Your surgeons might not know what patients think about them, but perhaps they should start paying attention. According to a published report, Web sites that let patients post anonymous ratings of individual surgeons are rubbing physicians the wrong way.
In fact, some surgeons are asking patients to sign documents prohibiting them from commenting on physician-rating Web sites, notes the report from MSNBC. A quick review of a popular patient forum revealed why: Patient comments vary from positive to panning, and some border on the outrageous.
A former patient had this to say about a Pennsylvania orthopod: "Highly recommend. Very professional and knowledgeable. Have recommended him to friends and family." Two posts away, another patient ripped the same surgeon: "He did my first ACL reconstruction which FAILED! It tore again! I went to a different doc for the second reconstruction and I'm doing fine. He also told one of my older female friends who is a homemaker, 'You really don't need to have your ligaments in your shoulder fixed because you don't work anyway.'"
Where does the truth lie? "You don't know whether it's a patient, an ex-employee, an ex-spouse or even a competitor," a surgeon tells MSNBC. In the same report, the proprietor of a surgeon-review Web site argues that censorship of his forum violates patients' freedom of speech.
What are former patients saying about your surgeons? Check to see if they're rated on a few of the popular patient forum Web sites named in the report: Doctorscorecard.com, Angie's List and RateMDs.com.
Daniel Cook
