiences, VOICE.md section 2.

#### Excluded audiences
Not written for: UK and European readers and elective cosmetic shoppers, who are noted but not chosen for the 12-month horizon (STRATEGY.md section Audiences). Not written for clinics, hospitals or facilitators who want ranking, endorsement or a paid position. Source: STRATEGY.md section What we will not do.

## MONETIZATION.md

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 ef42e9d39ded13cd9c9f50941e87e660c2aad730eb96547dde6c2dda3e4ef825

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: medicaltourism.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
revenue_lines:
  - slug: hospital-enhanced-profiles
    name: Hospital enhanced profiles, flat fee
    type: charter:revenue-type-paid-listing (paid listing)
    program_status: charter:program-status-unchecked (unchecked)
    commission_model: charter:commission-model-flat-fee (flat fee)
    placements: [charter:placement-type-listing (listing)]
    segments: [north-american-self-payers, first-time-planners]
    kpi_key: sponsored_income_recorded
    status: charter:revenue-status-idea (idea)
    share_band: charter:revenue-share-band-major (major)
    start_trigger: destination pages rank and show visible traffic per destination
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md monetization option c (assumed default pending Tom's review); no hospital has been asked, so program_status is unchecked", as_of: 2026-10-03}
      share_band: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent assumption 2026-10-03: briefs/strategy.md says hospitals buy profiles once destination pages rank and the planner and ads earn first; no revenue model sets a share", as_of: 2026-10-03}
  - slug: planner-kit
    name: Paid planner kit
    type: charter:revenue-type-own-digital-product (own digital product)
    commission_model: charter:commission-model-unknown (unknown)
    placements: [charter:placement-type-dedicated-page (dedicated page)]
    segments: [north-american-self-payers, first-time-planners]
    kpi_key: null
    status: charter:revenue-status-idea (idea)
    share_band: charter:revenue-share-band-minor (minor)
    start_trigger: savings calculator live and the kit contents written
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md monetization option c (records checklist, hospital questions, follow-up plan, budget sheet built on the savings calculator); price not set", as_of: 2026-10-03}
  - slug: display-ads
    name: Display ads on informational pages
    type: charter:revenue-type-display-ads (display ads)
    network: not chosen
    commission_model: charter:commission-model-rpm (RPM)
    placements: [charter:placement-type-display-slot (display slot)]
    segments: [north-american-self-payers, first-time-planners]
    kpi_key: ad_revenue_recorded
    status: charter:revenue-status-idea (idea)
    share_band: charter:revenue-share-band-minor (minor)
    start_trigger: traffic reaches the eligibility threshold of the chosen network
    evidence:
      default: {basis: charter:evidence-basis-assumed (assumed), source: "agent draft 2026-10-03 from briefs/strategy.md monetization option c; network thresholds are listed there as sources (Mediavine, Raptive) and were not read in this run", as_of: 2026-10-03}
```

### MONETIZATION

#### Revenue model
Three lines, all at idea stage, none live. Hospitals can pay a flat annual fee for an enhanced profile in the directory. Patients can buy a planner kit. Informational pages can carry display ads. Revenue is slow: hospitals buy profiles once destination pages rank, so the planner and ads come first. Source: briefs/strategy.md monetization option c, an assumed default pending Tom's review.

#### Disclosure rules
Enhanced hospital profiles are labelled "Hospital-provided information" and as advertising (FTC Endorsement Guides). Fees are flat and never vary with enquiries or bookings. No paid ordering and no badges. Listing in the directory stays free and is filtered by accreditation only. The planner carries a "not medical advice" notice and points to CDC and State Department guidance. Source: briefs/strategy.md compliance note, STRATEGY.md section What we will not do.

#### Not monetised
No affiliate links, no facilitator or booking-platform referral fees, no clinic or hospital rankings or endorsements, and no treatment arrangement. No ad slot, listing fee or planner sale goes live until Tom confirms. Source: briefs/strategy.md ("Not active yet"), BRAND.md Do / Don't.

#### Hospital enhanced profiles, flat fee
A paid upgrade to a free listing: international desk contacts, languages, published price ranges and packages, labelled "Hospital-provided information". Accreditation status is re-verified yearly against the Joint Commission International list or the national body. A published verification method and removal policy limit the brand risk of a listed hospital with a bad outcome. No price is set and no hospital has been approached.

#### Paid planner kit
A records checklist, questions to ask the hospital, a complication and follow-up plan and a budget sheet built on the savings calculator, sold to patients. Price not set. The kit has no KPI key in the crosswalk yet, so kpi_key is empty.

#### Display ads on informational pages
Ads on informational pages only, not on the directory profiles. The network is not chosen. The site is pre-launch and below any network threshold.

## KPI.md

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 925a7dc74f5691c63e516f8284a2b11173088fd23ddedf54b5d30191615e7c21

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: medicaltourism.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
template: charter:kpi-template-editorial-traffic (editorial traffic)
kpis:
  - {key: pageview_recorded, role: charter:kpi-role-primary (primary)}
  - {key: gsc_clicks, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: gsc_impressions, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: avg_position, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: content_engaged, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: newsletter_subscribed, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: affiliate_clicked, role: charter:kpi-role-secondary (secondary)}
  - {key: crawl_errors, role: charter:kpi-role-guardrail (guardrail)}
  - {key: pages_indexed, role: charter:kpi-role-guardrail (guardrail)}
catalog_sha: 4304fc97e9ac457725bdc25dcbb724c36257a707cbb3c237b69cd3e7ba04ac39
```

### KPI

#### Why these metrics
pageview_recorded is the number the site is run on: hospital profiles and ads only earn once destination pages have visible traffic. gsc_clicks, gsc_impressions and avg_position explain where that traffic comes from per destination; content_engaged tells whether the calculator and cost tables are used; newsletter_subscribed and affiliate_clicked are the early conversion signals before the directory exists. Guardrails: crawl_errors must not rise as 193 pages land, and pages_indexed must keep pace with what is published.

#### Reading guide
No measurement is live yet (pre-launch, no GA4 events). Read weekly once GA4 and GSC are wired; until then the checker only warns about the missing `(site)` target.

#### Review cadence
At launch, then quarterly.

## taxonomy/binding.yaml

Version 1.0.1 · status draft · sha256 b4578dd296442e5a391ceee9fd9ebf502f19ab4e53d00f6734f224b2cebc181b

```yaml
charter: 1
version: 1.0.1
profile: editorial-charter@1.3.1
domain: medicaltourism.guide
status: draft
reviewed_by: ""
iab_content: ["iab:286", "iab:653"]
icp_profile: portfolio-icp@1.0.0
content_profile: "medicaltourism@1.0.0"
languages: [en]
regions: [US, CA]
```