diff --git a/backend/scripts/mdm_pass.py b/backend/scripts/mdm_pass.py
index 1a448c5..376ae9a 100644
--- a/backend/scripts/mdm_pass.py
+++ b/backend/scripts/mdm_pass.py
@@ -267,7 +267,11 @@ def cmd_check(args) -> int:
         # promises an answer and then does not give it. Reported so an editor
         # can find them, not refused — a one-line prognosis is often the whole
         # honest answer.
-        placeholder = re.compile(r"^(no |none|not available|not specified|unavailable)", re.I)
+        # "No therapy is required" is a real answer; "No protocols are
+        # available" is the absence of one. The difference is whether the
+        # sentence is about the medicine or about the source.
+        placeholder = re.compile(
+            r"^(no|none)\b[^.]{0,60}\b(available|specified|provided|documented|given)\b", re.I)
         thin = [(a.title, s["title"], (s.get("content") or "").strip())
                 for a in good for s in clinical_of(a)
                 if placeholder.match((s.get("content") or "").strip())]