In our first edition of Healthfiles we reported on both the
opportunities and risks which social media creates for health care
organisations and professionals, and the care which must be taken
when publishing or communicating online. The flip side is also
true. Patients should be careful about what they say about their
health care providers, as an unsuspecting jazz club singer from
Scottsdale Arizona recently found out.
Dr Albert Carlotti and his wife Michelle, also a doctor, operate
the Dessert Palms Surgical Group (which has a Facebook page
featuring a picture of the Carlottis with Mohammed Ali).
Scottsdale jazz singer Sherrie Petta had cosmetic surgery on her
nose and other treatment performed at the Dessert Palms Surgical
Centre in 2007. She developed a subsequent infection which she
blamed on the Carlottis. She took her frustrations that one step
further by setting up a website critical of the Carlottis and the
treatment that she received. The Carlottis were
