I’ve had several patients recently that say they chose to come to our practice based on positive online ratings and reviews. While I’m certainly pleased to hear this, I want to urge patients to be cautious in how they use these ratings and reviews. They don’t always tell the whole story.
At the extreme, we periodically read in the press stories of physicians who engage in dangerous, outrageous, and even criminal behavior and who nevertheless have very favorable reviews.
Consider these examples:
The “Dancing Doctor” in Atlanta ( https://www.cbsnews.com/news/dancing-doctor-windell-davis-boutte-license-suspended-atlanta/) This dermatologist performing cosmetic surgery in her office had very positive online reviews and was “internet famous” when she posted videos online of herself dancing during major surgical procedures. A series of patient complications and a mountain of malpractice suits led to the suspension of her medical license by the state of Georgia, calling her “a threat to public safety”. But the reviews looked good until this news broke.
A San Diego area plastic surgeon was criminally charged with involuntary manslaughter for the death of a young woman in his clinic undergoing a cosmetic procedure. Additional charges and multiple malpractice suits have since followed. https://www.10news.com/news/local-news/san-diego-news/new-criminal-charges-filed-against-bonita-plastic-surgeon He has 4.5- 5 star ratings on Google, Realself, Facebook, etc. The clinic is still apparently open for business.
A Des Moines plastic surgeon has paid out settlements for Medicare fraud ( https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/enforcement/iowa-plastic-surgeon-agrees-to-pay-800000-to-resolve-allegations-of-inappropriate-billing-and-false-claims/) has been sued by his employees for abusive behavior (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10351339/Iowa-plastic-surgeon-72-sued-3-female-colleagues-sexist-insults-threatening-comments.html) , and had his license restricted by his state medical board. His online reviews are excellent.
Reviews can be helpful in selecting a surgeon but always dig a little deeper. Look at their education, training, and credentials. Talk to others who have been patients. And if you have an uneasy feeling after your consultation, see someone else. Your health is too important to trust in the wide-open world of online reviews.
