Doctors try to stifle online patient reviews

Dr. Jeffrey Segal has an interesting business. Called Medical Justice, it proclaims on its home page that it is "relentlessly protecting physicians from frivolous lawsuits."

One thing Medical Justice does in its march against frivolity is help doctors get patients to sign "Mutual Privacy Agreements." These appear to be documents in which the patient promises never to post anything negative about the doctor on review sites or blogs. (2,000 doctors are already using these agreements.)

There are many, many words on the Medical Justice site. And I tried to pay attention to them all. So if this review doesn't encompass all of the site's nuances, then I hope no one believes I have any malicious intentions to the profession that has saved me from many a peculiar affliction.

In essence, Medical Justice thinks there's a lot of utter twaddle written about doctors on review sites such as Yelp or RateMDs.com. Some of it is malicious. Some may possibly be written by scorned lovers, mad people in pink tights or, who knows, rival intoxicated physicians, rather than by real patients. (Medical Justice also helps doctors monitor comments on review sites)

So if doctor and patient can agree that the patient will not write anything nasty online then, at some point, a fairer system of rating doctors--perhaps along the lines of the J.D. Power and Associates model--might become a trustworthy reference for the good, the bad and the ogle-prone.

Here's the part that eludes me like the melody line of every TV On The Radio track. The site states: "'Mutual privacy' means that patients are granted additional privacy protections by the doctor above and beyond those mandated by law."

As I understand these words--and I am not a doctor and have never even played one on TV--if you promise not to go online with your unhappiness, the doctor will give you "additional privacy protections."

I cannot confirm that this doctor has spotted an unfair review around the next corner.

(Credit: CC AEU 04117)

I thought I scoured the site more thoroughly than I scour my pans after a spaghetti bolognese, but I couldn't discover what these protections might be. In fact, I can't even imagine what they might be, as I assume doctors are supposed to be utterly silent about every wart, wrinkle, and third nipple they discover on your person.

Medical Justice does toss unhappy patients a somewhat sterilized bone: "Patients remain entirely free to communicate about their treatment with friends, family, other health professionals, hospitals, licensing boards, attorneys, civil court, and more."

This bone seems to make my blood pressure twitter a little. Isn't one of the reasons why review sites have risen like the alien from a routine tummy tuck that the solutions recommended by Medical Justice don't seem to deliver what some might describe as medical justice?

Like Medical Justice, I am all for a little sophistication when it comes to touching the truth. But isn't the problem of the medical profession that far more sophistication has been used to conceal the facts rather than reveal them?

My eyebrows are beginning to ache. I think I'll take I'll reach into my medical cabernet for a cure.

[Knurdle]

I'd be happy to sign such an agreement, if the doctor would sign one I provide, saying that he promises to not make any mistakes or accidentally cause any injurious conditions that would cause me to WANT to post any statements on Yelp or RateMDs.

[ballmerisanape]

If those are your ultimate expectations from a physician, you need to hire a robot or some sort of intelligent computer hologram to be your doc... because.. not only are physicians human.. they are limited by what we know about human physiology and their training.

[Perry_Clease]

"not only are physicians human.. they are limited by what we know about human physiology and their training."

True, but that limited knowledge should keep a doctor from removing a sponge after surgery, make sure that the correct limb, kidney, or whatever is the one removed, to have a good bedside manner, and to have a trained and courteous office staff.

Not all doctors and medical staff are bad, most are good, but there some that need a lot of light shinned upon them.

[ballmerisanape]

"Not all doctors and medical staff are bad, most are good, but there some that need a lot of light shinned upon them."

Absolutely true.. that's why look at my Docs like they were a mechanic... If I don't like them.. or get a funny feeling.. I don't use their services. I also ask a lot of questions. Best of all.. I take care of myself so I have less need for medical care in the first place.

[Jaymul]

When did the country get so assholy ?

[Dalkorian]

Shortly after the lawyers arrived. :-D

[MadLyb]

I smell lawyers.

I will say that most of these sites do not have proper safeguards in place to prevent slander and other malicious behavior and we all know that internet+anonymity=jerks.

BTW, all of your medical information is, by law, highly confidential information, so I am unsure what additional protections could be brought to the table by the doctor.

[bartleby0]

It will be impossible to suppress all online anonymous reviews of hospitals and doctors. As is the case with the internet, the cat is already out of the bag. The big issue is that people should be educated about the fact that anonymous, unqualified, non-outcome based griping about a doctor on some internet forum is not a good way to find a doctor. If you're trying to choose a surgeon, ask how many times they've done a given procedure and what their complication rate is. That means more than a dozen reviews talking about BS like how the reviewer thinks the color of their wallpaper in heir waiting room is tacky or how they're mean because they wouldn't write them a note to go on disability for three months with a sprained ankle.

[tm_anon]

Since the reviews given by patients aren't always about wallpaper or how the doctor was "mean", these "anonymous, unqualified" gripes can still have value.

If I'm going to a surgeon, I'll not only ask how many times he's done the procedure and what his complication rate is, I'll also look up the procedure myself, find out the average complication rate, what those complications might be and what that procedure entails. I'll also go onto medical review sites and read what other patients have said about the surgeon to see if there are any legitimate claims against him.

When dealing with the medical profession, knowledge is a very good thing to have.

By the way, I'd really like to know that the professional I was going to see refused to give a note for 3 months of disability for a sprained ankle. At least I'd know if I could trust him.

[wperry1]

If spurned lovers and drunk peers are the ones posting nasty comments why have patients sign a form limiting their rights?

[gsekse]

Like ANY source of information, the internet MUST be taken with a grain of salt as they say. Not only do people lie, but so do databases, websites, news organizations, presidents, congressmen and of course, govenors of Illinois. When I read reviews of a product I'm interested in, I don't go by only the positive or negative, I read many of them and get an over all view of the product. It has saved me hassle when some thing is selling for a price that is too good to be true.

Unfortunately, review sites of doctors tend to only attract those people that are upset. People who are happy with their care will probably not post much, if at all.

When it comes to doctors, I have had quite a few, so were obsessive jerks, but they were obsessive about perfection, so I was rather happy they were handling the surgery. Sometimes the best personality doesn't mean the best skill. But, if you can't get communication going with your doctor, it can ruin any chance for a productive session for either person. I have fired one doctor in my life, but I caught him lying to me, and then when proven by his own records, I suddenly felt I was in a lawyer's office instead of a doctors. Do I think he is good at what he does, probably, but I lost my trust in him and so I couldn't use his services any longer. The doctor I replaced him with was hesistant about my firing the last doctor, but during the first visit, we talked it out and he agreed with my actions and we got along well after that. (He also remarked that the other doctor always did strike him as a bit stuck up.) Most of my doctors and I get along well and chat like friends when we meet. That is the sort of relationship I want with my doctor, I recognize his human nature and don't demand perfection, just the best he/she can do.

[AngiesList]

Angie?s List collects health reviews, but the big distinction between our model and other review sites is we don?t accept anonymous reviews. We and the doctor (or service company) being reviewed know exactly who the poster is and we encourage every business to respond to every post ? good or bad ? so other members can see both sides of the story. We?ve been following these medical gag orders very closely over the last few weeks and we?re categorically opposed to them because we believe they stifle free speech.

[man_w_balls]

There is no benefit to the consumer from signing such a "mutual privacy agreement" since the law already guarantees doctor-patient confidentiality, so why would anyone sign such an additional restriction of their right to speak their mind ?????
I say boo on them, and "medical justice" sounds like an oxymoron.

[achernow]

And what benefit do I get from the MD? HIPPA already states he can't disclose any information about me. Honestly, I'd love to have a lawyer look this over, because, this seems fishy.

Besides, it's well with-in my rights to kvetch about my MD on the internet if I want to.

[danwalter2]

You can got to RateMDs and read this story: http://adventuresincardiology.com (or Google "Adventures in Cardiology"). I wish RateMds had been around before I took my wife to see the dangerous quack at Johns Hopkins.

[pfezziwig]

Good luck stifling the internet. These doctors are showing their age or ignorance.

It's only a matter of time before younger more open minded doctors embrace services like HealthcareReviews.com and start referring patients there, or even offer a computer in the lobby while they wait ! Once they start encouraging reviews they will get the positive endorsement they probably deserve, otherwise the results will be skewed by a few cranky patients. These sites work both ways, they can be a positive marketing and advertising tool for the doctor as well as a negative one.