"Vaccine against libel" could have some side effects

Technically Speaking. By Pamela Lewis Dolan, AMNews staff. June 9, 2008.

It's been said that once something is posted online, it is there forever. Some physicians have learned that the hard way, after disgruntled patients starting filling Web sites with complaints.

One company says it has found a way to eliminate, or at least reduce, the risk of malicious information being posted about physicians online. But some critics say their system could be more damaging to your practice than any information that might be posted.

Medical Justice Inc. has put together a contract physicians can ask their patients to sign. In it, patients promise not to post anything about their experience, good or bad, without your prior approval. The organization calls it a "vaccine against libel."

Medical Justice is a Greensboro, N.C.-based organization with membership fees ranging from $625 to $1,995 per year, depending on location and specialty. It focuses on offering products and services intended to reduce the risk of frivolous malpractice lawsuits and help fight liability cases.

It's unknown how many of Medical Justice's 1,700 members have implemented the Internet contracts into their practices.

Jeffrey Segal, MD, a neurosurgeon who founded and serves as CEO for Medical Justice, said he isn't against the idea of sites where physicians are rated and discussed. But he thinks the concept is still so new that most rating sites have not found the balance between being helpful to patients and fair to physicians.