Healthgrades

Dear [redacted],  Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com. We are excited to announce that you may now respond individually to patient comments on Healthgrades.com! Healthgrades operates a website which provides information on healthcare providers as a free service to...

consumers, patients and other healthcare professionals.  In its provision of this service, Healthgrades aggregates information related to provider practices from publicly available sources and accepts user comments.  Healthgrades is an objective source and does not block content from specific individuals at the request of 3rd parties. Upon review of the survey data we have determined that the survey comment meets Healthgrades criteria for display. Accordingly, our business rules would prohibit us from removing any such survey data from our site.  We remind you that survey submissions at healthgrades.com represent the individual opinions of patients and are aggregated for the benefit of consumers.    To respond to an individual patient comment, please log into our provider portal.  Keep in mind Healthgrades is a community driven site.  All comments from provider and patients are filtered for inappropriate content prior to being published.  We encourage you to read the Best Practices pdf and watch the educational video: [redacted] Please remember, HIPAA compliance is YOUR obligation. You must have a portal account in order to respond.  Healthgrades cannot post a response on behalf of a provider.   [redacted] In the left hand rail, hover on the blue silhouette of a person, (next to Basic Information) Select ‘Patient Experience’ Select ‘Patient Review’ Locate the comment you want to reply to and click on the white 'reply' bubble on the right. Replies will go through an audit process and will not be available on our consumer site immediately. If you have questions, please use our ‘contact us’, located at the bottom of the provider portal page.Regards,Healthgrades

Dear [redacted],Your response did not...

come through as to why you rejected the response.  Given that, I'm happy to remove the profile providing you deactivate your NPI number.  NPI is the source of the data and since you are retired they can deactivate your number.  Once you have deactivated this, please notify Healthgrades and when we verify that your NPI number is no longer active we will suppress the profile from our consumer site.Regards,[redacted]Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

I am rejecting this response because:In my original complaint, I did mentioned that these fake reviews seem to be posted by non-patient which might be a competitor or just someone non-patient who doesn't like our progress.One of the fake review is posted from  Brooklyn, NY  where we don't have any patient from, this raises very strong possibility that review might be for other similarly named dentist in Brooklyn.In one of the reviews, The same person posted similar reviews with different names on different websites on same day, This raises strong suspicion that these reviews might be from a zealous competitor / rival.   FYI, other 2 websites [redacted] and [redacted] already deleted those fake reviews.Answering your question regarding... "  You mentioned in your response that I didn't offer any information about this competitor . If I knew about the competitor who posted this fake review, I wouldn't complaint to Revdex.com. I would have hired an attorney right away.Again, These are all strong possibilities/assumptions because we don't recall any such incident (mentioned in reviews ) happening in our office.As previously mentioned,We are a professionally run dental practice who seriously care about the patients and their well being. We are ready to pay for a recognized third party organization to verify that these reviews on healthgrades.com are actually from patients of the practice. If these reviews are found to be from actual patients then we do welcome their honest opinion and we will try to fix our shortcomings. but if these reviews are found to be from competitors or non-patients, then healthgrades.com must take these reviews down.Why healthgrades is opposing third party verification of these fake reviews , if we are paying for it ? Healthgrades.com shouldn't have any resistance or opposition against hiring recognized third party organization for verifying the reviewer identity.

Thank you for your inquiry via the Revdex.com.  I apologize for the lack of customer service when calling.  When you dialed the number on healthgrades.com, you called a hospital referral service for which Healthgrades provides call center services.  As a provider of call center...

services, individuals within the call center answer and respond to calls as the hospital referral service.  The referral service is provided by hospitals as a public service to facilitate the making of appointments with their physicians who are part of their referral service program.  Information you provide is passed to the physician’s office for the purpose of scheduling appointments.  In some cases, the physician’s office may request the same information again, or additional information. Regards,[redacted]
[redacted]

Dear [redacted],Thank you for your most recent rebuttal.  Unfortunately our conclusions remain the same - the comment/opinion meets Healthgrades criteria for display.  We do allow the provider to post a response OR if the patient requests of Healthgrades to retract the comment, we will honor that retraction.  Respectfully,[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:I wish that my name doe snot come up on Healthgrade when some one searches my nmae. Majority of information posted on the Web site is out of accuracy. I have several offices and provided information does not reflect those and it is misleading the public and providing wrong information.Removing survey functionality is good but not enough.
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: It does not address my concerns about potential damage to my business. Your internal policies are created by your organization and not my concern. I did not authorize your company, which is not a governmental agency or any sort of publicly funded service agency, to list my business, or to collect reviews from unverified sources. A primary focus of my work is with domestic violence, abuse and assault survivors. Quite a few of these clients are involved in civil litigation or criminal trials with their abusers. Abusers, by their nature, are prone to malicious acts against people who are supports to their victims, especially if they can do it without any repercussions to themselves or proof of misconduct. Your policy does not take these issues into consideration and needs review, in my opinion. At the least, providers should be able to opt out of your site without having to go through this many rounds of requests, and a complaint to the Revdex.com. Because of the nature of my work, I do not use anonymous, public review sites of any kind for my business. I am asking, once again, that you remove my listing.

Healthgrades provides information on healthcare providers as a free service to consumers, patients and other healthcare professionals.  In its provision of this service, Healthgrades aggregates information related to provider practices from publicly available sources.  Because [redacted]...

[redacted] is a practicing provider and the published information regarding his practice is publicly available and of interest to the general public, Healthgrades’ policies prohibit me from completely removing this information from our website.  A provider may also respond to a comment/opinion that is posted on our website.  To do so, they can log into a provider portal: updated.healthgrades.com to post a reply.Respectfully,Healthgrades

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:Despite your explanation I'm not convinced.First of all  you can't use my information to use in your website for survey without my permission this is totally unethical.  My location , insurances enrolled and several information is incorrect and miss-leading for patients.You recommended me to register in your website and advertise for my patient to rate.I'm not willing to register and update information cause I don't have a practice of my own  and most of you r survey is about appointments. Staff , location which I as a dentist working for a company , I have no involvement. My request is to be removed from your website , and I don't want to be enrolled for misinformation for people who are visiting your website. 
Sincerely,

I apologize that you are dissatisfied however our conclusions remain the same.

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2015/07/27) */
Dear [redacted],
Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com. We have responded to your emails and removed the survey functionality (and suppressed the 1 survey on file) from consumer view.
Healthgrades provides information on...

healthcare providers as a free service to consumers, patients and other healthcare professionals. In its provision of this service, Healthgrades aggregates information related to provider practices from publicly available sources. Because you are a practicing provider and the published information regarding your practice is publicly available and of interest to the general public, Healthgrades' policies prohibit me from completely removing this information from our website.
I trust this resolves your concerns.
Regards,
[redacted]
Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 7, 2015/08/07) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Your own companies policy prohibits you from removing the listing? There was no permission given to display information on your website, legally if requested you have to comply with the request. I know there are many websites that display public information but they all are required to have a means for people to request removal especially when they work in sensitive jobs. I want to be completely removed from the website.
Final Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2015/08/18) */
Dear [redacted],
Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com.
Healthgrades provides information on healthcare providers as a free service to consumers, patients and other healthcare professionals. In its provision of this service, Healthgrades aggregates information related to provider practices from publicly available sources. Because you are a practicing provider and the published information regarding your practice is publicly available and of interest to the general public, Healthgrades' policies prohibit me from completely removing this information from our website
I want to assure you that when you emailed us, we removed the survey functionality. This was complete on 7/14/15 . We allow all mental healthcare providers to opt out of surveys. I also wanted to point out that in your complaint you state ... "they describe things that I don't even do including couples counseling and discuss malpractice which has never occurred." At this time, Healthgrades does not have free form reviews ~ only multiple choice, of which none include the statement above. There are sites that do allow free form comments however Healthgrades does not today. In any event, it is a non-relevant point as we have taken away the survey functionality.
Regards,
[redacted]
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 11, 2015/08/19) */
(The consumer indicated he/she ACCEPTED the response from the business.)

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: none of my requests or concerns have been addressed
Sincerely,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Dear [redacted],Thank you for your time and information.  Regarding any and all reviews made from any email associated with me in any year, please delete these as this is not ethical and I am sorry that my family did that on my behalf.  The issue I would like to have addressed is the one written comment about me that I believe is unfair and hurtful and untrue.  I realize you have had this go through several checks, but I am asking you, begging you, to please review it again.  I have purchased a practice in a town of less than 1000 people.  I have been practicing for one year. There is not a single patient that has left because of any work I have done. No one has complained about anything.  My practice is mostly a geriatric practice of patients who scoff when I even use the computer.  In a town this small, when one person reads a remark such as "she completely destroyed my mouth, find another dentist", that is a review that is extreme.  I wish there was a way you could even verify this was a patient.  I have been advised to NOT reply to any comments such as this, especially if I believe it has been written by another competing dental office as the matter could escalate.  Also, my hands are tied as to comments I can make online due to HIPPA.  I am asking that you please review again the wording of this review and realize that it is not just an opinion, it is an extreme opinion that is hurtful and untrue and harming my business and myself.  Thank you so much, [redacted].  Sincerely, [redacted]
Sincerely,
[redacted]

We have contacted Ms. [redacted] and resolved the issue.

[redacted],In my last response, I clearly stated a few options regarding what I wished to be done. The first was to remove my profile completely from Healthgrades. You have said that this is impossible due to Healthgrades internal policies. However, I addressed my concerns to [redacted] and then you gave what I thought was a poor excuse i.e. [redacted] is out of office. I have had my reputation called into question in a space provided by you by anonymous persons. I sent a response to the your voice section stating that I do not offer concierge service, stating the average wait times and the duration of followup visits and on May 25 was sent a response from your service saying that was rejected because it did not apparently conform to guidelines. What troubles me is that some unknown person, presumably, a low paid, nonmedical, 20 something with little life experience has decided what I should post and what the patient should post. Is there a responsible medical practitioner with some experience as to what constitutes a real complaint, who knows what a responsible medical practitioner should write in response, who reviews all your complaints and decides what gets posted? While it is true that there are online sites for rating all kinds of businesses, while it is true that by virtue of my profession I am a public person, yet for your company to have a space dedicated to giving air to greviances in a manner that (1) does not seek to offer even the basic verification that the evaluator is a person (2) that allows for some impartial brokering before publishing something that could be detrimental to me (3) restrain my response is the worst form of bullying. Your company has arrogantly abrogated to itself, without any checks and balances, the right to be a mediator and propagator of cant and complaint which it is not in a position to verify and have been turning a buck on this. I would wager that to responsibly do what it purports to do would be bad for the company's bottomline. The company would have to hire more persons to do the kind of verification and responsible publication that I am suggesting.Now each time you respond, you repeat the same idea i.e. "we cannot remove your profile because it is public and guaranteed by the laws ...". It tells me that you have either not read thoroughly what I requested or wish to obfuscate the facts. I asked that if it was not possible to remove my profile, then to suppress the customer review bit until your company can provide more quality assurance. It may be true that you are guaranteed the right to publicize my records but, does the law guarantee you the right to provide a space for any anonymous, unverified individual to slander, misrepresent another public person? I doubt this. Medical men being what they are, most practitioners will try to avoid the publicity associated with getting the courts to have you cease and desist. For comparison, see the public article where a psychiatrist claims to have had her name removed. I just checked and in CT alone 1088 psychiatrists are listed, so it was not company policy to not publicize psychiatrists as your executive claimed. So as an individual she had her name removed. If one physician had her name removed, what prevents another from having that done? [redacted]If we could do a thought experiment. [redacted] works for Healthgrades. She is a private person but her work involves interacting with the public. What if I start a webpage dedicated to any anonymous physician who has an issue with healthgrades to write what they thought about [redacted]? Would you appreciate this? The next time you seek employment, your prospective employer does an internet search and finds all this cant written about you. Its the first thing that pops up in a name search. Above your linked in profile etc. I am assuming you have one of those. How would you feel? When you try to respond on the webpage, I will tell you that I cannot allow your response in the form you wish but I will send you a sample of the response you should give. I am protecting the public and potential employers from hiring a bad employee.  We have never met and I have no idea what the emotional turmoil you are undergoing is doing to you and your family. If you have just recoiled in horror at the personal attack I have just made on you, consider my feelings. I am sure, Revdex.com will now remove your name from this complaint to give you anonymity. If the office staff is being evaluated and posted under my name and evaluating them is a right, why did you anonymize my office manager's name? Should you not also publish that? The complaint was about her. 
I would like a senior executive from your company to respond to my complaints. Not a midlevel person, but someone who can actually effect change. Also, as evidence, there were 194 complaints on consumer affairs about your loose practices. I, like all the physicians, accept that we will have our data published. [redacted] There is nothing we can do to prevent that. Its the rubric of our profession. What we object to is the reviews. I work not as a small business tht is in my name therefore evaluating [redacted] is fair game. I am employed. My health system has a patient affairs department. We actively solicit reviews from our patients. The state has a physician complaint arm. Physician malpractice data, physician discipline records is public data. What meaningful data are you adding to that?  Your current review system as it operates is immoral. 
[redacted]

Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com. Healthgrades provides information on healthcare providers as a free service to consumers, patients and other healthcare professionals.  In its provision of this service, Healthgrades aggregates information related to provider practices from...

publicly available sources.  You are a practicing provider and the published information regarding your residency is publicly available and of interest to the general public. However, since you are no longer practicing in the U.S., we have suppressed your profile.  Respectfully, Healthgrades

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/09/28) */
Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com. We have responded to you twice with the source of the data (Centers for Medicade/Medicare Services)specifically NPI. Their phone number is XXX-XXX-XXXX. Once they change this at the source,...

I'm happy to revisit your complaint. Of note, since this CMS file is publicly available ~ there are many, many websites who are also displaying this address information for [redacted] I [redacted] DPM. It is critical that you request this removal at the source ~ CMS/NPI.
Thank you,
[redacted]
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/10/05) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
I have contacted the companies they've asked me to and the companies have told me the information has been removed. They are STILL publishing my home address!
Final Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2015/10/23) */
Dear Sir,
[redacted] DPM has listed this address as his business practice address. Your complaint is with this podiatrist. He is the person that needs to correct this. I cannot change his NPI listing (publicly available information). In the meantime, I have suppressed the profile from our consumer site however, this does nothing to solve your issue. As you know, if you google this podiatrist, you will see hundreds of listings with this address.

Dear [redacted]Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com.Healthgrades provides information on healthcare providers as a free service to consumers, patients and other healthcare professionals.  In its provision of this service, Healthgrades aggregates information related to...

provider practices from publicly available sources.  Because you are a practicing provider and the published information regarding your practice is publicly available and of interest to the general public, Healthgrades’ policies prohibit me from completely removing this information from our website.  As you know, Healthgrades operates a website which provides information on healthcare providers as a free service to consumers, patients and other healthcare professionals.  In its provision of this service, Healthgrades aggregates information related to provider practices from publicly available sources and accepts user comments.  Healthgrades is an objective source and does not block content from specific individuals at the request of 3rd parties. Upon review of the survey data we have determined that the survey comment meets Healthgrades criteria for display. Accordingly, our business rules would prohibit us from removing any such survey data from our site.  We remind you that survey submissions at healthgrades.com represent the individual opinions of patients and are aggregated for the benefit of consumers.    To respond to an individual patient comment, please log into our provider portal.  Keep in mind Healthgrades is a community driven site.  All comments from provider and patients are filtered for inappropriate content prior to being published.  We encourage you to read the Best Practices pdf and watch the educational video: [redacted] Please remember, HIPAA compliance is YOUR obligation. You must have a portal account in order to respond.  Healthgrades cannot post a response on behalf of a provider.   [redacted]   In the left hand rail, hover on the blue silhouette of a person, (next to Basic Information) Select ‘Patient Experience’ Select ‘Patient Review’ Locate the comment you want to reply to and click on the white 'reply' bubble on the right. Replies will go through an audit process and will not be available on our consumer site immediately. Respectfully,[redacted]
[redacted]

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted], and find that they removed the survey option satisfactory.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: The documentation in the medical record was not reviewed by Healthgrades.  Healthgrades is relying on a subjective opinion and not the medical record.  I have been a physician for more than 15 years with no malpractice and no sanctions.  I never gave Healthgrades permission to post a fraudulent review without verifying the evidence as documented in the medical record.  Healthgrades is relying upon a subjective opinion and did not review the medical record. 
Sincerely,
[redacted]