make negative reviews more like out- liers,” Dr. Pho said. The fifth tip stresses that a physi-
cian pursuing a lawsuit over negative ratings is a high-risk, costly, and ill- advised move. Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputa- tion highlights the case of Minnesota neurologist David McKee, MD, who sued over negative online comments the son of a stroke patient posted in 2009. Dr. McKee sued for defamation, claiming the poster also made false statements to the American Acad- emy of Neurology and the American Neurological Association. A four-year legal battle concluded with the Min- nesota Supreme Court dismissing the case in January 2013. The book said Dr. McKee’s case cre-
ated a media firestorm and became an example of the Streisand effect, a term for an attempt to suppress a piece of online information that actually re- sults in the information garnering more publicity. The term derives from a Barbra Streisand lawsuit against an organization that published an aerial photo of the singer’s house. “Whenever McKee’s name is put
into a search engine, the publicity gen- erated by his lawsuit will be featured prominently in the search results,” Dr. Pho and Ms. Gay wrote. “By suing the patient, not only is the outcome of the suit in doubt, but he actually made the situation much worse. No matter what kind of merit you think a case might have, doctors who sue patients for online ratings are going to lose in the more influential court of pub- lic opinion. Better that doctors take some slanderous lumps online, and instead, encourage more of their pa- tients to rate them.” What about preparing for litigation
from the other side? If an online re- view hints that the patient is consid- ering legal action, the Texas Medical Liability Trust,
www.tmlt.org, recom- mends physicians contact their attor- ney and their medical liability insur- ance company immediately.
March 2017 TEXAS MEDICINE 39
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