What if your doctor sued back?

We all do it. We all complain and sometimes even compliment businesses and professionals we deal with. I always rate restaurants and attractions I go to (I'm going for my next badge on TripAdvisor).

Some people rate their doctors, dentists, and more. I haven't gotten that far. I do blog about my doctors from time to time but I usually keep a line of anonymity and privacy do not blast them using their name. I try not to be negative as a rule on other people.

This one man did blog about his unhappiness with his wife's doctor after she died from cancer. Then the doctor sued him for damage to her career in response. This isn't an isolated incident.

If a restaurant or hotel receives a bad review, they can go back and apologize below the review and proactively try to help the customer. Doctors can't do that. They are compromised by privacy laws and HIPAA restrictions.

I personally don't read reviews for doctors online. At my breast cancer diagnosis, I was and still am being treated at a local hospital where I am comfortable with the quality of care.

Everyone I knew was reviewing their doctors and medical facilities online and using those reviews to choose doctors and where to be treated. My doctors weren't listed so it didn't really help me. All it did was make me feel bad that no one had reviewed my doctors so how was I supposed to know if they were good or not.

Before I tried to look them up, I was happy with my care.

I have never reviewed my doctors either. I don't think reviews of medical providers do much good. There is too much emotion wrapped around  medical care. The man who blogged about his wife's doctor was upset his wife died, friends didn't visit, and regretted the surgery she had. It was an emotional time for him.

I admit to blogging about stupid neurotic co-workers, cranky doctors, idiot drivers, and many others. But I don't put their names in and it allows me to vent. I am not writing to blast others but to allow me to add my two cents.

As far as I am concerned its within my First Amendment Rights and I am not opening myself up to any lawsuits. And besides, I like my doctors and feel no need to review them now.

A pink-free zone

As I blogged a few weeks ago, my blog is a pink free zone. But people do not  understand this and keep posting comments with links to pinkified things. While I realize some women really like the pinkification and feel loved by all of it, I do not.

First of all, there is no need to paint everything pink for one month for awareness of something that we are aware of. It often looks really stupid.

Second of all, most of the purchases are a total rip off. A tiny portion of the money you spend ends up at your cause. Send a check instead.

Third of all, breast cancer isn't a one month event. It takes over your life forever. Get real here.

So if you are such a fan of the pink stuff, go post links on someone else's blog who likes pink.

I have opinions. Tomorrow I'll blog about my opinion on the S-word.

Somewhere out there...

Over the rainbow, far far away. There are all sorts of politics, elections, unrest in the Middle East and more. I don't care. I learned at the last presidential election that I had to go into avoidance mode to keep politics out of my life.

I do understand politics are important and I vote. But frankly I am not interested in negative ads where the candidates slam each other but never say what they are going to do. Or the candidates who fall from grace because they were set up by an opponent as a drug dealer. Or the former candidate in MA who said he has an addiction for $500/hour hookers but not for sex - only dinner and a movie. (Thats a lie if I've ever heard one.)

At this point in my life, I have plenty going on and will never run for politics. Maybe I'm selfish but I'm happy in my own little world with with work, my cat, my husband, our little house with its garden. I don't need to deal with the rest of that crap. I don't have enough time or energy to do much more these days. I do have a social life.

But I also visit doctors regularly. One appointment this week, another in ten days. Then a bunch in October and a couple in November. Then presto! we are done with the big elections for another four years. And I won't have to worry that I might be missing anything on the elections, politics, and all that...

I wish we didn't have to whisper

Yesterday I finally gained some sense and trekked on down to the local pharmacy to inquire about a cold medicine that I can take. Its not as simple as you may think because I have no thyroid, I am allergic to Benadryl and must avoid all anti-histamines, and am on anti inflammatories so I can't have aspirin products. I gave the list of issues to the pharmacist and she gave me a suggestion.She said I could take it even though it warns against thyroid disease because she takes it and she doesn't have a thyroid either.

I unleashed my inner snoop and asked her why she didn't have a thyroid and she whispered 'I had cancer'. I asked her when and she said 4 months ago. I said me too but more than 30 years ago. That seemed to please her.

I can understand why she whispered 'I had cancer' because she didn't know if I would run and flee at the word, give her unwanted advice, or yell it through the store. But I wish we didn't have to whisper and people and their attitudes would change.