I must say I think Dr. Kimberly Henry, cosmetic surgeon, has made a big professional mistake. She has filed a lawsuit to stop online reviewers from badmouthing her on the Internet. She is seeking injunctions against at least 12 reviewers from sites such as Yelp.com and DoctorScorecard.com. Dr. Henry claims libel and defamation, invasion of privacy and interference with prospective economic advantage and is seeking $1million in general damages and $1million in special damages, etc etc etc.
Now I don't know Dr. Henry, nor do I know of her plastic surgery technique. I don't know who the disgruntled patients are or if they are unfairly targeting her. What I do know is that the Internet is here to stay and there is no place to hide if you do not provide excellent customer service. I was curious and checked DoctorScorecard.com and there is a new complaint placed today, so I don't think this publicity is helping her. It will bring more angry patients out to comment, I'm afraid.
A similar case was filed last year by a dentist in San Francisco, Gelareh Rahbar, who filed a case against a patient who wrote a negative review on Yelp.com. The case was thrown out by the judge and Rahbar was ordered to pay $43K for the patient's legal fees. Anti-SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) laws provide some protection for online commentators as a preservation of free speech.
I wrote about medical rating sites back in 2007 and in 2008 and those posts have proven to be correct. (Reading my old posts is rather interesting and I agree with myself all over again!) I know some physicians feel it is unfair that angry patients can say whatever they want and there is no rebuttal. But if a surgeon has that many disgruntled patients who would take the time to comment, there might just be a problem. Customer service can dwindle if no one in the office has medical coding certification. And let's face it, those sites are anonymous and I know of doctors who post their own "good" ratings. It swings both ways.
I feel sorry for Dr. Kimberly Henry because no one likes criticism and public critique is especially hard to swallow. But bringing it even more public with a lawsuit (that may be hard to win!) is just throwing oil on the fire. Better to spend that time and effort satisfying patients and asking them to post great comments to counteract the bad.
19 comments:
I generally agree though I was quite amazed to learn that many sites like HealthGrades had me listed as NOT Board Certified more than 5 years after I completed certification! and I would never have known if a patient hadn't told me. It would be nice at least if these sites were held accountable for the correctness of "public information" such as medical school, specialty boards, etc.
It would be interesting to be on that jury and see the outcome of this case and evidence. But if what the patients complaints are upset about is true there should be a way to warn other future patients and she deserves it if she blames the patient for her mistakes,damages, and failures in surgery. It certainly doesn't look good for a physician to sue a patient unless it is for a very valid reason. The good doctors I know would never have this kind of negative publicity from patients, or maybe a rare problem,out of a happy majority but never so many hurt angry patients.
We all tell our family, friends and neighbors which doctors we like or dislike. The internet, like you said, is here to stay. With agencies like The Joint Commission, encouraging patients and their family members to hold healthcare providers accountable, this seems like a natural flow in this current information age we find ourselves in.
It would be nice though, if (like DBenzil said), the rating sites had accurate information. But as far as client/patient reviews go, I think they're beneficial.
Lucky for us in the healthcare world that we already know which doctors or other health professionals are "good" and can go to them without having to use the internet.
What an interesting article.
What Dr. Henry did, was inefficient in the long run.
Yes, the iinternet is gaining strength, and trying to shut people up can never result in anything good.
She should have tried and found what was the problem people were complaining about and do something about it.
I wonder if she is also sueing for any positive comments on her cosmetic surgery practice? If people can't post their negative experiences with a specific doctor/practice/clinic, then we are all in deep trouble. And it isn't libel, as the comments are about her as a doctor, not her as a person. There is a professional - not personal - difference!
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Genuine feeling of the patients can not be stopped in this world of open internet and connectivity.But there should not be any intention of malice in this.
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Lucky for us in the healthcare world that we already know which doctors or other health professionals are "good" and can go to them without having to use the internet.
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I wonder if she is also sueing for any positive comments on her cosmetic surgery practice? If people can't post their negative experiences with a specific doctor/practice/clinic, then we are all in deep trouble. And it isn't libel, as the comments are about her as a doctor, not her as a person. There is a professional - not personal - difference!
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