I understand why doctors are upset that their disgruntled patients are criticizing them online, but in the big picture, isn't this a good thing? The doctors are free to use legal action when appropriate to punish people who post false remarks. Libel law applies to message boards and bloggers the same as it applies to newspapers and radio stations. Now users are able to learn more about physicians they visit, the same way they can learn more about retailers they purchase from or books they want to read. I've said that companies are going to have to accept that they cannot control their public image when employees are free to use blogs to express their own views. It's the same for physicians.
People are also going to have to be smart about how much attention they pay to random or anonymous blog or message board posts. I chose my doctor because he was listed as one of the top ten in his field in San Francisco magazine. I wouldn't trust an anonymous post for a choice like this. I did choose the online retailer I bought a HDTV from based on feedback on the Yahoo messageboard.
So the doctors are going to have to accept this new reality, as long as people are truthful, and people are going to have to be smarter consumers of information, chosing between reliable and unreliable sources of information.