Rise in Online Medical Ratings Leads to Gag Orders
With the increase in online sites such RateMDs.com, DrScore and Vitals.com where patients can post reviews of doctors, more doctors are requiring patients to sign forms prohibiting any online posting without their prior approval. The enforceability and ethics of the requirement are debatable, particularly when consumers are tasked with being more informed about their healthcare choices. Critics of the online sites contend they are unreliable because they say only those individuals with bad experiences tend to post.


