The Wall Street Journal health blog has an interesting entry today (“Doctors to Patients: Don’t Slam Us Online Without Permission“) that, while not directly about medmal law issues, seems related.

Next time you go to the doctor, look for a new form buried in the stack of insurance and health-history paperwork you’re asked to complete. You might find a contract that would require you ask your doctor for permission to grade him or her online.

The WSJ blogger questions one of the founders of RateMDs.com to get his opinion.

It sounds like a good strategy. The only problem I can see (purely guessing either way) is that it scare away patients, as the first comment shows.

One might respond that it will probably only deter patients who are looking for trouble. But another question might be whether patients would be more likely to go to a medical malpractice lawyer over an imagined problem because they have been told they must not communicate online.

I’d love to hear from doctors who have used this contract whether they think it has helped them.

If this doesn’t seem like a good idea for you and your patients at this point in time, remember that we have reported on other ways to deal with your online reputation.