I must confess. I’m flattered. First I learn that a professor of Internet law at an Ivy League School referenced the Medical Justice agreements as a final exam question. I am a regular reader – and fan – of Eric Goldman’s cyber-law blog. Earlier this week, lo and behold, Professor Goldman featured Medical Justice on a site he’s created about us.
If you believe every argument Professor Goldman makes, you’d believe that all doctor review sites are wonderful, accurate and completely truthful. He won’t yield an inch in acknowledging that there might be a small problem with at least 1 of the more than 60 sites dotting the cyber-landscape. C’mon. Toss us a bone.
Let’s deal with facts. Not all rating sites are the same. Some, such as Real Self, are exemplary. They are balanced, fair, and don’t have an axe to grind. They serve the physician and patient community. How many times have they been asked to remove a negative post by enforcing a copyright agreement? Goose egg. Have there been any negative comments on Real Self? Of course. But, if a site is fair, physicians will respect it and behave responsibly. That’s an empirical observation. The parade of horribles just has not come to pass.
Not all sites rise to the level of truthfulness. Here’s an example.
One of our dentist members received an email from thesitewhichshallnotbenamed (read blog post) bringing a post on that site to his attention. How the site got the doctor’s email address is anyone’s guess.
The details: The poster alleged the dentist “sexually assaulted” her while in the dentist’s chair. No police report was filed. Nor was any complaint filed with the Dental Board. Hmmm.
And petty crime apparently finds a home in every doctor’s office. The site details other incidents like “Dr. XXX stole from my purse when I went to the toilet.”
On their face, these complaints may seem silly. But, human nature being what it is, not all patients will understand just how ridiculous they are. Some subset of the population will believe them just because the Web said so.
Eventually, some sites will reach critical mass – being perceived as reliable and credible. Sites such as thesitewhichshallnotbenamed will still exist – but only as entertainment – like the National Enquirer or Jerry Springer (no disrespect intended, Jerry).
Finally I can’t let one point pass. Professor Goldman suggests that any doctor who puts an agreement in front of a patient may be unethical – putting his financial interests ahead of a patient’s interest. That’s priceless. A lawyer passing judgment on doctors about financial interests. How often has a negligently injured patient heard “Sorry, I know you’ve been injured. But it just cost too much to take your case.” I could go on. But, the defense rests.
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I once read lawyers have a 9th grade understanding of science. Goldman proves he is no sage of anything medical, and is fetal in his understanding of the real world of medicine and the expectations, character disordered or mildly sociopathic patients, and the complexities of being a doctor of medicine.
The good news with such boring and routine anti-MD forces is that with the shortage of physicians that will only be markedly worse, the only poor solution is to accept “health care extenders” with a level of education, knowledge and typically intellectual skill that means health care quality will fall. What Goldman has no clue about, is if you were not in Vietnam, you are silly and niave about Vietnam, and he is adding to the rejection of the best and brightest students of medicine as a vocation. What are the rewards for giving up roughly 15 years to become a solid experienced physician when 10 forces are present to undermine you.
Having done the homework that Goldman is too inept and psychologically impoverished to do, we know at least one physician who sued and uncovered who was rating her. The negatives were from people who had NEVER been patints, were NOT RELATED TO PATIENTS and also included individuals who were criminals.
One thing that is beginning to happen is that physicians, helped in large part by Medical Justice, which does not suggest physicians be masochists and roll over with charcter disordered people, is that physicians are going on the offensive.
Why?
Because we do not need you. We do not need the low membership, outdated and useless AMA. We do not need the endorsement of hateful and sad patients that due to hostility, will find fewer willing to accept and deal with them.
We have the only baseball, Mr. Goldman. And you are not invited to play. You are an outdated, medically ignorant, and niave lwyer, who like so many malpractice lawyers really has little perception, nd no experience in medicine. So go do something you understand. Your blog is a bore on this topic and physicians bluntly find you to be a pretender. You talk about the massive area of medical knowledge and do not know 100 anatomy words.
Gee, I think I will go practice law, I have read a dozen books.
Medical Justice is the future to any but the most masochistic physicians, who will find out soon enough that right does NOT make might. Justice and the days of a handshake deal have been dead for decades. People want physicians to be best friends, parents, free, remove all the ills of thier life, and …….. well……….. be everything.
I am not a Medical Justice Member. I am a Medical Justice servant. Because I have received back 20x what they have given me–they are the only group who actually has helped me relentlessly in sticky and complex issues in my practice.
When I was a former member of the dying AMA they only undermined my goals. And one goal was to be protected. Protect a physician? The AMA would not know how to start.
Look to Goldman for education on medical conduct? That should be on a late night comedy show–it would kill.
Someone with vastly more publications than this niave “sage.”
First, it’s Eric not Erik Goldman. Second, he’s not a “malpractice” lawyer but rather a brilliant internet technology law professor. Third, he’s absolute correct. I’ve practiced Cardiology for 30 years. I’ve never feared criticism. Misuse of copyright law, as Medical Justice attempts to do for profit, in order to silence critics is not only wrong but also, in the opinion of most experts, illegal. Personally, as a patient (after all we are both physicians and patients), I would never go to a colleague who demands that I sign away my right to free speech as a pre-condition. Also, I would be very reluctant to become a patient of a physician who has only 5 star glowing reviews (if it’s too good to be true, it probably is). Rather I would use my intellect and judgement as well as the recommendation of others I trust in selecting a physician.
# Cliff S. M.D.
First, it’s Eric not Erik Goldman. (thanks – corrected) Second, he’s not a “malpractice” lawyer but rather a brilliant internet technology law professor. (the post never says he is a malpractice lawyer, but thanks for the input)
Professor Goldman is acting in the public interest.
Special interests have hijacked healthcare to promote their products and companies to the detriment of the patients.
California Managed Care Department-Kaiser Permanente Gag Patient Speech
Original investigation on government-Kaiser scheme to impose prior restraint on patients’ speech to destroy the doctor-patient relationship is posted on
hmohardball.com/Writ-GIN024734_2b001.pdf and hmohardball.com
Robert Finney PhD