" Pen is mightier than sword" that's the old saying, nowadays " Social media is more powerful than any nuclear weapon. Disgruntled patients often resort to cyberspace to get the steam off. We as physicians do not have the luxury of time to follow their posts, blogs or bursts of tweets. The cause of dissatisfaction may range from long wait time to lack of Wifi in the waiting room. What gives them the right to lash out on us when we don't have an opportunity to defend ourselves?Seldom does a satisfied patient run home to give a 5 star rating for us. If patients treat medical office like hospitality service then we should not be asked to write off their copays or deductibles. Fallacious review online will tarnish an otherwise impeccable reputation of a committed physician. If only we get a chance to tweet about our temperamental patients or post a review about our abusive patients,I'm sure they will think twice about putting baseless accusation online.
There were many instances in my office recently of patients threatening us openly about posting bad reviews in social media... the reason always seem to be with a statement for services provided. Their reluctance to pay or their lack of understanding of the insurance coverage gets twisted into a take of vulnerable patients caught in the hands of professional predators. Now where would I blog,report or post this?!Patients are now abusing this powerful tool in their palm to exploit, extort and defame us.
While I understand that every individual has the freedom of speech in this country, no one should be given the freedom of abusive speech. If medical offices are going to put in the same platform as pizzeria, then patient must be ready to keep their wallet out as soon as they step in. How often do they get to leave a pizzeria with a slice of pizza for free ?! I feel that we all must join hands in curbing this culture of social media slandering of doctors. We can’t let anyone stain our white coat online with their dirty digital finger prints.
Responding to your negative review is key. This ensures that you are taking every comment/review seriously. Short, crisp and assertive response always makes the best impression.
Secondly, one can try contacting Google, Yelp directly and flag it as abusive but it may or may not work.
If that doesn’t work, some physicians have penned their views to the patient asking them politely to delete those derogatory reviews. Finally, if Google gives you the run around, patients turns a deaf ear the last resort is to seek Legal services for a defamatory lawsuit. After all your reputation is worth it!
