Reputasi Dokter di Era Internet

Saya tertarik dengan artikel yang ditulis oleh seorang mahasiswa kedokteran di Inggris (saya post di bawah). Bagaimana karir seorang dokter bisa ditentukan oleh website pemeringkat, dan bukannya oleh ujian kompetensi dokter. Memasuki era internet ini banyak keuntungan yang bisa kita dapatkan. Salah satunya kita bisa menjadikan internet sebagai media iklan yang murah (dengan menulis artikel di blog, facebook atau twitter). Sudah lazim pasien mendatangi seorang dokter karena membaca blog atau memfollow twitter dokter tersebut. Namun, dengan mudahnya reputasi seorang dokter bisa jatuh akibat publikasi negatif yang diluncurkan oleh pasien yang kecewa akan pelayanan dokter tersebut. Mungkin kita bisa mengambil contoh kasus Prita. Dokter yang bersengketa dengan Prita, terlepas dari benar atau salahnya, sudah mendapat publikasi negatif akibat pemberitaan yang cenderung satu arah di berbagai milis. Kita akui agak sulit untuk membendung pengaruh internet yang luar biasa cepat ini. Mungkin para dokter hanya bisa bekerja lebih baik lagi dalam melayani pasien, karena bukan organisasi profesi atau konsil kedokteran lagi yang menilai reputasi kita, tapi kekuatan internet.

Naming, blaming, shaming, and rating doctors online

* By: Maryam Ahmad
* Published: 22 October 2010
* DOI: 10.1136/sbmj.c4977
* Cite this as: Student BMJ 2010;18:c4977
*

As doctors we have to accept that, despite trying our best, sometimes we are unable to save patients' lives. In some instances the grieving family of the patient will channel their anger and blame towards us. Relatives might physically assault or verbally abuse a doctor, or they might vent their opinions on the internet, causing permanent damage to a doctor's reputation.
Before starting a placement in the United States, I "googled" the doctor I would be working with. I found that the top 10 Google search results were from rating websites that gave this doctor an average score of two out of five. The comments included abuse and some serious allegations.
The doctor concerned had read these offensive comments and written an angry email to the webmaster of one site asking for them to be removed. The webmaster increased the doctor's public humiliation by publishing their private email exchanges.
Sceptical about what I had read, I was curious to meet this doctor. During my week's placement with the doctor, I found her to be the opposite of how she had been portrayed online. She was pleasant, well informed, and willing to take time out of her busy schedule to teach medical students.
Patients paying for a doctor's services might well google one before going to him or her. If they see low ratings and read negative comments about the doctor, patients are likely to choose a different one. These sorts of defamatory allegations and low ratings have the potential to destroy a doctor's career, especially in the US, where health care is largely private and dependent on patient choice.
Although I am all for freedom of speech and exposing dangerous doctors, I am glad that rating doctors online is not a common practice in the United Kingdom. Rating websites do not allow patients to make an informed choice. Instead they encourage blame and hearsay, which can be a potentially lethal blow to any doctor's reputation, particularly if the keyboard lies in the hands of a grieving family member.