The Supreme Court of British Columbia has certified a class action lawsuit against RateMDs.com, a doctor review website. The lawsuit was brought by Dr. Ramona Bleuler, a Vancouver-based physician, who alleges that RateMDs violates provincial privacy laws by posting profiles and ratings of health professionals without their consent. Bleuler claims that her information is being exploited by a for-profit company and that health professionals cannot remove their profiles from the website. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of health professionals in British Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec.
RateMDs.com argues that the information on their website is publicly available and non-personal, therefore not violating privacy rights. The defendants believe that the reviews on the website help prospective patients make informed decisions about engaging with certain health professionals. However, Judge Michael Thomas disagreed, stating that the fact the information is publicly available does not determine whether there is a violation of privacy. Additionally, he noted that health professionals may be forced to participate with the website in a way that violates their professional obligations or allow inaccurate ratings to remain on the site.
Judge Thomas emphasized that the privacy issues extend beyond just having names and contact information published on the website. He stated that the information collected, centralized, and competitively ranked against other professionals by a for-profit entity could also contribute to a violation of privacy. Bleuler argues that the breach of privacy lies in RateMDs soliciting and creating a repository of reviews from which health professionals are ranked. RateMDs, in court filings, accused Bleuler of attempting to stifle warranted criticism about how she practices medicine through a privacy claim.
The court found that it is not plain and obvious that Bleuler does not have a reasonable expectation of privacy over the information published by RateMDs. Judge Thomas highlighted that while individual reviews may be permitted, the aggregation of reviews, matching them to health professionals’ basic information, and comparative rankings could constitute a violation of privacy. RateMDs did not respond with a comment at the time of publication. The outcome of the lawsuit is yet to be determined, but the case brings attention to the complex privacy issues surrounding online doctor review websites like RateMDs.com.
