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Doctors Censoring Patients

20 Responses

1. JT, on March 2, 2009 at 12:03 PM said:

   ME-P

   There are a couple misconceptions to be addressed here. First off, the 1st Amendment protects the citizen against the GOVERNMENT restricting free speech. There is no guarantee of free speech otherwise. I do not have to allow you to speak in my home, and if you say or write things that are untrue, you’re guilty of slander or libel, so free speech is certainly not absolute.

   Furthermore, it would be very naive to think that those making comments about a physician are unbiased, honest and altruistic in doing so.

   For a more complete retort, please visit http://www.presidioinsurance.com/news/?p=362

   We cannot expect doctors’ reputations to be an open season hunting event. People are highly irresponsible in their allegations, both in public forums and in court.

   JT

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2. The Publisher, on March 2, 2009 at 2:17 PM said:

   The Publisher Responds

   Thanks for reaching out to us at the ME-P.

   JT, the author of this comment, appears to be one John Taylor. His legal and medical credentials include being a ghost writer specializing in blogging, copy-writing, technical writing & manuals, manuscript preparation, SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and website Hosting, etc; at least according to his alleged website.

   However, his template argument on the above post is unoriginal.

   Moreover, he and/or his likely insurance agent client-sponsors fail to appreciate that: “just because you can do something, doesn’t always mean it should be done.” But, this is the stuff of moralists, ethicists, theologians and philosophers. I mean, where was JT and his ilk when the restaurants, plumbers, carpenters, car repair shops etc, were being ranked by their customers – in print – even before internet connectivity?

   As always, it comes down to “whose ox is being gored”, and docs hate being evaluated. Why? Because our domestic medical hedgemony is rightly collapsing, medical care varies geographically and is often demand induced for profit, and heuristic rather than evidenced-based. And, patients are becoming aware of same.

   More pragmatically, didn’t the Institute of Medicine’s scathing report, in 1999, of more than 48,000 – 98,000 hospital induced deaths; due to nosocomial infections, wrong-side and wrong-patient surgery, misplace dugs and botched blood transfusions, etc; impact at all?

   Link: http://www.ahrq.gov/qual/errback.htm

   And astoundingly, we doctors get paid via CPT® codes, just like stock-brokers and insurance agents who are compensated based on the number of sales transactions; nothing else. More transactions and code submissions; equate to higher salary – regardless of broker accountability; or the quality of medical care rendered. We even get paid for failure, mistakes and outright errors; thus far at least. But, this is another evolving topic on the ME-P.

   Furthermore, perhaps JT is not aware that my frequently cited colleague John E. Wennberg MD, of Dartmouth Medical School [and the Peggy Y. Thomson Professor (Chair) for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences and Professor of Community and Family Medicine (Epidemiology) and of Medicine] demonstrated all this with his seminal research 30 years ago; along with later day medical quality devotees like my blogging colleague Robert M. Wachter, MD [Professor and Chief of the Division of Hospital Medicine Associate Chairman, Department of Medicine Lynne and Marc Benioff Endowed Chair in Hospital Medicine at the University of California, San Francisco and Chief of the Medical Service for the UCSF Medical Center].

   And so, my fellow doctors, healthcare accountants, CXOs, financial advisors and all ME-P readers and subscribers, as Scott McNealy of SUN Micro-Systems [now JAVA] once famously said about internet security, opaqueness and privacy; “It doesn’t exist – get over it”; or similar.

   Patient advocacy and consumerism will rule the day; going forward. The competitive best and most innovative physicians will survive; the others will not. Who would you visit for treatment?

   And so, thank you JT for your comments and interest in our work. We believe it an important industry good. And, while we may not agree with all ME-P constituents, we will continue to provide the platform and champion their ability to opine; thusly. Many thanks for listening to my opinion [biased or not – you decide], as well.

   Socratic Candor – Intelligence – Good Will

   Full disclosure: I am a former insurance agent, registered investment advisor; Jesuit trained board certified surgeon with peer-reviewed publications in the National Institute of Health and Library of Congress, state and federally approved medical expert witness; and Certified Financial Planner™

   Respectfully,
   Dave
   Dr. David Edward Marcinko; FACFAS, MBA, CMP™
   http://www.HealthcareFinancials.com
   http://www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com
   http://www.HealthDIctionarySeries.com
   http://www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com
   [Founder, CEO, Health Economist and Publisher-in-Chief]

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3. Too Coincidental, on March 2, 2009 at 2:25 PM said:

   Good or Useless, Medical Scans Cost the Same

   What a coincidence relative to the above post? I just read this story in the New York Times, on March 1, 2009, by Gina Kolata

   Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/02/health/02scans.html?_r=2&ref=health

   It may be a surprise to laymen, newspaper reporters, insurance agents and ghost-writers, but not medical professionals and those of us in the healthcare industry?

   PS: The hospital should have repeated the scan for free. And, the doc seems like a healthcare merchant, rather than a caring physician with impeccable reputation, don’t you think?

   Ann Miller; RN, MHA
   [ME-P Executive Director]

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4. Mary, on March 4, 2009 at 2:18 PM said:

   Dear Doctors,

   Zagat’s and Angie’s list do it; so get used to being reviewed by your patients, or we’ll go elsewhere with our immediate HSA plan, CM retainer or cash payments.

   In the meantime, feel free to wait, and wait, and wait for payments from your HMO, Medicare or Medicaid.

   Mary

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5. Danny Ferrer, on March 18, 2009 at 1:23 AM said:

   Are you embarrassed by what turns up when someone Googles you? Then you need online reputation repair:

   • Newspaper articles.
   • Blogs.
   • Online magazines.
   • ripoffreport.com

   All that bad publicity is hurting you. Every time you apply for a job, or meet someone new chances are, they are searching the internet for information about you or your business. Take control of your online reputation.

   For example, we specialize in removing all that negative information and keeping it off. We protect your online image, privacy and your reputation.

   Online reputation repair and management is quickly becoming a hot button issue in Search. Have you done a Google search for your business name, domain name, and your personal name? Hopefully the results are positive. But what can you do when the search engine results paint your company or name in a negative way … or worse!

   Good businesses and people can have their online reputations turned upside down in a number of ways:

   • Competitors scoring highly for your brand name.
   • An arrest that made the local news.
   • Jealous competitors posting untrue information.
   • Angry and slanderous ex-employees or clients.
   • Personal relationships that have been terminated.
   • Unfortunate “one time” encounters that make it online.
   • Unreasonable customers that turn vindictive.

   If you have found information on the net that you don’t want searchers finding, then netpardon.com may be able to help you.

   Danny Ferrer

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6. Darrell, on March 18, 2009 at 7:38 PM said:

   Dear Danny Ferrer,

   After reading about your company, NetPardon (http://www.netpardon.com), I came up with an unprecedented and fun idea if you are interested – this could attract a lot of attention in the marketing world, as well as become swell entertainment for a few quirky ME-P readers. If my challenge is unacceptable, no big deal. I enjoyed reading your letter.

   If you happen to be a sporting kind of guy who likes life on the edge every now and then, you have the unique opportunity to prove your company’s ability to clear up Internet reputations by removing a few harmful comments that were unfortunately collected by the CEO of a national advertising business in Utah. He might even offer to pay for your service if you can show a sample of success. Heaven knows that by now, CEO Trajan King really hates the comments I posted about him and his company, ADA/Intelligent Dental Marketing.

   I visited the NetPardon website. It’s impressive and professional. Is that a picture of you on the opening page with two other staff members? You look fearless. Do you have the confidence to match your Search Engine Optimization talents with a common dentist who is self-taught in SEO?

   Here is the unfortunate situation. Months ago, I had a disagreement with King about the importance of transparency that turned public ugly on the PennWell dental forum. I argued that since ADA/ Intelligent Dental Marketing is a joint venture between my non-profit American Dental Association and his for-profit Utah business, I own a piece of IDM and deserve to know about the business arrangement. Instead of answering my questions in a return email, Mr. King thought it would be better to interrupt my day by calling me at work to discuss the issue. (I really, really prefer not to be called at work unless it is someone needing dentistry.)

   Following our short telephone conversation, King continued to ignore my open emails that I posted in real-time on the PennWell forum – requesting answers to some questions. In one, I promised King, “I will make you famous.”

   As of today, two of my inflammatory comments appear on the CEO’s first page when on searches “Trajan King” on Google (numbers 3 and 10). Two more appear on his second page, and one on his third.

   Here is the challenge, Mr. Ferrer. Can you do anything to help this poor man and Intelligent Dental Marketing out of their image problem? When one searches “Intelligent Dental Marketing,” a couple of my caustic comments show up on their first page as well. Collateral damage.

   IDM’s slogan is “Image is everything.” Don’t you know my comments that don’t seem to go away must hurt? What’s more, IDM advertises that like NetPardon, they are experts at SEO. Ouch!.

   I know my unshaven audience, and here is the question that is on sports-fans’ minds; can NetPardon go head-to-head against D. Kellus in an SEO tug-of-war? I’m not above taunting, and I don’t think NetPardon stands a chance of protecting a slow-moving good ol’ boy from attacks by a special bastard.

   This could be fun (no wagering, please). The reputations of Mr. King and IDM hang in the balance. I bet Trajan King never calls me at work again – even if he has a toothache.

   D. Kellus Pruitt; DDS

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7. Darrell, on March 21, 2009 at 4:35 AM said:

   Dear Danny Ferrer,

   My buddy and I were discussing your “online reputation repair” business, and he suggested that it sounds like rather than repairing reputations, you just help good ol’ boys avoid accountability.

   When he put it that way, I agreed that it sounds like yours is a sleazy business.

   Maybe I should hold you accountable, Danny Ferrer. How good are you at repairing your own reputation? Let’s see how well you dance.
   
   D. Kellus Pruitt; DDS

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8. Dr. Marcinko, on March 21, 2009 at 10:37 PM said:

   All ME-P Readers and Subscribers,

   This controversy is not new. In fact, it is about as old as the human condition; paranoia and personal insecurity.

   You see, here in Atlanta, former CDC Director Julie Gerberding MD, was known for her so-called policy on “environment-scanning” or, monitoring the news-media, internet space, blogs, wikis and other venues to identify “emerging threats to the agencies” reputation.”

   Can you believe it? In this decade; no less.

   Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA
   http://www.MedicalBusinessAdvisors.com

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9. Darrell, on March 22, 2009 at 1:05 PM said:

   Didn’t Richard Nixon have an enemies list as well?

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10. Dr. Pruitt, on March 22, 2009 at 4:32 PM said:

    Even if former CDC Director Julie Gerberding MD is reported to have maintained a list of those standing in the way of her plans, her power was relatively weak.

    Former President Richard Nixon, on the other hand, used the IRS against his enemies … Sort of like President Barack Obama and insurance executives who recently accepted tax-funded bonuses.

    D. Kellus Pruitt; DDS

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11. George B., on March 26, 2009 at 7:12 PM said:

    According to Physicians News, March 26, 2009, and contrary to the hype that surrounds the publishing of the annual ‘Top Doctors’ lists in metropolitan magazines across the United States, a recent study by The Melior Group, a Philadelphia-based research and consulting firm, indicates that the vast majority of consumers report a high degree of skepticism about how those lists are compiled, but consider the lists to be influential marketing tools for hospitals to showcase themselves.

    Q: And so, who do these lists really help then?
    A: The marketing sponsors and magazine publishers.
    Duh!

    George B.

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12. Ann, on April 2, 2009 at 3:34 PM said:

    The ironic thing here is that patients don’t know about quality medical care.

    But, they do know if they’ve been kept too long in the waiting room; or, if the doctor’s office staff was surly; or, if the doctor had a miserable bedside manner.

    So, the doctors are really being rated on their personality; not their medical acumen. I pity the fools. These medical guys, and healthcare guru gals, just don’t seem to realize that “perception is reality.” But, they sure feign outrage at poor patient reviews.

    Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2009/03/02/doctors-censoring-patients/

    Ann Miller; RN, MHA

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13. Darrell, on April 8, 2009 at 11:54 PM said:

    Dentist Review Web Sites and ADA interests

    I submitted this to be posted on Jim Du Molin’s The Wealthy Dentist Blog. It is part of a thread in response to an article by Julie Frey titled “Dentist Review Websites Now Part of Internet Dental Marketing.”

    http://www.thewealthydentist.com/blog/795/dentists-search-online/

    Julie and Jim,

    If you don’t think our conversation is as fresh as dental history gets, just take a look at the timing.

    A few hours ago, Arlene Furlong posted an article on the ADA News Online concerning Internet reputations of dentists – the subject of your article here on The Wealthy Dentist. The title of Furlong’s article is, “Harsh words: Dentists fights online review.”

    http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=3529

    Furlong writes that there is an organization called Dental Justice that offers “mutual privacy agreements” to protect members’ reputations from predatory patients on referral Web sites like Yelp. She says that these days they are called “gag orders,” and since they involve patients’ First Amendment Rights, they can be cumbersome to explain if new patients actually read the agreements before signing.

    Camouflage

    Finally, there appears a reason for those pesky HIPAA forms. According to Furlong, Dental Justice has not only developed a sleek way to conveniently obtain patients’ signature for the gag orders, but has also found a use for HIPAA in dentistry – quick signatures.

    “Dental Justice adds language to the patient’s HIPAA form that says neither the doctor or [sic] the patient will post reviews on the Internet and then sends a database of all dental members to patient review sites to let them know that their member doctors have contracts with patients. He says the Internet services can’t knowingly come between a contract. He says the process can prevent placements and has already been shown to promote removal of listings.”

    You guessed it. Dental Justice will re-write dentists’ HIPAA privacy forms and hide those tricky gag agreements for a fee. Is that not bureaucratic clever? Nobody ever reads those things before signing them. But if anyone can cause that to change, it’s a sleazy company like Dental Justice. Leave ethics to them and there will be bottlenecks in all waiting rooms as untrusting patients read entire HIPAA privacy documents before signing them – just to make sure the dentist didn’t slip something in.

    Face it

    These days it is futile to fight transparency, and old school tricks are not the answer this time. Desperate traditionalists who panic instead of bravely facing the future will end up paying far too much money to look increasingly foolish. Furlong even writes that Dr. Wong, who has actually had recent tangible success in her case against Yelp, says that she’s not sure she would file suit if she had to do it all over again.

    I can only imagine how discouraging a battle this has been for her. But it is far from over, and I think Dr. Wong knows that this will not end well for her. For example, what happens if she coincidentally gets a random bad review that would have otherwise been completely ignored by everyone? It gets worse. What happens if she wins her case against a whiny, greedy parent, and gets thousands of intentional bad reviews from people who just happen to hate dentists? I am afraid that the further Dr. Wong takes this, the worse it will be for her. That is my opinion.

    In the last three paragraphs of the otherwise balanced story, author Arlene Furlong transforms from an unbiased news reporter into an employee in the PR department of the ADA. Watch closely for the change.

    “Dr. Michael Halasz, a member of the ADA Council on Dental Practice, says eventually these sites will reveal themselves for what they are and in the meantime, people should take the reviews with a grain of salt.

    “Dr. Halasz thinks having a Web site may be a good way to influence presence on the Internet. “I’ve been told before by patients that they selected me because of how I presented myself on my Web site.”

    “ADA Intelligent Dental Marketing offers resources for dentists interested in updating or developing a professional practice Web site. Dentists can visit http://www.adaidm.com/general/websites.htm for information. The ADA is an investor-owner of ADAidm, which offers professional marketing approaches for dentists.”

    Did you see the change?

    A couple of weeks ago, an article with no byline on the ADA News Online featured the ADA/idm. It advised members to invest up to 9% of profits into direct mail from the Utah advertisement business.

    http://www.ada.org/prof/resources/pubs/adanews/adanewsarticle.asp?articleid=3505

    That makes it easy to understand the ADA’s official, committee-approved policy about patient referral sites like Yelp.com and Angie’s list. The officials don’t like them – arguably because of institutional investment reasons that have nothing to do with patient care. Here is a question I would like answered by an official of either Intelligent Dental Marketing or the ADA: How much are ADA members on the hook for if the Utah company goes belly-up in this tough economy. It is time for transparency all over, friends.

    Oh yea. I think the instant Arlene Furlong inserted the link to ADA/idm she crossed the line that separates a reporter of the news and a PR specialist.

    D. Kellus Pruitt; DDS

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14. Darrell, on April 9, 2009 at 3:18 PM said:

    Sooner or later, the ADA will come clean

    I posted the following question on both the “E-mail Dental Practice” link for ADA members and in an email to Trajan King, CEO of Intelligent Dental Marketing – a direct mail advertisement company for dentists.

    “Dear Dental Practice Department and IDM CEO Trajan King”

    According to a recent article by Arlene Furlong in the ADA News Online, the ADA is an investor/owner of ADA/idm. Can you tell me if the ADA members’ dues are at risk if IDM goes under?

    -D. Kellus Pruitt; DDS

    Even though long ago I learned not to expect anything from Mr. King, I have had limited (30%) success in obtaining responses to my questions from various email links to the ADA. The Department of Dental Practice provided one of three responses I have received out of ten questions in the last six weeks (see “Transparency and the ADA – a dissecting experiment”).

    http://community.pennwelldentalgroup.com/forum/topics/transparency-and-the-ada-a

    If my new question addressed generically to the ADA Department of Dental Practice cannot be answered for one reason or another, I expect to be told that reason. It better be good.

    Wake up, ADA! You are fooling nobody.

    Everyone outside ADA Headquarters can see that there is no reason that you cannot be transparent with membership about this ADA/idm profit center – which feeds off of membership. After all, what you are advertising to us is our investment. Not the department head’s.

    So will the ADA come clean? Or, will I be forced to pull others’ names into the wide open with me? It is my opinion that the ADA should start responding to each one of my questions promptly … or not.

    D. Kellus Pruitt; DDS

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15. Elizabeth, on May 28, 2009 at 1:25 PM said:

    More on Doctors and Physician Rating Sites

    According to this article, the value of these sites, previously exposed as pretty useless in this Slate piece, is mainly due to the anonymous nature of the comments.

    http://www.slate.com/id/2205201

    Doctor, Doctor, Give Me Reviews
    Don’t even bother with Web-based doc-rating systems.
    By Kent Sepkowitz posted Friday, Nov. 28, 2008, at 7:05 AM ET

    http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2009/05/how-doctors-should-deal-with-physician-rating-sites.html

    Did you say … stuff the ballot boxes? Now, what medical ethics?

    Elizabeth

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16. James, on January 14, 2010 at 11:16 AM said:

    Enter the MD Censors

    Interesting and fascinating post and comments.
    I just read the article: Docs seek to stifle patients’ rants on Web sites
    http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34794632/ns/health-health_care
    But ‘medical gag order’ contracts may backfire with bad publicity

    James

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17. Dr. David E. Marcinko, on October 20, 2010 at 8:24 PM said:

    Health Blogger Quits US News Citing Sponsored Link Abuse

    Critical questions about online sponsored content, and the relationship between editorial control and hyperlinking, continue to be raised in the blog-o-sphere. And, we are very concerned about it here at the ME-P.

    For example, the firewall between advertising and editorial has been eroding in some publications, and former Baltimore Sun health reporter Mary Knudson from my hometown is the latest in a long line of bloggers who have drawn their own lines in the sand.

    http://www.healthjournalism.org/blog/2010/10/blogger-quits-us-news-citing-sponsored-links/

    We applaud her.

    Dr. David Edward Marcinko MBA
    [Editor-in-Chief]

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18. Mary, on December 1, 2011 at 2:49 PM said:

    Toothache lawsuit may stifle medical gag orders against online rants

    A Maryland man who had a bad toothache has filed a class-action lawsuit against his New York dentist after she required him to sign a contract promising not to trash-talk her online — and then fined him thousands of dollars trying to enforce it.

    http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/30/9124107-toothache-lawsuit-may-stifle-medical-gag-orders-against-online-rants

    Darrell – I bet the lady DDS and this MD/JD wish they made different moral choices – like practicing better?

    http://www.medicaljustice.com/default.aspx

    Mary

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19. Darrell Pruitt, on December 1, 2011 at 3:27 PM said:

    Thanks, Mary
    
    Dr. Jeffrey Segal, the neurosurgeon and founder of Medical Justice Services Inc., was a featured speaker at the ADA’s annual Benefits Conference a little over a year ago. What does that tell you?

    Darrell

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20. Etienne, on April 14, 2013 at 3:59 PM said:

    Think Before You Sue

    Physicians & Negative Online Reviews

    http://thielst.typepad.com/my_weblog/2013/04/think-before-you-sue-physicians-negative-online-reviews.html

    Etienne

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