Shut Up and Take Your Medicine

Doctors who don't want their patients to complain about their services are signing up with a service called Medical Justice, which has developed a standardized waiver that patients are asked to sign, agreeing not to post online comments about the doctor. The company "advises doctors to have all patients sign the agreements," reports Lindsey Tanner. "If a new patient refuses, the doctor might suggest finding another doctor. ... Doctors are notified when a negative rating appears on a Web site, and, if the author's name is known, physicians can use the signed waivers to get the sites to remove offending opinion." Dana Blankenhorn writes that patients rights advocates are angry at the attempt to stifle patients' speech: "MyDocHub calls it an attack on First Amendment rights, while ePatients.Net calls it an 'almost comical attempt to hold back the tide.' Consumer advocates are also grumbling."