Healthgrades

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] ***

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your number Once you have deactivated this, please notify Healthgrades and when we verify that your NPI number is no longer active we will suppress the profile from our consumer site.Regards, [redacted] ***Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:if I can comment on othwrs’ Posts on my profile, why am I reading reviews of people unable to do so? Additionally, I’ve also read that random people, not patients, have been leaving reviews on profilesMy information being public is one thing; leaving a review about me is a completely different matterI look forward to your next copied and pasted response Sincerely, [redacted]

Dear [redacted] , We appreciate you contacting the Revdex.com regarding a star rating that was posted on Healthgrades.com and your request to be removed from our website As previously communicate to you on several occasions, 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 Regarding your claim that Healthgrades has altered the date of any review, again Healthgrades maintains accurate records related to the date surveys are submitted as well as the dates they are confirmed Your profile does not reflect any submissions in Regards, [redacted] ***Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

Dear [redacted] ** Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com.We sent you a link to update your address and insurance information at Healthgrades.com through our free provider portal since you have already established a registered user account We did not ask you to update your address with the National Physician Database 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 However, while we collect information that is in the public domain for licensed healthcare providers, many providers elect to manage their own profiles for free on our website and update them with their most current information To the extent you provide me with an updated business address for yourself, I am happy to complete that update for you Of note, the [redacted] has your address listed as [redacted] and [redacted] has your address listed as : [redacted] I have added both those addresses to the profile and removed the address that elicited contact If we don’t hear back as to which address to update to, we will leave both addresses on the profile This will replicate to our consumer site within 24-business hoursYou may also update your insurances accepted through our free provider portal and again, I’m happy to update that information if you supply the data to me Finally, I have sent a request to the survey investigation team We do allow mental healthcare providers to opt out of all surveys and functionality You will be receiving a separate email today asking if you would like to shut off that functionality It is an ‘all or nothing’ choice I hope this will rectify your concerns stated in the complaint If not, please feel free to correspond with me directly [redacted] Regards, [redacted] ***Healthgrades

Dear [redacted] **, Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com I have reviewed your correspondence with the Revdex.com and Healthgrades regarding your complaint The home address was in the ***/NPI file and was listed as your business practice address Whoever filled out your paperwork for your NPPS/NPI number listed this address I have attached a copy of this form so that you may correct this at the source I have updated the address to be consistent with the address on file with the [redacted] ***, [redacted] and [redacted] Finally, I have also requested that our provider ratings support team suppress ratings functionality for ratings on your profile because of your specialty, mental healthcareYou will receive a separate email from that team today or tomorrow regarding this 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 Please note that because the current address information is coming from a public registry [redacted] (***) where you have provided your home address & phone number as the business practice address, other sites may still utilize this address and phone number despite any changes made on our site In order to correct the publicly available source of this information, you may also wish to update her business address directly with the [redacted] .Regards, [redacted] ***Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

Dear [redacted] **Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com and Healthgrades contact usAs a result of your inquiry, Healthgrades launched an investigation into your profile and the legitimacy of surveys submitted through our website.Upon review of the data, we have determined that the subject survey is a legitimate survey Accordingly, our business rules prohibit us from removing any such survey 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 Healthgrades is an objective source and does not block content from specific individuals at the request of 3rd parties We will however, remove the comment/opinion if the respondent contacts us and requests a retraction.Additionally, a provider may respond to a comment individually 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 YOURobligationYou 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 rightReplies will go through an audit process and will not be available on our consumer site immediatelyIf you have questions, please use our ‘contact us’, located at the bottom of the provider portal page.Respectfully, [redacted] ***Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:I do not want to reply to the alleged complaint I would like to remove myself from the survey portion of the website altogether I never consented to this, and do not wish to participate Please remove the survey portion of my profile Sincerely, [redacted]

Dear [redacted] ***, **Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com.On 3/3/17, you requested that Healthgrades remove the age from the profile which was completed and an email was sent from Healthgrades to you for confirmation 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 If you’d like, I’m happy to change the ‘accepting new patients’ to NO? Please let me know if that is what you’d like me to do.Respectfully, [redacted] ***Healthgrades

Dear [redacted] **, You stated that you only have one patient from [redacted] Could the comment/opinion be from a family member of this [redacted] n patient? 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 In any event, I apologize that you are dissatisfied however our conclusions remain the same Respectfully, [redacted] Healthgrades

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because:The complaint was not to say that the website wasn't violating HIPPAIt was to point out that HIPPA protects patients and healthgrades is a health related company and is claiming to assist those in the medical community but is not.I will be taking up my issue with another member of the healthgrades community from this point on since my concerns have not only been ignored but have not been responded toYou continually harp on one point and ignore the anonymous information posted.No one truly reviewing a complaint by a professional stating that an unfair complaint was made against that professional would disagree with meThe one star review hasn't been removed and is completely ludicrousEspecially being anonymous and especially given the explanation in regards to statements made by my ex-husband in the pastYou have in no way verified that the anonymous complaint is a patient of mine and even if you had giving a one star rating and stating deserves no stars for rudeness is absurd and should be taken down because it is clearly a libelous statement by someone who will not even stand by their word.This is not the last time I will be contacting the companyI plan on making further inquiries and am again disappaointed in the lack of care in the response towards me and the lack of caring of the professionals you glutinoisly publish about online Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: your response did not address my concerns I understand that individuals have the ability to post their opinions on your website However, the review in question states that I "actually hurt kids" (this quote is taken directly from the review on your site) This is falsely accusing me of a crime, which is absolutely inaccurate and has no factual basis A patient or individual may express an opinion but can not falsely accuse someone of a crime In Healthgrades response, you mention that the review is "legitimate." Please tell me how falsely accusing someone of an act they did not commit is "legitimate"? It appears that any patient can simply put factitious information on your site regarding medical providers simply by having an email address I again respectfully ask you to immediately remove this review from your site Sincerely, [redacted]

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 11307078, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Sincerely, [redacted] *

Complaint: I am rejecting this response because:The concerns in my complaint were not addressed I and many other physicians maintain that HealthGrades has insufficient mechanisms for preventing fradulent reviews They are unable to ensure that people posting reviews are actual patientsThis is a website that makes money via advertising revenue without providing a useful service to the publicIf, as they say, they are unable to remove physician profiles, then I am requesting that the patient review/survey part of the my profile be disabled and removed, for reasons stated above

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 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]

Revdex.com: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID [redacted] , and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me Sincerely, [redacted] ***

Dear [redacted] MD Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.comHealthgrades has re-examined your request and given you are an instructor which I have been able to primary source verify, I am suppressing the surveys, survey functionality and temporarily suppressing the profile Per our phone conversation, the profile will come back on our website with a modified view so that patients know you are in an academia position I will notify you as to the timeline of the modified profileBest regards, [redacted] Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

Dear [redacted] ***, Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.comYour case has been sent to me to review 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 service is publicly available and of interest to the general public, Healthgrades’ policies prohibit me from completely removing this profile information from our website Regards, [redacted] ***

Revdex.com: I am glad to receive a response from Healthgrades although I had to go through the complaint department of the Revdex.com to get one I received a response after I contacted Revdex.com but as a response to Healthgrades response I did not receive any response prior to thisThere is no evidence any response was sent prior to this It stands to reason that if one had been sent prior then the last email I received directly from Healthgrades would not have gone through either As far as the statement that reviewer information cannot be released due to "privacy/confidentially agreement" with their reviewer I don't recall every being offered this same agreement when a profile was created for my business without my knowledge or consent I would urge Healthgrades to carefully review this policy and work to resolve this I know I am not the only one with this issue as having read the numerous complaints similar to mine and hope Healthgrades will take this complaint as a serious issue.Thank you, [redacted] ***

Dear [redacted] ,Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com You emailed Healthgrades on 11/28/asking where the comment was that you submitted for your provider on 11/25/ Our service team responded to you on 12/5/that the comment you submitted was posted on our website, Healthgrades.com Would you please expand upon what you are stating is ‘illegal and unethical’ on our website, Healthgrades.com? Also, you state that we have no terms of use – this is emphatically incorrect We have terms of use listed for our website and in addition, we have a separate term of use for submission of our surveys which every patient must agree to before they can submit a survey – much like you had to do upon submission for both surveys you submitted on two different providers Here is the separate Terms of Use specific to survey submissions that you agreed to:By submitting this form, you agree to the terms and conditions of the Healthgrades User Agreement, Editorial Policy and Privacy Policy, and certify you or a family member has had contact with this practice You also confirm that you do not work for, are not in competition with and are not related to the provider in this review.Your email address or phone number will NOT appear publicly with your review When you submit your survey, we will either email or text you with a verification link We may also email you future updates about Healthgrades content and products.The additional information we collect helps Healthgrades offer the highest quality product for our audience The optional details you submit about your gender, age group, and number of office visits are never linked directly to your identity I trust this resolves all the issues listed in your complaint If not, please feel free to reach out to Healthgrades via the ‘Contact Us’ on every webpage.Regards, [redacted] ***Healthgrades