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Hospitals, Physicians Sue Patients for Posting Negative Reviews
As more and more patients turn to social media to air their grievances against healthcare providers, hospitals and physicians are taking legal action to stop them from positing negative reviews online. Patient advocates say the lawsuits are silencing one of the few ways prospective patients can obtain unvarnished opinions of doctors, while providers insist they have no way to defend themselves against unfair reviews due to patient privacy laws.
“It would be great if the regulators of hospitals and doctors were more diligent about responding to harm to patients but they’re not, so people have turned to other people,” says Lisa McGiffert, former head of Consumer Reports’ Safe Patient Project. “This is what happens when your system of oversight is failing patients.”
For example, Cleveland physician Bahman Guyuron is suing a former patient for defamation for posting negative reviews on Yelp and other sites about her nose job. Guyuron’s attorney Steve Friedman notes that while the First Amendment protects patients’ rights to post their opinions, “our position is she did far beyond that (and) deliberately made false factual statements.” A settlement mediation is slated for early August, and a trial is set for late August if no agreement is reached.
Similarly, a jazz singer used her own website and doctor-rating sites to criticize a Scottsdale, Ariz., medical practice. Her doctors successfully sued for defamation, winning a $12 million jury award that was later vacated on appeal. The singer’s lawyer, Ryan Lorenz, says consumers need to know there can be consequences if they post factually incorrect information. Lorenz, who has represented both consumers and businesses on cases involving online comments, added that consumers are allowed to offer opinions that do not address factual points.
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