Doctors Furious That People Might Criticize Them Online
from the how-dare-they! dept
In the past, we've had stories about how doctors have been a bit slow to adopt new technologies like email and handheld computers. In the last few years, that's clearly been changing, but the image of doctors as late adopters has been around for quite some time. Perhaps that's why they've just recently gotten around to discovering that on this world wide web we've all been using, it's possible for people to post their opinions -- including opinions about the treatment they received from doctors. Various doctors have been reacting negatively to online critiques they've found, leading to lawsuits and even web pages that have been forced offline by judges. It's hard to see how doctors deserve any special treatment above other people or companies that are critiqued online. And, of course, in going after these sites, these doctors get written up in the Wall Street Journal as trying to hide the complaints, rather than respond to them. In other words, these doctors are now learning about the Streisand Effect. Doesn't seem like the type of doctor I'd want to go to.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
Bedside Manner
[ link to this | view in chronology ]