Federal laws protect patient privacy and prohibit doctors from discussing an individual's healthcare in public. But the right of patients to criticize their doctors online has been established. Federal law asserts that the hosts of websites on which consumers post anonymous opinions are immune from charges of defamation.
The courts have also ruled on specific cases in which the identity of the patient is known. Last year, the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled that a UC Davis plastic surgeon could not stop a patient from making negative public comments about him on the Internet because he was a "limited purpose public figure." The court noted that the doctor advertised his practice and had appeared on local television shows.
The case unfolded in 2003 when a Sacramento-area woman, Georgette Gilbert, filed a malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Jonathan Sykes, saying the brow lift he did had left her unable to close one eye fully and with one eyebrow higher than the other, creating a "permanently surprised look" on her face. Gilbert also took her dissatisfaction public -- creating a website detailing her experience.
Sykes said the results of the surgery were satisfactory and filed a defamation counterclaim, which the 3rd District Court ultimately rejected.
"There is a lot of power in the Internet and, in a way, certain doctors have used it to become famous," says Sykes, who is vice president of education for the American Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and director of facial, plastic and reconstructive surgery at UC Davis. "But it works in both directions. The Internet has a long voice. Something negative gets perpetuated because the website stays up. Good reputations can be tarnished by a sinister person."
Doctors shouldn't be rated like any other product or service provider, such as a car or car mechanic, says Dr. Kevin Weiss. Medicine involves highly individual and personalized interactions, he says, and each medical case and doctor-patient relationship is unique.
"With TVs and cars, people can subjectively talk about their experience because you have a consistent product," he says. "But with healthcare there is so much blended into the experience, it's hard to do an evaluation. You want a doctor who is both technically competent but also one who can communicate and understand the human dimensions beyond the technical aspect of good care."
Case for transparency
