jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

I think online medical reviews are a very bad idea. Just like customers on Amazon who review products, many patients don't know what they're talking about. It's too easy for a guy off the street to criticize the treatment he received from a health worker. Some reviews could be made by people who are not even patients. I've always been happy with the treatment I've gotten from my doctor, but I see that some people have complained online. Now, some doctors are firing back. Good for them. If the patients choose to reveal medical information, it's only fair that doctors be allowed to respond in kind.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2016/05/27/docs-fire-back-at-bad-yelp-reviews-and-reveal-patients-information-online/?wpmm=1&wpisrc=nl_rainbow

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

A doctor with a lot of bad reviews should pay attention, but like any place else, someone who had a bad experience will tell 5 to 9 people about it, but someone who had a good experience will tell 1 to 3 people about it. Bad news travels fast! But doctors and dentists who divulge patient information online are violating their ethical duty to keep patient information private (not to mention the HIPAA laws). It is simple enough to respond: "In general, when I see a patient who has XYZ problem......"

lamiaceae Loc: San Luis Obispo County, CA

I'm tending to agree. Especially when Yelp or the like provides to tangible or objective proof of any allegations. Though I am not always happy with my own medical care. Also, if a patient reveals their information themselves it seems to me their right to privacy has been willingly given up and the doctor should be free to "defend" or "explain" themselves. Some of the HIPPA rules at nuts and prevent one from even getting medical information on one's self!

Cattreasure

The medical INDUSTRY has chosen to have HIPPAA laws so they do not have to deal with family, and other reasons in their benefit. There is NO excuse for them to pick and choose when it will apply. They need to get over themselves. People do talk about their medical problems. Drs. are not allowed to discuss anybody's medical by their own rules. When you make the rules......live with it.

Last year I had a procedure done (don't remember the name of it) where the Dr. was sticking me with a needle. We will start with the Dr. refused to tell me anything about how this was going to be done and deliberately hit bone. To top it off the room had bloody trash overflowing onto the floor. I could not find a place clean enough to put my purse. This is the same purse that I put on the floor of my car. I was so mad that after I left, I did look to see if their were sites to rate Drs. and medical facilities. If I had found that first, I never would have gone to this Dr. He has a one star rating out of five. Most comments said they gave him one star because they had to leave at least one. I looked up other Drs. I have seen to find they have five stars. They should NOT be exempt from being accountable for what they do!!!!! Then to top it off, he refused to give me the results. This is a test that he could give me the results as he was doing it. He refused and told me that I had to make an appointment (another office visit charge) to come back for the results. I did not go back. Instead I requested my records. After six months of him refusing to write up the results so I could have a copy, I told the records department that they had one week before I go to the state with a complaint. That did it.

We should all be grateful for these sites. This is not like buying a cheeseburger. This is a matter of your life.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Point taken.

boberic Loc: Quiet Corner, Connecticut. Ex long Islander

In my 30 + year career I worked with physicians and surgeons throughout the NYcity area. During that time there were 2 or 3 out of maybe 1,000 Docs who should have been doing something else. There were mistakes made, none of them serious. MD's are very well trained but they are still human. Yes, some are better than others but none are, nor do they claim to be, perfect. Most patients don't know enough and don't ask questions, so they are often confused about their treatment. If that person whose MD kept a filthy office is correct. I would have left immediatly, and would have reported him to the local Medical Society. Thruth is I have a hard time believing it. I have seen reports that some reviews are made by scammers who have no connection with the reviewed person. Btw the best surgeon, with the best hands that I ever saw was a pediatric cardiovascular surgeon. I saw him implant a device in a newborn. His heart was the size of a large strawberry. The surgeons skills were simply astounding. I told him this after the case. He was very humble and thanked me. I willnever forget it.

Impressionist

Saw a John Hopkins study on line that suggested the third leading cause of death in the US was Medical Errors. Showed the study to coworkers at the hospital ER I work at and no one was surprised. A Radiologist had told me if without looking at an X-Ray he said no active disease he would be right over 90 percent of the time. Not suggesting they don't provide real readings. Medicine in this country is a sick joke. It is getting sicker. The science has never been better, but money has corrupted the delivery system so bad, trust is close to impossible. Reviews are a step in the right direction. That which promotes discussion and leads to real reform is good.

iDoc Loc: Knoxville,Tennessee

http://legislink.org/us/pl-104-191 Physicians did not choose HIPPAA. It was imposed by legislation in 1996 which was signed by Bill Clinton. Many parts of this law is not popular with physicians. I will not comment on the rest of the tirade.

Merlin1300 Loc: New England, But Now & Forever SoTX

You got it backwards. Smart people are too smart to get into medicine any more. 4 years college, 4 years medical school, 3-6 years specialty training, $250K in debt - and obastid is telling you how you have to practice medicine. A frivolous law suit - and your state medical board is into your underwear, your malpractice rates go up, and a black mark in the national practitioner data base - - all of the above even if you are 100% cleared.
So - - yes - - you'll NOT find as MANY 'sharp knifes' in the drawer as there used to be. They are now in Business with MBA's angling for a CEO slot with a billion dollar golden parachute. And there are a lot more Docs practicing in the USA who were born in India, China, Elsewhere. Just remember this - - YOU have brought this upon yourselves - mandating HMO's, PPO's, other third party insurers who insert layers of regulation between the physician and his/her patient, require weeks or months of hassle to obtain 'pre-authorization' for life-saving therapies, and suck out much of any profit to be had in the meanwhile. In 30 years your 'doctor' will be a computer terminal A-La THX-1138. Because if you DON'T follow the mandated cookbook, you'll be hung out to dry.
Been there, done that, now out of the biz !

rayford2 Loc: New Bethlehem, PA

If you think the Doctor dilemma is bad now, just wait until the politicians
decide they know as much about health care as the doctors do and proceed
to reinvent the medical system just like they did reinventing the cars that
now cost 5 times more than they're worth. All in the names of "safety, children,
health, environmental issues (and don't forget) lawyers and insurance companies".
Most politicians and bureaucrats dream up expensive and unnecessary laws to
impress people (called legacy laws) and aid their bank accounts from companies
that support them.
The system of government is so corrupt now I doubt if anything constructive will
ever be accomplished in the future. Those who hug socialism better take a look at
what's happening to Venezuela.