Patients who feel their claims of harm have been dismissed by their physician or hospital have begun turning to social media with the hope that their pleas will be heard by other prospective patients. However, their action may result in legal challenges by the physician and their hospital — a move that seems to have become much more common in recent months, USA Today reports.
Negative experiences involving physicians or hospitals have driven many patients to post about their experiences on social media. Lisa McGiffert, the former head of Consumer Reports' Safe Patient Project, told USA Today hospitals and physicians are not as diligent about responding to patient harm, "so people have turned to other people. This is what happens when your system of oversight is failing patients."
Several legal experts told the publication patients have every right to post factually correct information and opinions that do not address factual points. However, if there is an issue, a physician or hospital is also within their right to pursue legal action against the patient, as they cannot sue third-party websites like Yelp over postings.
However, even if a physician sues a patient and wins, they may "still not win," Eric Goldman, a professor at the Santa Clara (Calif.) University School of Law, told USA Today. In his study of 20 such cases, Mr. Goldman said physicians rarely win and are often made to pay the patient's legal fees as well.
But hospitals are attempting to fight negative comments by creating their own physician rating systems, which let them "control the message," Ms. McGiffert told USA Today. A spokesperson for the Cleveland Clinic told the publication the health system posts all government-required patient satisfaction surveys it receives on its ratings website, once they receive at least 30 surveys. The comments on those surveys are not edited.
Ms. McGiffert said unless the government creates a federal database for patients to report medical errors and infections, online review websites like Yelp and hospitals' own sites are among the only places patients can access physician reviews. The imperfect system, however, represents a cause for concern for some physicians and their reputations.
"[Reviews are] something that if anybody would look just by Googling my name online[,] you would see what he has written about me," Cleveland Clinic urologist Jihad Kaouk, MD, told the publication. Dr. Kaouk was involved in a 10-year legal battle against a former patient who posted negative reviews on social media and quickly escalated to threats and stalking, according to the report. The case was settled earlier this year, with the patient paying $100 and facing up to one year in jail.