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Was the ADA Complicit?

By D. Kellus Pruitt DDS

If you were to walk into my dental office with a toothache, and I told you that before I relieve your pain, you have to agree not to say bad things about me on the internet, how badly would the tooth have to be hurting to keep you from walking out the door?

The article, “Toothache lawsuit may stifle medical gag orders against online rants”, by JoNel Aleccia, was posted on MSN.com years ago.

[Robert Lee, 42] 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.”

Aleccia adds: “[Dr. Stacy Makhnevich] was among hundreds of medical professionals nationwide in recent years who refused to care for patients unless they signed anti-defamation contracts. In the contracts, the doctors and dentists promised not to evade federal patient privacy protections in exchange for patients’ agreeing not to post public comments about them.”

The Dentist

Other than its obvious ineffectiveness for this particular Manhattan dentist, whose practice is on the 69 th. floor of the Chrysler Building, Lexington Avenue at East 42St., (212) 697-4400, what’s wrong with this business plan?

First of all, aside from the insult, if a dentist required you to sign a contract forfeiting your right to express your opinion about the quality of care even before being seen, how confident would it make you feel about the doctor’s abilities?

The HIPAA Question

Then there’s HIPAA. It’s sad that healthcare providers on the 69th.  floor of the Chrysler Building would take advantage of vulnerable Americans who don’t understand that their right to privacy isn’t something that can be withheld – even as part of a twisted “copyright” deal intended to enable a dentist to dodge accountability. It seems to me like the Office of Civil Rights as well as the Attorney General should be alerted. How is threatening a patient’s privacy in return for direly-needed treatment different than extortion?

The Gotcha!

Mr. Lee had forgotten the contract until months later when he allegedly discovered that Dr. Makhnevich had overcharged him by about $4,000, improperly filed the insurance and then refused to provide him with the documents he needed to file the claim himself. That’s when he started posting rants on sites like Yelp and DoctorBase, such as, “Avoid at all cost! Scamming their customers!” and “Honestly, how do you live with yourself? Just try being a decent human being.”

“Within days, Makhnevich demanded that the sites remove the comments and threatened to sue Lee. She also said he was infringing on her copyright provisions and started sending invoices for fines of $100 a day. By October, the total topped $4,600, he said.”

The Service

Since the dentist purchased the right to use Medical Justice Inc. anti-defamation contracts to prevent complaints from dis-satisfied customers from being discussed on the internet, I say she is due a refund. What’s more, if she’s given any trouble about it, she should get on the internet and complain – if she didn’t forfeit that right as part of the agreement.

The ADA

So where did Dr. Stacy Makhnevich learn about Medical Justice Inc.’s ineffective, unethical and probably illegal anti-defamation contract service? Of all places, it may well have been in ADA Headquarters, 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, (312) 440-2500

Dr. Jeffrey Segal [MD, JD], the neurosurgeon and founder of Medical Justice Services Inc. which sold providers like Dr. Makhnevich the right to use his company’s contracts, was a featured speaker at the American Dental Association’s [ADA] annual Benefits Conference last year.

The ADA leadership’s decision to invite Dr. Segal to advertise his product at a benefits conference (?) reveals the old timers’ underlying paranoia that makes them prefer silence from members as well as their own dental patients.

Assessment

Since the ADA effectively put its stamp of approval on Medical Justice’s anti-defamation contracts, don’t you think the ADA News should at least post a warning about the liability to members who attended Dr. Segal’s presentation in ADA Headquarters? Let’s watch dentistry’s leaders ignore the abysmal results of yet another half-baked blunder caused by people too proud to listen.

Conclusion

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OUR OTHER PRINT BOOKS AND RELATED INFORMATION SOURCES:

• HOSPITALS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781466558731
• CLINICS: http://www.crcpress.com/product/isbn/9781439879900
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• INSURANCE: Risk Management and Insurance Strategies for Physicians and Advisors
• Dictionary of Health Economics and Finance
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• Dictionary of Health Insurance and Managed Care

Filed under: Ethics, Op-Editorials, Practice Management, Professional Liability, Pruitt's Platform, Risk Management | Tagged: ADA, anti-defamation contracts, D. Kellus Pruitt DDS, Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Dr. Stacy Makhnevich], HIPAA, Medical Justice Inc, OCR | 11 Comments »