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Today, anyone with a valid e-mail address, Internet access and an ax to grind can leave slanderous and false reviews about his surgeon on an online review site. And they can do so anonymously.
I know firsthand. One day after I opened my ophthalmology practice, I was attacked online by an anonymous person who wrote "money grubber" on a third-party review website. I was likely a victim of a competing doctor or a disgruntled associate. I spent most of my time in the clinic seeing medical rescue mission patients at no charge — not billing the patients and giving glasses away at no cost for those who cannot afford glasses.
You could argue that unregulated online review websites are unjust for doctors, but the fact remains that they're natural magnets for negative reviews. And angry patients are quick to bash online (see "Facelift Patient Devoted Herself to Ruining Surgeon's Reputation"). You're not powerless, however. Here are 7 high-impact things you can do to fight against defamation of your name, your reputation and your credentials.
1. Google yourself
The first step in fighting the war against slanderous reviews is being educated on what people find when searching your name and then monitoring the websites that appear on the first page of Google. Search your name on Google and see what others will see when searching your name. Use Google Alerts to receive automated emails from Google when there is new information about your name on the Internet. Monitor your online presence often and regularly.
2. Erect a brick wall
In search engine management, the term "brick wall" means controlling the presentation of websites people find when searching your name. When patients search "Andrew Doan" on Google, of the more than 17 million search results, I control and monitor 9 of the 10 micro-websites that appear on the first page of the search. Controlling what people find will draw attention away from less credible doctor review websites. When my patients receive a recommendation to see me, they inevitably search my name to determine if they will make an appointment.
3. Search engine optimization
The use of search engine management will help raise the websites you want to appear higher in search results. One effective way is to claim and add your practice website addresses on all social media profiles, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google Plus. Another effective strategy is to add a link to your practice website in your Student Doctor Network (SDN) signature. Each post you make on SDN will be another webpage feeding into your practice website page rank, the formula used by Google to determine which pages appear in the free, organic search results.
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SHE WAGED ONLINE WAR: Facelift Patient Devoted Herself to Ruining Surgeon's Reputation |
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By the time a judge ordered a dissatisfied facelift patient to remove the "false and offensive statements" she'd posted about her cosmetic surgeon on various websites and fined her $40,000, the surgeon's business had taken an incalculable hit and the patient was dead by her own hand. A nightmarish Indiana case shows the potential hazards to professional reputations in the age of the Internet. After Lucille Iacovelli underwent surgery with Barry Eppley, MD, she complained that the procedure had obstructed her airway and caused her breathing difficulties, say court records. Dr. Eppley had never heard of such an outcome, and neither had any of the experts he later consulted. But he addressed Ms. Iacovelli's concerns by telephone, mail and e-mail for a year before cutting off contact due to her "bizarre and irrational" behavior. Ms. Iacovelli began to air her grievances against Dr. Eppley. Her complaints went far beyond the usual bad reviews posted to physician-rating websites, however. She started a site, losingface.net, that accused him of malpractice. It generated more than 100,000 hits. She also created websites with addresses featuring his name that directed visitors to negative accounts of patient experiences. A video tirade she posted to YouTube attracted more than 280,000 views. Her online crusade even got her featured in a television documentary. Dr. Eppley was losing patients. He sued Ms. Iacovelli for defamation in federal court. Ms. Iacovelli, who'd never filed a malpractice suit over her outcome, argued that her comments were not defamatory but part of an "educational campaign." The judge granted Dr. Eppley a temporary restraining order that barred Ms. Iacovelli from posting comments about him online. He also issued a preliminary injunction ordering her to remove defamatory information from her websites. She refused to do so and was cited for contempt. "It was very difficult to get all the postings removed," says Dr. Eppley's attorney, Todd A. Richardson. "There are probably still some postings up there." A summary judgment later concluded that Ms. Iacovelli had "made numerous false and offensive statements about Dr. Eppley on public websites" and stolen his Internet identity to attract and deter his potential patients. He awarded Dr. Eppley $40,000 in damages and court costs and issued a permanent injunction against Ms. Iacovelli. But she was no longer alive, having committed suicide 16 days before the ruling was issued. Her ill will lives on, though, since one of her sites is operated by an offshore company not under U.S. jurisdiction. — Leigh Page |
4. Be an ethical practitioner
This sounds like common sense. But medical professionals may feel entitled and forget that being a good doctor is serving other people. Try to serve others with a caring heart, but without expecting anything in return. Remember that it's a privilege to work in the medical profession and to be employed during difficult economic times. Learn to love what you do. If you find a career that you love, then the money is icing on the cake; otherwise, the money will be the shackle that binds you to the very thing you hate. Unhappy medical professionals will foster unhappy patients, leading to horrendous online reviews.
5. Encourage patients to post feedback online
Receiving positive reviews is as easy as asking patients to review your services online. The problem is that there are dozens of review websites, and only a fraction of patients will take the time to post reviews online. However, if you don't ask, then patients will not post reviews for you.
6. The solution to pollution is dilution
Negative reviews are not necessarily bad. In a new study from the Stanford Graduate School of Business, researchers say in some cases negative publicity can increase sales when a product or company is relatively unknown, simply because it stimulates product awareness (tinyurl.com/48skwpf). Embrace the negative reviews, learn from them and become a better doctor tomorrow than you were today. Unfortunately, not all review websites represent true patient reviews and may be postings from local competitors or simply slanderous individuals. The solution to negative reviews is not litigation or gag orders, which are against the law and may expose you to litigation for violating free speech laws (as seen in the case of a New York dentist who threatened to sue a patient who wrote a negative review: tinyurl.com/74jeha9). Also, posting of false or fake testimonials may lead to loss of your medical license and fines up to $300,000, as observed in the case of a New York plastic surgeon (tinyurl.com/yk9dhku). The answer to negative reviews is to learn from the review and then accumulate more positive reviews than negative.
7. Accumulate more (good!) reviews than the competition
Doctor review sites have spawned another industry: companies that help doctors fight bad reviews and improve their online reputations. Among other things, these companies solicit positive reviews that can dilute and push down the negative ones. I've found that asking patients to write a review on paper and then working with a third-party mediator who collects and distributes the reviews fairly is the best approach and most effective way to protect both doctor and patient.
When patients search for doctors on the Internet, the two most influential things are the star rating and the number of reviews for a doctor. The higher the star rating and the higher the number of reviews convey competence and value to patients.
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