A dialysis review about a patient who was never mine
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.
A pointed review described dialysis decisions and a "dismissive attitude."
The patient it describes is not in my practice, and the clinical specifics do not align with how I manage care, so I suspect either a mix-up with another nephrologist or a deliberate falsehood. What I cannot do is refute it without appearing to confirm a patient relationship that does not exist, which HIPAA forbids.
Nephrology is heavily referral driven, and in the weeks after the post I felt a distinct chill from a partner clinic that usually sends patients my way, though no one ever says a review is the reason. The care I give is careful and collaborative, which makes "dismissive" a particularly bitter word to see attached to my name.
Reporting it to Healthgrades produced the usual answer that they do not adjudicate factual disputes. I spent more evenings than I would like trying to reverse engineer who might have written it, which solved nothing and cost me sleep.