List date(s) this work was published or aired.
8-Dec-11
Provide a brief synopsis of the story or stories, including any significant findings.
A Manhattan dentist faces a class action lawsuit after a former patient alleges the confidentiality forms she asks patients to sign before receiving medical treatment are an unlawful attempt to suppress potential criticism. This case has significant implications for the First Amendment rights of patients.
Explain types of documents, data or Internet resources used. Were FOI or public records act requests required? How did this affect the work?
* Class action complaint (link provided in the story) * Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) * Memo posted on Public Citizen’s website by the patient’s attorney * Claims made by Medical Justice, the company responsible for creating the controversial documents, justifying the need for such documents * Dentist’s website
Explain types of human sources used.
* Patient’s attorney * The CEO of Medical Justice, the company that created and marketed the forms
Results:
As a result of the lawsuit and the publicity it attracted, including this article, the company selling the controversial medical forms pledged to discontinue the practice. This article earned a citation in the Knight Science Journalism Tracker, Massachusetts Institute of Technology: http://ksjtracker.mit.edu/2011/12/14/dentist-charges-patient-100-per-day-for-posting-unflattering-comments-online/
Follow-up (if any). Have you run a correction or clarification on the report or has anyone come forward to challenge its accuracy? If so, please explain.
Several readers have commented on the article, sharing the view that the forms are unethical and unlikely to endure as a model for managing doctors’ reputations.
Advice to other journalists planning a similar story or project.
Beyond describing an unusual case of medical and consumer fraud, this story highlights the need for patients to be vigilant during medical treatments and to act as their own advocates, if necessary. Journalists can advance this idea, and in doing so educate consumers, by reporting more stories that serve as examples of ‘activist patients’ putting pressure on physicians and hospitals to adhere to professional standards, and to admit or correct wrongdoing (not unlike activist investors putting pressure on corporations in which they have a stake). The investment here, of course, is the public’s health.