Doctors Want Gag Order – You Want Treatment, Give Up Your Right To Free Speech First, Or Else No Treatment

February 19th 2009

Doctors Want Gag Order – You Want Treatment, Give Up Your Right To Free Speech First, Or Else No Treatment

A new trend is appearing in the medical malpractice insurance battle across the nation. In the mountain of forms you sign covering insurance and the like, you may find a new form required by the doctor before he’ll treat you. The new form requires you to give up your right to free speech regarding your experience with the doctor.

The new form states you may not write anything negative or post anything negative on the internet about the doctor. You also agree to stop any of your friends and family from doing the same. Am I crazy or is this unbelievable. I would sign this form, I’d find a new doctor instead.

This is justice another attempt by insurance industry backed companies to take away patient rights and avoid fixing the medical malpractice problem in this country. If doctors would just police themselves by kicking out the doctors who repeatedly cause a majority of the medical errors that hurt people, then maybe patients wouldn’t have anything negative to talk about. Thus reducing the number of medical malpractice lawsuits.

Approximately 100,000 deaths occur each year as a result of medical errors by doctors. There is a medical malpractice crisis and patients last line of defense is his right to warn others about a doctor who has injured them negligently. Perhaps taking measures to increase patient safety would be a better use of a doctor’s time than continuing efforts to take away patient rights.

My 2 cents,

Max Meyers, Esq.

Source:

InjuryBoard.com, National New Desk by Jane Akre