Top Complaints Posted on Doc-Rating Websites

[Retired]

Top Complaints Posted on Doc-Rating Websites
Medscape Medical News
February 20, 2014

Patients Take Their Complaints Online
Although medical expertise and quality of care may be central to the patient experience, they take a back seat when it comes to online reviews of physicians. Patients posting negative reviews on rating sites, such as Vitals, RateMDs, and Yelp, are often more vocal about the "softer" side of medicine than they are about clinical matters. Their complaints can sully even the most polished reputation.


Today's patients are asserting themselves. They come into the physician's office armed with data and diagnoses gleaned from the Internet, and ask-your-doctor-or-pharmacist advertising. They ask questions. They're encouraged to be partners in their care and to confront their doctors when necessary ("Doctor, please wash your hands.")

In addition, some patients are demanding, have difficult personalities, and bring their own issues and biases to medical visits. So it's no surprise that this patient base is using the Internet as a megaphone to broadcast feedback about the doctors who treat them. And they're not holding back. Whether patients are voicing valid complaints or skewed perceptions, one thing is certain: They're telling the world.

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[Jesse910]

Unlike going to a restaurant or bar, when we go to the doctor's office, we are at our most "vulnerable" self. Personally, I'm not looking for a relationship per se with my physician. However, I am looking for someone who looks and acts like they care for the 5-10 minutes that I am in their presence. While we are not physicians, as patients, we are far more intelligent than the previous generations because we do have access to the Internet and we know what questions to ask to get the answers we need. Additionally, it's far more acceptable to talk about some of our ailments with others. That said, I expect the physician and his staff to be reasonably kind, polite, and to respect my right to privacy as I wait to see the doctor. If there is lab work involved, I expect my doctor or his staff to send those results to me in a reasonable time frame.

Over the years, I have learned to be the "squeaky" wheel; to fax, text, and call until I get an answer. If I have tried one medication that did not work in the past, I will not take it now. We live within our bodies each and every day and we know what feels right and what does not. Furthermore, having the ability to Google a physician is a good thing. However, remember that a human being wrote about their experience with a doctor who may have seen the patient at the beginning, middle, or end of the doctor's work day. As such, your visit with said doctor may be an entirely different experience. Use the comments as a guide.

 

[Retired]

If I have tried one medication that did not work in the past, I will not take it now.

This principle does not apply to all classes of medications. In the case of SSRI/SNRI's for example, a failure in the past does not necessarily predict failure in the future.

We should work as informed partners with our doctors, but there is a fine line between being an informed partner and an adversary.

We need to rely on our doctor's clinical experience, which we as lay people do not have by reading technical articles.

 

[Jesse910]

This principle does not apply to all classes of medications. In the case of SSRI/SNRI's for example, a failure in the past does not necessarily predict failure in the future.

We should work as informed partners with our doctors, but there is a fine line between being an informed partner and an adversary.

We need to rely on our doctor's clinical experience, which we as lay people do not have by reading technical articles.

I guess the caveat I should have stated was, if there was a known problem with a medication that caused adverse reactions in the past, then that is a reason to question with a physician whether or not said medication should be utilized in the future.