Publicly accused of the wrong procedure, unable to say otherwise
This account was submitted by a healthcare provider and de-identified before publication. Details that could identify a patient or practice have been removed, and it is shared with the provider’s consent.
The adult child of a patient posted a long, public account of decisions made during their parent's care, stating openly that they were "speaking for the family," though they had not been present for most of the visits.
Much of the post misunderstood what geriatric care actually involves, particularly the hard conversations about goals of care that families do not always witness or fully absorb, and I could not correct any of it without discussing the patient's protected information. I hold real empathy for grieving and stressed families, but a secondhand public post should not get to define an entire practice.
In the weeks after, I noticed a quiet drop in referrals from a senior living community that had partnered with me for years. Being publicly second-guessed by someone who was not in the room, with no permissible reply, wears on you.
I reported the post as a third party account and it remained. There was no further recourse available to me.