Practice owners advised to look twice at their online responses to negative reviews
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
KOLOA, Hawaii — When responding to negative reviews posted online, ophthalmology practices need to ensure they are not revealing protected health information, a speaker here said.
"I know it's a gut instinct and an emotional instinct, 'I want to answer that negative review,' but make sure you count to 10 and really have someone look at a review before you post it," Allison W. Shuren, JD, MSN, said at Hawaiian Eye 2023.
In one case, Shuren said, a dental practice inappropriately disclosed patient name, treatment and insurance information that were not mentioned in the original post by the patient.
By revealing such information, the practice violated HIPAA Privacy Rules set by the Office of Civil Rights.
“The Office of Civil Rights required the dental practice to pay $23,000 and they had to go and remove any posts back to 2014 that had any kind of protected health information,” Shuren said. “Plus, they're going to be monitored by the Office of Civil Rights for 2 years.”
Shuren encouraged specialists to avoid hastily responding to any reviews and to always doublecheck their practice’s responses online.
Collapse
Shuren AW. Hot issues. Looking back over 2022 and forward to 2023. Presented at: Hawaiian Eye 2023; Jan. 14-20, 2023; Koloa, Hawaii.
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts