The operators of two freestanding emergency departments in Dallas—Highland Park Emergency Room and Preston Hollow Emergency Room—have gone to court demanding Google share the identities of those who posted 22 negative reviews of their facilities.
According to the Dallas Morning News, the EDs claim in their 30-page joint petition that those behind the reviews never received treatment there. Third parties gave them poor reviews, they said, in order “to defame and disparage” their emergency rooms.
There a few instances of healthcare organizations or physicians taking legal action on online reviews, which have shown to be a poor indicator of actual quality of care. This approach carries the risk of making patients uncomfortable or attracting extra attention to negative reviews.
"It’s difficult for businesses to actually know what happened if they don't have a real name,” said Alicia Daugherty, who leads a team that researches market innovation, patient engagement and transparency for the Advisory Board Company. “But in healthcare, people don’t want everyone to know what kinds of services they are receiving. There are patient privacy issues.”
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.