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Even though online Medical Character Defamation Defense, and Reputation Management and Protection in the medical profession is very similar to a general online character defamation (libel and slander), there are some very particular and unique components to this internet form of negative comments.

Medical reputations are very vulnerable to online character defamation.The reason is that people usually check a doctors background on the Internet as soon they find his/her name or practice. Few other professions have such a closely watched online presence:

• Official-government websites publish accusations and investigations with the purpose of informing the general public. The information provided by these official websites is accurate most of the time, and it is not intended to damage doctors' names and reputations, nor to have negative impact to their professional practices. In general, this information does not have a major influence on doctors' online reputations and professional practices.

• Non official websites that provide information input from users, such as complaints, unexpected treatment results, angry comments, disgruntled employees' or patients' un-favorable comments, ex. ripoffreport.com

• Malicious medical character defamation websites. Most of these web sites are paid for by companies-organizations, with the sole purpose of ruining a doctor's reputation.These websites, not only provide real information about a Medical Board investigation, but also add their own negative comments, comments that are rarely true.

• Accusations against Physicians posted by a Medical Board, or a governmental agency.

Our job is to defend those doctors whose reputation has been maliciously trashed, whose character has been the victim of libel and slander, and whose practice has been damaged by negative online comments. We do not defend medical criminals.

Any citizen can send a complaint to a medical board, whether it is true or not. Many times, upset patients, or relatives and friends of a patient, complain to a medical board out of rage from unfavorable medical results, expensive treatments, or the death of a patient. A Medical Board has to investigate that complaint, and in many cases, file an accusation against the physician. This is a normal procedure for a medical board. The accusation is posted on a government website, because that is public information. There are massive medical character defamation websites, like casewatch.org, quackwatch.org, etc., that have access to accusations that medical boards have issued, even if they are frivolous. They post the accusation on their website, and within days, a doctor's practice could be ruined. This accusation stays on the internet forever, even after the  doctor has been cleared from the accusations or completed a probation.

We have explained a real case, where names and specific situations were changed, on our Online Name/Reputation Defense and Management page.

Two real life cases of Medical Character Defamation

Part I: A Medical Practice's Situation, before the Internet

In the year 1996, Dr. Mary Smith (names are fictitious), was conducting a successful medical practice. An upset patient reported the doctor to a Medical Board. The government agency has the obligation to investigate every single citizen's complaint, and they did. A year later the doctor was found guilty of "not maintaining medical records properly" and other minor irregularities.

The Medical Board's decision was to put Dr. Smith on five years probation, which is a very common situation in today's medical practice: the doctor will be monitored in her professional practice by another doctor or group of doctors that do not have any conflict of interests with the sanctioned doctor. These monitors will report Dr. Smith's medical practice to the Medical Board. Dr. Smith must also take a Physician Assessment and a few Clinical Training programs.

Dr. Smith's medical license remained in full, so she continued to practice her profession with no restrictions. After three years, she appealed to the Medical Board, and her probation was lifted.

Dr. Smith continued her medical practice, without any change.

Part II: A similar medical practice situation, once Google became prevalent

In the year 2005, Dr. Kay noticed that an insurance company was not paying his treatments. He decided to file a law suit for the six patients that had not been paid for. The money owed was in the six figures. The insurance company, in the hopes of winning the case, proceeded to defame Dr. Kay's character.

The insurance company persuaded the six patients to complain to the medical board about the doctor's treatment, despite the fact that they were all symptom free, alive, and well.

The rest of the story is very similar to the one in Part I, with one jarring difference.

As he continued his practice, with a full license, and a lifted probation from the medical board, Dr. Kay noticed began to notice a decline in his number of patients. A little investigation revealed that the insurance company had payed-off a few websites to post about the investigation, and those websites, easily visible to any patients looking for Dr. Kay online, were causing his career to veer of course.

Part III: The Solution

After five months of a progressively emptying waiting room, Dr. Kay found us.

We carefully optimized his existing website, and added several more profiles, to build his online presence. Meticulous work meant that, within a month, the insurance company had been foiled, and the website was largely ignored. Relieved, Dr. Kay watched as his appointment book began to fill up again. He is currently running a thriving practice. And, if any of his patients are going through a similar problem to his, he tells us that he has sent them directly to our website.

Visitors Map as 05-02-12