I worked on a case where if it had not settled, the next step would have been to start looking into the physician’s personal communications on the Internet. The physicians were careful to document conservatively. However, the plaintiff’s narrative described comments from the defendants that human nature tells you were discussed with other physicians or staff probably on the Internet in a blog or other media. It is a very sinking feeling to have incriminated yourself in what you thought were privileged communications.

If it had not been for Vickie’s series of blogs discussing Internet issues and discoverability, I might not have turned my attention to it. I was focused on the medical records, depositions, and researching the medical issues in the above case.