Right or Wrong? Rating Doctors Online
March 18, 2010 by Kathy McManus
There are websites devoted to rating — or berating — almost anyone whose services you use: butcher, baker, birthday cake maker, hairdresser, professor and many, many more.
Comments on these sites are almost always posted anonymously, and range from endorsement to impeachment. But as MSNBC.com reports, a growing number of doctors are insisting that their patients sign contracts — “gag orders”, some critics call them — promising not to divulge details of their medical experience on any public website.
According to MSNBC.com, “Such contracts haven’t been tested in court, and Internet law experts say they’re unlikely to prevail.” But backers of the restrictions say they are necessary because doctors who are defamed online can’t publicly counter a patient’s charges due to federal privacy laws. Further, said one doctor of reputation-wrecking writers, “You don’t know whether it’s a patient, an ex-employee, an ex-spouse, or even a competitor.”
RateMDs.com, which encourages patients to rank physicians’ “helpfulness” among other attributes, has posted the names of doctors requiring “gag contracts” to its online “Wall of Shame.” Says the site’s founder, “Essentially, patients are being asked to trade in their freedom of speech for medical care.”
Tell us what you think: Is it right to anonymously criticize a doctor online? Is it right for doctors to ask patients to sign a code of silence?
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66 Comments
What do you think? Leave a comment
March 20, 2010 by lauren freenam
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July 7, 2010 by Lois
Doctors are are no different than anyother comidy we engage in. They are not gods (as some people beleive). Not all of them are as honest and relilable as we are led to beleive. There is no accountabililty or rating system. There is no way to make an educated choice. They run their practices like a business. We make decisions about any other business we choose. This is the only way we can make an educated choice.
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July 22, 2010 by Esma
I agree with your comment, just because someone is a doctor they know everything or don't lie to patients. Who cares about reputation of the doctor when he has lied or not treated a patient with the respect, honesty and dignity they deserve. If you buy pizza from restaurant and it was burnt the likelehood of going back is slim. However, if you were informed by a doctor of one thing and told another that caused harm to someone the damage is done regardles if you go to this doctor or not. Doctors have become so greedy and care about them not the patient, they refuse to take insurance from low income families and some are self centered. Money is not everything making a patient happy and knowing that a change is made is more forfilling. Everyone will die one day regardless if were rich poor, doctors, lawyers or housewives.
July 29, 2010 by John
I am a physician, and for the first time I checked my stats out on health grades and doctor vitals. I had four stars (national average) on health grades, and 5 stars on doctor vitals with a real nice notice about my practice written by the patient. I really don't like this type of forum on "grading" physicians for several reasons.
As stated in the article, the authors are completely anonymous. This could be disgruntled staff, perhaps a patient abusing prescription medication, or just a plain old mean unhappy person that you offeneded in some fashion.
Unlike bakers, buliders, and mechanics I could'nt t call out person who is spewing complete garbage. A patient is protected (and rightfully so) by laws pertaining to their health care. A patient can say whatever he/she wants and there is no consequences. A physican has absolutely no ability to defend him/herself from exaggerated/fictious claims on the internet.
I think that if somone is going to flame a doc them they better damn well waive their right to privacy regarding the issue.
I'm sorry but not everyone thinks that medicine is a commodity. I wish they did, then we could get insurance companies and the Government out of the picture. I could do my job a lot better, quicker and chepear if Govenrment/insurance mandates, and trial attorneys where not in my way. I think that this would go along way to improving health care and decreasing costs.
JV MD
PS We are not Gods, only people trying to help people live better lives.
September 21, 2010 by cj
I think it is necessary to rate your doctors performance, especially if they are being hurtful and vindictive. If they don't like you they should refrain from saying anything and just do their job. I don't mind being somebody's patient, but the doctors I have need to stop making personal comments abou t things.
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July 12, 2011 by Tdot50
I totally agree and doctors do make bad statements about their patients.
September 23, 2010 by l meseck
It is too difficult to ask everyone you know how they would rate their doctor. It is shocking how bad medical care is these days. I am currently leaving Primary Care Associates and Dr. Czvic who is under them because their care is very wreckless and awful..They have been reported to the AMA and the Dept of Managed care of Calif..Wish I had known the specifics before wasting my time with them. Could be dead.
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January 17, 2011 by Dan
To the doctor that left the post.
1. Yes you are not a god however, many of your fellow doctors think they are.
2. Yes, people have been rating doctors for time immortal. Get use to it.
3. You can put anything in your chart and it is accepted as gospel so, I have little sympathy for you. 4. You make over $150,000 a year to practice. You can afford it.
5, Thank god for the government, Without it you would be discussing private patient records over cocktails at the golf course.
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July 12, 2011 by Tdot50
Before doctors give you a copy of your medical records, they take a look at them and decide what you get. However, I have accidentally received negative comments about me in my medical records, along with things I did not even say to the doctor. They basically covered their butts!!!!
December 3, 2011 by Kisha Barnhill
I believe Dr. should be rated. As well as hospitals. We just had a incident last night with a Dr that I am still furious about. A lady pulled out in front of my husband, and he could do nothing but hit her, thank God no one was seriously injured. They took him by ambulance to Glenwood Regional Medical Center in West Monroe, La. The Dr came in and looked at him and said ooh hes nasty (my husband and I own our own logging company, so yes he had been working on the sheer and was nasty). No dr should tell a patient that. He would not touch or feel if he had anything broken. He said send him to xray, then left. In my opinion that was very unproffessional. When He got back from xray and the dr told him all was fine then walked out I followed and asked him if he felt the knot on the back of his head. This dr looks at me and says "its not gonna change nothing about what I said and I'm not gonna send him for a head xray just for a knot we see that all the time put ice on it" again very unproffessional. Anyone knows with a bad hit to the head you should at least check it out. This dr was so rude. So yes people need to know about dr's. This dr's name was Doug Council
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March 21, 2010 by Carol Revalee
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March 21, 2010 by Geneva Zerkle
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April 1, 2010 by Carol Van Norman
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April 1, 2010 by TD
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July 16, 2010 by ROGER RUSSELL
DOCTORS ARE HUMAN TOO BUT ARE ENTIRELY MANIPULATED BY INSURANCE COMPANIES WHICH IN TURN RUN THE PILL COMPANIES. WE NO LONGER HAVE THE FREEDOM AS WE HAD BEFORE , NOW SEE THE SYSTEM RUN LIKE A POLICE STATE OF INSURANCE COMPANIES. NOW I SEE ALOT OF BAD BEDSIDE MANNERS. WE ARE CUSTOMERS NOT PATIENTS. DOCTORS LOOK IT AS A BUSINESS AND HOW MUCH MONEY THEY CAN MAKE. I EVEN SEE THAT THEY COLLECT FROM BOTH ENDS ,COLLECTING FROM THE INSURANCE COMPANIES AND THE PATIENT IN FULL TOO. I WOULD LIKE TO PRACTICE THE WAY THE DOCTORS DO BUT INSTEAD THEY SHOULD DO MEDICINE. HOW WOULD A DOCTOR LIKE IT IF I PRACTICED ON HIS HOUSE AND STILL PAY ME TO PRACTICE SOME MORE SOME UNTIL I MAKE A CORRECT EDUCATED GUESS HOW TO FIX THE HOUSE BUT KEEP PAYING ME TO COME BACK. I LIKE THE OTHER SYSTEMS BETTER, THAT THE DOCTORS GET PAID WELL TO KEEP YOU AWAY NOT COMING BACK TO FILL THE SLOT PUSH PILLS FOR BONUSES. I FEEL SORRY FOR OUR BROKEN GREEDY SYSTEM.
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July 29, 2010 by Carol Carter
Hello----NO GOOD DR would allow themselves to be manipulated by drug companies! They stand on their own-therefore they are responsabile for thier actions or lack of.
July 16, 2010 by Tamara
Can you teach me how to use this please!
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April 5, 2010 by bernard siehling
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August 3, 2010 by fourthe children
No ,
You have a right to take him to court not to slander his or her name.
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September 1, 2010 by Freedom of speach
Court. Are you seriuose ?? Get bad treatment and pay for a lawer. Really ?? guess what. Every buisness owner has to worry about the same problem. Do you relize your saying give up your freedom of speach for someone who screws up? A Dr. already has the court on thier side by us not leagly able to sew for over a 150 K. Good luck finding a lawer that is going to take up case for that. If Dr. does not want bad reviews than do a good job. Jesus christ what happened to being accountable??? Oh your on the bandwagon of people should'nt have rights because of thier social or ecomic status .. Get a life.. Better yet move to a country that is not for people. Im sick of hearing yalls crap. The quality in this country is going down hill driven by this way of thinking. People if you dont like something stand up in middle of a crowd and scream at the top of your lungs. And if you have to go to jail for it Ill join you. Ever see one flew over the Koo-Koos nest. I hope that happens to you. How are you going to get a lawer when your locked in a carzy ben because you spoke agianst a Dr.?
April 6, 2010 by shelby Singleton
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April 6, 2010 by shelby Singleton
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April 6, 2010 by Thora Karen Johnston
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July 12, 2011 by Tdot50
I can totally relate. I saw a shrink since the year 2000. He and his clinic misdiagnosed me, in my opinion, and other shrink's opinions. Then in 2009, I was going for anger issues with the same doc, which I told him I felt I had and he told me not to come back, because I am too angry. Catch 22. You go there for specific help and then the doc says, hey, you can't come back for the very reason you are going there to be treated in the first place. He had 9 years to tell me that and didn't. When I asked for my medical records, there were things in there that I did not even discuss or say to him, but he put them in there to cover his butt. Does that make sense to you? It does to me. It's called GREED!!! He made money off of me and my insurance company for 9 years.
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April 11, 2010 by berta schmidt
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May 15, 2010 by naneki
Not only can medical records be fiction, but not all information of what the patient are inputted and doctors do not ever input into records what they say to patients. I went to a hospital WH in California and was told in the ER that I had four scars on my heart and that there were evidence regarding the scars meant that I had suffered strokes. But when I obtained my records absolutely nothing was ever written what was said to me. This is extremely important for all patients that everything that is said and done to a patient is documented. Records should be made available before a patient leaves, because records are not kept for very long. Doctors not only support each other, but are paid by Social Services to provide them with requested services. Doctors should not be paid to provide services to Social Services and rating is a must. Patients must protect themselves against unwarranted statements.
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July 12, 2011 by Tdot50
I can really really relate to this regarding medical records. I received my medical records from a doc and a lot of the conversations he put down, I never said or had with him and now I have to give these medical records to another doc. I don't think so. Just start fresh and I'm not giving these false medical records to my new doctor. Doctors are in a club, an exclusive one, where they take up for each other and they do whatever they want and put in your medical records whatever they want even if it wasn't said or discussed by you.
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July 12, 2011 by Tdot50
My comment should have gone under this person's comment about her medical records being fiction.
I can totally relate. I saw a shrink since the year 2000. He and his clinic misdiagnosed me, in my opinion, and other shrink's opinions. Then in 2009, I was going for anger issues with the same doc, which I told him I felt I had and he told me not to come back, because I am too angry. Catch 22. You go there for specific help and then the doc says, hey, you can't come back for the very reason you are going there to be treated in the first place. He had 9 years to tell me that and didn't. When I asked for my medical records, there were things in there that I did not even discuss or say to him, but he put them in there to cover his butt. Does that make sense to you? It does to me. It's called GREED!!! He made money off of me and my insurance company for 9 years.
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April 16, 2010 by Patient Satisfaction
Good post, we BTW use patientsurvey.com for keeping a tab on patient feedback. Works out well. Makes the staff also think twice about how they treat patients. Plus, all staff wears a name tag just to make sure they know patients can see who the person is.
Our Doctors are also aware of the feedback and spend quite a bit of time going through end of the month meetings on patient care and overall satisfaction.
Regards
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May 15, 2010 by naneki
Surveys should be given to patients before they leave their appointments. I make sure now after a horrifying experience that patients can write an amendment regarding what was said and what was done to them after reading their medical reports. This way healthcare workers in each department can review with the patients provider what and how a patient should be treated based on medical conditions and make improvement on care. Yes, would have to agree on patient feedback.
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July 12, 2011 by Tdot50
In a way, I am all for patient feedback. Usually when you do that, you don't sign it. However, if you add comments about your visit, the doc knows who is writing it and sometimes it makes the doc angry and he tells you to never come back. I never knew that a doc could fire you as a patient.
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April 17, 2010 by Nancy Wiser
My doctor wanted me to have a specialist do a D & C on me. Come to find out the doctor his office suggested and they know it too is on the sex offender list, only had his license taken away for one year. I told my doctors nurse to find me someone else that the so called friend of my doctor would not put his hands on me. The doctor is on the sex offender list and will be for the rest of his life (found in a park with young boys) Can't believe he just got a slap on the hand and why does my doctor keep referring his so called friend to patients. My primary care doctor performed the D & C on me two years ago and never told me that he couldn't get up in there. The specialist the office got me in with to have it done was great. I do believe I should get my money back from SL, MD in Michigan.
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