Six medical associations yesterday called on the public to treat online complaints about doctors with caution, saying that some false claims have been used to extort medical practitioners.
Plastic surgeons are at particular risk, as patients’ expectations often conflict with the results, Taiwan Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery director Liu Chih-ho (劉致和) said.
Dissatisfied patients sometimes post negative reviews online, which are not necessarily true, he added.
Liu said that his group is seeking legal action in two cases from the past few weeks in which doctors were extorted to remove bad reviews.
In the cases, supposed patients accused the doctors of botching a surgery, using photographs they found online as “evidence,” he said.
The doctors were then contacted by a third party, who asked for payment in exchange for deleting the bad reviews, he added.
The groups said that extortionists regularly post false claims on online forums dedicated to medical complaints and demand NT$100,000 or more to delete them.
To raise awareness of the issue, the society released a public statement along with the Taiwan Society of Plastic Surgery, Taiwanese Society for Dermatological and Aesthetic Surgery, Taiwan Academy of Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Taiwan Society of Ocular Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, and Taiwan Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery.
The groups called on the public to refrain from making a judgement before an online post is vetted for accuracy.
Users “must remain objective and impartial” to avoid being used as a tool by bad actors who fabricate false claims to manipulate public opinion and extort medical professionals, the statement said.
Those with valid complaints should use legal channels to seek recourse, not take to the Internet to “share one-sided opinions, hurl abuse and bully” medical practitioners, it added.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
RSS