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Monday, 26 October, 2009

Do doctors need "reputation management" lawyers?

Earlier this month, on the Canadian legal news website Slaw.ca, University of Western Ontario law student Omar Ha-Redeye made a really interesting prediction: one area of the law that's sure to see growth in the future is something he calls "reputation management," and physicians are perhaps chief among the clientele that's likely to demand that service.

Mr. Ha-Redeye uses as a jumping off point for his argument my recent article in Parkhurst Exchange about an Alberta urologist named Mohamed Foda who this year became the first physician anywhere (as far as I can tell) to force RateMDs.com to disclose the names of anonymous reviewers.

The Foda case against RateMDs is tied in with another suit he is involved in in Edmonton and it all gets very complex very quickly, but the long and short of it is that Mr. Ha-Redeye seems to see Dr Foda's successful efforts to fight back against anonymous online libel as one of the first of a forthcoming trend of "reputation management" lawsuits.

What do you think? Are we going to see the development of a new field of reputation management law? Should the Canadian Medical Protective Association be in the business of not only protecting physicians from malpractice suits, as they do now, but also protecting their reputations?

Posted by David Elkins and others at 12:00 AM

Labels: ,

21 comments:

  1. Purley Quirt (aka Sharon )Oct 26, 2009 07:18 AM
    RE: the "bottom-up" approach ( patient researching physician )

    The issue is not reputation ( that which is "reputed" to be). Using reputation as a single indicator decision base is leading you into developing "individual" "brand" designation. Cha-ching!

    RE: the "top-down " approach

    You already have brand designation as a group called "physician". You only lose that designation "top-down" through significant misdemeanor.


    However there is a "middle road" where physicians could develop "reputation" themselves . They could develop an information booklet or an accreditation standard posted for their own patients to review and respond to as part of each visit.

    RE: Underlying reality:

    The issue is power.... what type..........and how you use it.

    Even in bad times physicians have "referential" power because (almost) everyone suggests 'go to the doctor."

    The question is "do they have mastery" anymore?

    [ Remember the phrase " complete general assessment" ....does anyone do that anymore or has it been segmented into oblivion?]

    RE: removing opinion sites as standard bearers

    Consider that "opinion" sites could be ?doctored to present you as anything your friends or enemies wish.
    Many who frequent those sites are exposed to gossip and fear (which are close allies).

    Patients YOU wish to present themselves for inclusion in your practice are really asking YOU to provide information that answers the following question:

    *Can you get past telling me what is "real" ... and tell me what is "true" ?

    (KEY) Get your head around that question and it could revolutionize both YOU.... and your practice.

    * quote from Oswald Chambers
    ReplyDelete
  2. Purley Quirt (aka Sharon )Oct 26, 2009 01:35 PM
    P.S. In reflecting further on comments and teachings of Oswald Chambers I remembered the following:

    You have heard me mention "ethnocentricity" before which is a belief that one's own culture is superior to others and "defines others" through it's own belief/practice systems.

    I note the name of the indignant urologist and the lengths taken to restore good name and reputation. It may be this physician is from an Eastern culture. In this event there is an entirely different perspective on the " weight" ( significance and import)of words.

    Oswald Chambers refers to a time when the " spoken word" was seen as powerful , definitve and declaratory.
    In North America for at least two generations now spoken words have become simply anecdotal or "emotion-based" utterance.... and indeed even the crime of "uttering" is rarely heard of.

    Therefore, there may be a market for the legal beagles to sniff out a revenue source... amongst physicians from Eastern continents and countries where that which is spoken is expected to be powerful and action oriented.. versus a fleeting moment of thought expecting no consequence.

    In truth... could a RateMD service in other countries even be viewed as a "freedom of speech" issue?

    Even here we once listened to Sir Wilfed Laurier who said "

    (quote)
    'we have no absolute rights among us. The rights of each man in our state of society end precisely at the point where they encroach upon the rights of others (endquote)

    Let's bring out the anthropologists on this one.........
    ReplyDelete
  4. Reputation Management Law is one thing and online reputation management for doctors and physicians is another. I think that the law does not protect the medical industry at all for slanderous online posts about doctors and physicians. The only real remedy is online reputation management I think.

    Hiring a lawyer usually makes things worse when it comes to your online reputation issues unless the lawyer also has a reputation management team with a strong knowledge of seo.
    ReplyDelete
  5. That's very sound advice, Physician Armor.

    Keep your eyes on Canadian Medicine in the coming weeks for a follow-up on this piece, with more about hiring an online reputation management laywer.
    ReplyDelete
  6. Reputation Management Law is one thing and online reputation management for doctors and physicians is another. I think that the law does not protect the medical industry at all for slanderous online posts about doctors and physicians. The only real remedy is online reputation management I think.


    ceo reputation management
    ReplyDelete
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