Healthgrades

Dear *** *** I apologize that you are not satisfied with Healthgrades decision. We rely upon the veracity of the patient filling out the comment/opinion. Additionally, we remind you that survey submissions at healthgrades.com represent the individual opinions of patients and are aggregated for the benefit of consumers. Given that, our conclusions remain the same. We do allow providers to post responses to surveys as I mentioned in my first responseRegards, *** ***

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/10/05) */
Thank you for contacting Healthgrades vis the Revdex.com
We have updated your address, specialty and gender per your requestThis will replicate to our consumer site within 24-business hoursI apologize that the rep didn't take care of
this via your direct correspondence on 9/& 9/
Regards,
*** ***
Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

*** ***, You have contacted Healthgrades MULTIPLE times under the name of *** and your own name. Once you contact Healthgrades, that establishes a business agreement by which I may contact you to answer the multiple emails you sent. Also, you requested that Healthgrades contact you. I have not denied that I contacted you in an effort to resolve this complaint rather than expose the fraudulent way you are inflating the providers profile on OUR website. I wanted to give you the option rather than embarrass you and the provider by disclosing that you frauded our survey system. It would be akin if I were to go onto the doctor’s website and put multiple fraudulent testimonies. Please be advised that if Healthgrades continues to observe further deceptive activity on the profile at Healthgrades.com, we will disable the survey functionalityHealthgrades considers this matter closedRegards, *** *** Healthgrades

Dear *** *** **, Thank you for contacting Healthgrades and the Revdex.comI have reviewed all correspondences and responses to/from Healthgrades. I am sorry you are dissatisfied however our conclusions remain the sameHealthgrades 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. Regards, *** *** Healthgrades

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 7, 2015/11/13) */
Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com and our 'contact us' form!
Healthgrades provides information on healthcare providers as a free service to consumers, patients and other healthcare professionalsIn its provision of this
service, Healthgrades aggregates information related to provider practices from publicly available sourcesBecause 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 profile information from our websiteI have however updated the address information to be consistent with that which is on your FL licensure
Also, if you suspect that the NPI number is fraudulent, please contact NPII've included a screen shot of the NPI information for your convenience
Regards,
*** ***
Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 11, 2015/11/16) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
As previously statedI never gave permission to Healthgrades to make a profile and ratings created on my behalfI am not a Doctor or business ownerNow they have updated and listed two separate locations in different cities that I have no affiliation withThey allow unregulated ratings stating: "My name's" office and staff (I do not own or operate or manage any offices or staff nor have I ever)they rate: scheduling appointments, office environment, staff friendliness, total wait time, level of trust, how well provider explains medical conditions, how well provider listens and answers questions, spends appropriate amount of time ectI want this inaccurate libelous profile completely removed from their website
Final Business Response /* (4000, 13, 2015/11/20) */
Dear Mr***
I have again checked with NPI and your information is still active and publicly available as well as your state licensure information from the state of FloridaI again encourage you to contact NPI if you think someone fraudulently filled out an application and submitted it to the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services via NPIOnce NPI has either removed or updated this information, please let me know and Heatlhgrades will update our records to be in line with that which is publicly available
Thank you,
*** ***
Final Consumer Response /* (2000, 18, 2015/11/25) */
I have just spoken to an NPI representative via telephone (X-XXX-XXX-XXXX) and they have verified that the fraudulent NPI number associated with my name has been deactivated as of today 11-24-and will show as deactivated in their system as of tomorrow, 11-25-

Revdex.com:
I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ***, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to meHowever, I need to add that they did not satisfy the terms I had originally requested to resolve the issue "I would like to deactivate the survey page as you suggest as long as previous survey data all reviews), including the defamatory post which hasinitiated my complaint, is removed and that there are no star rating(s)remaining associated with my profileIf you are able to confirm the execution of these two requests as indicated above then I would like to proceed with the deactivation"To date, the stars are remainingHowever, due to the length it took for a response I have decided to live with it.
Sincerely,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I appreciate you have suppressed the ratings but I do not understand why you say "ethical " issues , which ethical issues do you mean This is not why I am rejecting your response As I have stated , I do not have a private practice , no one can call and make an appointment with me Any address you list for me would be misleading , I consult to the *** *** program but no one can make an appointment there Isn't this the point of your website?? I think you would just be annoying the public and wasting their time I also would like to see you policy where you are unable to remove me completely , you refer to a policy? Where is it listed ? I never signed any terms with youLastly , you list my office at ** *** ***, I have not worked there in years , it's not a service to the public to put misinformation up?? And I imagine the hospital is tired of the public calling and looking for me ?? I feel you need to remove me altogether honestly
Sincerely,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Healthgrades.com did not answer the questions asked. a There are many doctors in El Paso, Texas with the same last name Is it possible that I am being confused with someone else? b Is there a way to suppress all surveys? c What is your responsibility to ensure that survey writers act in a professional manner? You expect the providers to be professional but not the surveyors? d It appears to me, in my opinion, that you do not care to remedy slanderous/libelous statements made about providers
Sincerely,
*** ***

Dear *** ***, Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.comYes, we are in receipt of your requests (8/11, 8/22, 8/26) to be removed from our website. We did send you a response dated 8/to which you responded to. 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. Regards, *** *** Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

Mr*** ***,I did not state that I ‘suppressed your information’. What I specifically said in my response, “We did not have open comments in Sept of however, we did do an investigation into the star ratings and did respond to your email on 10/22/In that response we let you know that we suppressed a survey that did not meet our criteria.”In your initial complaint you stated that Healthgrades did not allow a provider to respond. Again, we do allow a provider to respond and they may do so through our provider portalI have updated your address to *** *** *** ** *** ***Healthgrades is performing a new investigation since we did not have open comments the last time you contacted us. And again as I stated in my initial response, you will hear from the investigation team directly.Thank you, *** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:On December 16, *** *** *** said "We are suppressing additional surveys that have recently been submitted and are in violation of Healthgrades business policiesFinally, we are REMOVING THE SURVEY FUNCTIONALITY for misuse of
Healthgrades web property pursuant to, and in violation of, our user agreementRegards, *** *** Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc." In no part of her email did she state it would only last four months. The explanation given by *** was not the same as the one given to me last DecemberThere was no information that said it would only last a few monthsAs stated in my original complaint there is an anonymous individual who acted with malice to defame me with libel by writing fraudulent reviewsHealthGrades is negligent for hosting the defamation and bears responsiblity for removalThe fake reviews left all over physician review wesbites called for my deportation and said I was so old, I could die soonThat put the saftey of both my family and myself at riskI successfully got other wesbites to remove the reviews and block new ones from being made so I would not have to deal with the awful time consuming proceduresThe same person went to HealthGrades and immediately posted one star reviews for each section, in additon to saying I never paid attention to him/her for writing on my computerBy law, I am required to document every event that happens during the appointment to the E.M.RElectronic Medical RecordI have worked as a doctor for more than years and never had any issuesI am once again demanding that the fake reviews be removed and the option to have new reviews be blockedThis has been an extreme waste of my valuable time and I find it completely unacceptable that after contacting four different emails from HealthGrades after almost one month, my demand has been ignored
Sincerely,
*** ***

Dear *** *** ***Thank you for your contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com. Your survey functionality was suspended for misuse of a Healthgrades property (Healthgrades.com). Upon investigation of your account, Healthgrades found that questionable submissions of
surveys had been submitted in violation of Healthgrades' user agreement/terms of use. It is for this reason that your survey functionality has been suspended for days. I communicated this to you during our last phone conversation. Please note that all surveys submitted in violation of Healthgrades’ applicable terms are subject to removal prior to the reinstatement of your survey functionality. All surveys that were submitted consistent with our terms will remain on your profile and visible after days. We would like to remind you that pursuant to our terms, all parties that submit surveys agree to the following statement: “By submitting this form, you agree to the terms and conditions of 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 no in competition with and are not related to the provider in the review.” Further, please refrain from asking patients to call or email Healthgrades to discuss their experiences with you and your practice. We understand the intent is to confirm surveys, however, Healthgrades does not accept surveys via phone, email or any other avenue other than through its website and these actions may result in disclosure of sensitive medical information to individuals at Healthgrades that do not have a need to know such detailsRegards,*** ***

Dear *** *** **,We appreciate and understand your concern. As I stated in my previous correspondence, we do allow providers to post a response to comments/opinions through our free provider portal. The reason your data was rejected is in my previous response. I’m happy to post a response for you or you may post it using the portal. I am happy to send you some example content that other providers have used in response to negative comments/opinionsI also have a copy of your response that was rejected if you would like me to send that to youPlease let me know if you would like me to send those to you.And finally, I did forward your initial email to our executive team, specifically Andrea Pearson. She is not in the office and does not have access to email or phoneI also sent a copy to a governance committee at Healthgrades as I believe you bring up some very valuable points and information. Thank you,*** ***

Dear *** *** ***, Thank you for your rebuttalGiven the position I hold at Healthgrades; I am acutely aware of our policies as it is part of my daily job responsibility The poster takes responsibility for the information they post and warrants they have the right to post it. If they copy their own text, I don’t see any problem. If they copy someone else’s, the persons who they copied may have a copyright infringement claim against the poster. If that’s the case, the poster can demand Healthgrades remove it based upon infringement through an email address in Healthgrades user agreement. Given you are not the poster of the comment; this only applies to the person who posted the comment/opinionHealthgrades did suppress surveys on 10/14/and an additional survey was suppressed on 10/15/I apologize that you are dissatisfied however Healthgrades conclusions remain the same. Respectfully,*** ***Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

Dear *** ***,Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.com on behalf of the provider *** *** **. I apologize if you were ever given the indication that the comment would be removed from the profile 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 3rdpartiesUpon review of the survey data we have determined that the survey comment meets Healthgrades criteria for displayAccordingly, 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: *** Please remember, HIPAA compliance is YOURobligationYou must have a portal account to respond. Healthgrades cannot post a response on behalf of a provider. *** 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. Regards,*** ***Healthgrades Operating Company, Inc

Initial Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2015/11/03) */
Dear *** ***,
Thank you for contacting Healthgrades via the Revdex.comThe address we have on file is being made public by the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, specifically NPI (National Plan and Provider Enumerator)Whoever
filled out your paperwork for your number (either you or your agent) listed your home address as your business practice addressPlease contact NPI (XXX-XXX-XXXX) and have this corrected at the sourceOnce done, please let me know (***@healthgrades.com) and I will most happily revisit your request
Initial Consumer Rebuttal /* (3000, 8, 2015/11/04) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
Health Grades is knowingly providing information that is incorrect and putting my personal safety, as well as that of others, at riskThe information needs to be removed immediately while I make changes in the NPI system and that system has a chance to review and accept my changes, and to post them
On another note, I have not signed up for Health Grades service nor do I wish to be a part of their serviceI would prefer to be removed entirely from their system
Final Consumer Response /* (4200, 12, 2015/11/21) */
(The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.)
My private, personal information is still being displayed on the Health Grades website, and since the initial complaint was filed, I've had one other person show up at my home seeking prostitution, NOT MASSAGE, servicesI requested my information be changed in the NPI database on 11/4/and it has not yet been changedI have followed up with the NPI services and have been told that the changes are "in process" and as the information on their site is always changing, it is not recommended for use such as Health Grades
I have not signed up for Health Grades services nor do I consent to have my information displayed
My personal safety and that of my family is at risk directly because of the incorrect information being displayed by Health Grades
I have made several reasonable requests to have my private, personal information removed from their service and they have yet to do it
I have men seeking prostitution services, NOT massage services, coming to my private residence and entering my private homeThey have both received my personal address from Health Grades website
Health Grades continues to display this personal information, rather than my business information, knowing that it is incorrect and putting my personal safety, and that of others, at risk
The NPI services states that the information on their website is ever-changing and IS NOT intended for Health Grades use
This is situation is unacceptableI want all of my private, personal information removed from the site immediately, regardless of how long it takes the NPI service to update their database, as my personal safety, and that of others, is at risk
Final Business Response /* (4000, 14, 2015/11/25) */
NPI has updated their public information with regard to your business practice addressHealthgrades has followed suit and updated the address for this providerThis data change will replicate to our consumer site within 24-business hours

I am sending my paperwork in today to deactivate my NPI number I will close this case out once I reconfirm that the NPI number has been deleted and you have indeed removed from your profile platform Thank You
Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
Sincerely,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: Me confirming they were a patient does not affect the original complaint I had about the comment. Your response shows your incompetence in being able to assess the situation, as laid out to your company privately, and then here again on Revdex.com, which you can follow the conversation. However, due to the seemingly lack of ability to follow the original complaint, I will place it here again in short. For full detail, please refer back to the original text. The problem is that they gave ratings based on a CLINIC setting. The patient was seen in a HOSPITAL setting. Since you are not actually involved or educated about healthcare, but instead run a shady site that hurts healthcare, please allow me to explain. The HOSPITAL does not do appointments, does not have wait times, does not have staff hired by the physician. The CLINIC is where you go for appointments, sit in the waiting room, and interact with the physician's staff. This reviewer rated our HOSPITAL encounter by giving me star for items that happen in the CLINIC (i.eease of appointment, wait time, staff) all of which DO NOT happen in the HOSPITAL. Therefore, if you are still capable of following this train of thought, her reviews are falsehoods with the intent to slander me because they did not get an opioid prescription upon discharge from the HOSPITAL. I NEVER saw this patient in a CLINIC setting. I sincerely hope that your attempt to comprehend this has not caused you to have any symptoms that may need a doctor's evaluation. If it does, don't tell them you work for Healthgrades, because your website is a detriment to healthcare, and most physicians agree. My time spent on this matter has now gone well above what it should have. Thanks for wasting it.
Sincerely,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:Again, this was not a disciplinary actionThese charges occurred prior to me ever being licensedI have never been disciplined as a licensed professional, only monitored for actions committed prior to ever being licensedHealth Grades is saying I was disciplined while licensed, which is falseI became licensed well after the charges you mention in your response, Health Grades, so you are seemingly using my past to shame me, rather than basing your "grades" on the time I have spent as a health care professional
Sincerely,
*** ***

The poster cut from *** *** and pasted to Healthgrades They should have a working knowledge of their own posting policiesThere are emails from their customer service people stating that they've removed the reviews in question, however they have not been removed They send out generic emails and lack communication from one department to anotherPlease makes sure that their nonsense is punishedI'd be happy to forward the emails that they've sent and the screen shots from their site
Sincerely,
*** ***