Doctors Seek to Hush Patients with Gag Orders

Is it not enough that doctor's don't make it on time to their appointments with us? Is it not proper for the public to have knowledge of a doctor's practice when seeking medical attention? Is it not enough that health care costs are through the roof? I guess not because now doctor's are seeking to have their patients sign gag orders to keep them from placing any remarks on web sites catering to reviews of medical providers.

Personally, I think it's a great idea to be able to get someone else's experiences with a particular doctor. There are plenty of doctors who may have diplomas from top Ivy League schools and years of experience, but maybe they lack the ability to relate to you as a person. I have been to offices where I turned around and walked out due to substandard equipment or lack of cleanliness. I have had primary doctors that I have never seen, only to be passed onto a nurse practitioner at each visit. If I'm paying for top health care at x amount of money, then I want to see the doctor who gets paid. If I am seeing a nurse, then I should only be paying for that service and I doubt there is a nurse out there that can say they make as much money as the doctor they work for.

These are all things, among others, that could be clarified by reviews of doctors and their offices. If the doctors are so worried that this is going to affect their livelihood, then maybe they should pay more attention to the care they offer, their staff and their offices. If a restaurant has ten reviews and eight of them are bad, then eventually they are going to have to fix whatever the problems are in order to stay open. If eight of those ten reviews are good, then more people would go with the good reviews and patron the establishment. Seems to me there is nothing wrong with having that assistance in choosing a doctor. Isn't our health care one of the most important things we do for ourselves? There is so much we can't control about it, not to mention who we are limited to certain doctors depending on your insurance. I like the idea of having the opportunity to get real opinions from people who've been there.

As reported by the Associated Press, a North Carolina neurosurgeon stated that "such postings say nothing about what should really matter to patients - a doctor's medical skills..." I agree that patients should concern themselves with the medical skills their doctor possesses and I'm sure that is how a patient ends up in your office, but it also matters how they treat you as a person and I've had some pretty lousy doctors over my lifetime.
No one wants to spend an hour waiting to see their doctor only to be berated or dismissed. It is possible that our health concerns may be nothing, but until we know for sure that we are going to be okay we will worry. When you compound or worry with the waiting, the next thing we want is some compassion.

We certainly should not and cannot base our choices solely on the opinions of others, but it is always helpful to know what we should be watching out for and these posts may help us do that. Of course, when seeking medical care you should always check as many resources as possible to make the right decision and like anything else, if you offer good services, then you shouldn't worry about criticism. I also know a few people who have been "rated" by their doctor and have been asked to find another one, so it goes both ways. Doctors should be held to the highest standard and if they can't cut it, then they should find another profession. Health care is about serving people not property and we all expect to get what we pay for which is quality health care.

Here is my strategy for handling this if a doctor ever hands me a gag order to sign. I will deliver my own contract which I will ask the doctor to sign which states that I will never be waiting longer than ten minutes after my appointment time to be seen, that I will be given the proper amount of allotted time to discuss my issues with my doctor, that my doctor will never cut me off and dismiss me while I voice my concerns and that if my doctor does not give me twenty-four hours notice before canceling my appointment that I will receive a check for $40 for my missed appointment as I had to rearrange my schedule.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090304/ap_on_he_me/med_gagging_patients