We all wish 100% of our patients were satisfied with their outcomes 100% of the time. Nobody will beat us up harder than we beat ourselves up. Still, all practices have patients where the relationship soured. Your paths parted. They either ended up in a different practice. Or no practice at all. But they were out of your practice.

Then…

You hire a new marketing firm. They outline a marketing campaign with social media, blitzing your past patients and prospects with emails and text messages. They will be using a list transferred from your practice. And hopefully, the agency was deputized with a HIPAA Business Associate Agreement.

If the list is not filtered, the agency will end up marketing to these few patients who have moved on. Painful memories will be triggered. An old scab will be ripped off. And the friction that had abated may be rekindled.

How?

Online reviews and social media.

The patient will recount their unhappy experience for all to read. And they may even add a statement that the practice could not be bothered to avoid marketing to the unhappy few.

This is an unforced error.

You do not have to market to everyone. You want to market to those who are likely to need or use your services. If someone has moved on because they were unhappy, you can attempt “service recovery” near-term. If that fails, it’s a fait accompli.

Do yourself a favor; do this patient a favor. Remove their name from any future marketing list. There is no upside to peppering their inbox with stories of other happy patients.

What do you think?

Medical Justice provides free consultations to doctors facing medico-legal obstacles. We have solutions for doctor-patient conflicts, unwarranted demands for refunds, online defamation (patient review mischief), meritless litigation, and a gazillion other issues. If you are navigating a medico-legal obstacle, visit our booking page to schedule a free consultation – or use the tool shared below.

Jeffrey Segal, MD, JD

Chief Executive Officer and Founder

Dr. Jeffrey Segal, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Medical Justice, is a board-certified neurosurgeon. Dr. Segal is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons; the American College of Legal Medicine; and the American Association of Neurological Surgeons. He is also a member of the North American Spine Society. In the process of conceiving, funding, developing, and growing Medical Justice, Dr. Segal has established himself as one of the country’s leading authorities on medical malpractice issues, counterclaims, and internet-based assaults on reputation.

Dr. Segal was a practicing neurosurgeon for approximately ten years, during which time he also played an active role as a participant on various state-sanctioned medical review panels designed to decrease the incidence of meritless medical malpractice cases.

Dr. Segal holds a M.D. from Baylor College of Medicine, where he also completed a neurosurgical residency. Dr. Segal served as a Spinal Surgery Fellow at The University of South Florida Medical School. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa as well as the AOA Medical Honor Society. Dr. Segal received his B.A. from the University of Texas and graduated with a J.D. from Concord Law School with highest honors.

In 2000, he co-founded and served as CEO of DarPharma, Inc, a biotechnology company in Chapel Hill, NC, focused on the discovery and development of first-of-class pharmaceuticals for neuropsychiatric disorders.

Dr. Segal is also a partner at Byrd Adatto, a national business and health care law firm. Byrd Adatto was selected as a Best Law Firm in the 2023 edition of the “Best Law Firms” list by U.S. News – Best Lawyers. With over 50 combined years of experience in serving doctors, dentists, and other providers, Byrd Adatto has a national pedigree to address most legal issues that arise in the business and practice of medicine.