SXSW 2012

Should you pick your doctor the same way you pick where to eat dinner? We are all consumers of health services. Our culture is exploding with information sharing and reviewing of services, and businesses are feeling anxious about the power of social media to damage their reputation. Yet the difference between which pizza to order and which plastic surgeon to trust is more than mere matter of words. Plus, as the numbers of angry and anonymous reviews grows, contentious battles are forming between healthcare providers and their patients, giving rise to an entire industry devoted to defending online reputations and fighting back against bogus posts. So what is the healthy balance? This panel will explore the legal rules at play (including copyright, free speech and patient privacy), the ethical obligations of healthcare providers (including confidentiality and the Hippocratic oath), and the innovative practices being developed in response.