--- title: How Responding to a Yelp Review Cost a Dental Practice $10,000 description: Responding to a patient’s Yelp review triggered an Office of Civil Rights (OCR) investigation of a dental practice which resulted in a $10,000 settlement. image: https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/doctor-typing-on-laptop.jpg --- ![Waves](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SE%20Healthcare%202024%20-%20Growth%20Child/images/blog-header-ghosted.svg) ![Waves](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SE%20Healthcare%202024%20-%20Growth%20Child/images/blog-header-joy.svg) ![doctor-typing-on-laptop](https://www.joymetrics.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/doctor-typing-on-laptop.jpg?width=850&height=350&name=doctor-typing-on-laptop.jpg) # How Responding to a Yelp Review Cost a Dental Practice $10,000 Published On: **November 4, 2019** Share This Post [facebook-f icon](http://www.facebook.com/share.php?u=https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/2019/11/04/how-responding-to-a-yelp-review-cost-a-dental-practice-10000) [Share this page on LinkedIn](http://www.linkedin.com/shareArticle?mini=true&url=https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/2019/11/04/how-responding-to-a-yelp-review-cost-a-dental-practice-10000) [twitter icon](https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/2019/11/04/how-responding-to-a-yelp-review-cost-a-dental-practice-10000) [envelope icon](mailto:?body=https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/2019/11/04/how-responding-to-a-yelp-review-cost-a-dental-practice-10000) *Original article by [Darlene King, Esq.](https://www.saxtonstump.com/professionals/darlene-king/) appeared on [SaxtonStump.com](https://www.saxtonstump.com/).* Responding to a patient’s review on Yelp triggered an Office of Civil Rights (OCR) investigation of a small Texas dental practice recently which resulted in a $10,000 settlement payment to OCR and a two-year monitored corrective action plan. The patient filed the OCR complaint when the practice revealed her protected health information, including her last name and details of her health condition, in their response to her review. In a recent article on saxtonstump.com, Darlene King, Esq. explains that “medical practices that choose to react to reviews from patients on social media platforms such as Yelp and Facebook risk impermissibly disclosing patient information merely by acknowledging that the reviewer is a patient.”  While [social media](https://www.sehealthcaresolutions.com/2017/09/26/why-healthcare-practices-shouldnt-shy-away-from-social-media/) may seem to be an exciting new opportunity to engage with patients, it is essential that healthcare providers proceed with caution, and ensure that their practice follows [HIPAA-compliant policies and procedures](https://www.hipaajournal.com/hipaa-social-media/) with respect to their patients’ protected health information in social media all aspects of their practice. [Click here to read the full article](https://www.saxtonstump.com/media/insights/dental-practice-to-pay-10000-for-impermissible-disclosures-of-patients-protected-health-information-on-social-media/).   --- [Back to Top](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/2019/11/04/how-responding-to-a-yelp-review-cost-a-dental-practice-10000#PageHeader) | [All Posts](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog) ![Picture of Joy Metrics](https://www.joymetrics.com/hs-fs/hubfs/JoyMetrics-Icon-SocialMediaProfiles.png?width=50&name=JoyMetrics-Icon-SocialMediaProfiles.png) [ Joy Metrics ](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/author/joy-metrics-author) ![Footer divider](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SE%20Healthcare%202024%20-%20Growth%20Child/images/divider-waves-top-white.svg) ###### BurnoutRX ### Subscribe to our newsletter ![circle-male-nurse-smiling-min](https://www.joymetrics.com/hs-fs/hubfs/Photos/Circles/circle-male-nurse-smiling-min.png?width=960&height=960&name=circle-male-nurse-smiling-min.png) ![Footer divider](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SE%20Healthcare%202024%20-%20Growth%20Child/images/divider-waves-top-white.svg) ### Recent Posts [![](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/SE%20Blog%20Posts%20(2).png) ](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/why-hbos-the-pitt-gets-nurse-burnout-right-lessons-from-season-2-episode-6) ![](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SE%20Healthcare%202024%20-%20Growth%20Child/images/waves-corner-brand.svg) **Blog** ## [Why HBO’s “The Pitt” Gets Nurse Burnout Right: Lessons from Season 2, Episode 6](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/why-hbos-the-pitt-gets-nurse-burnout-right-lessons-from-season-2-episode-6) February 18, 2026 [ READ MORE ](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/why-hbos-the-pitt-gets-nurse-burnout-right-lessons-from-season-2-episode-6) [![Nursing in 2025: The Year of Taking Control](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/Photos/Featured/featured-smiling-nurses-RISE-min.jpg) ](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/nursing-in-2025-the-year-of-taking-control) ![](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SE%20Healthcare%202024%20-%20Growth%20Child/images/waves-corner-brand.svg) **Blog** ## [Nursing in 2025: The Year of Taking Control](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/nursing-in-2025-the-year-of-taking-control) December 18, 2025 [ READ MORE ](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/nursing-in-2025-the-year-of-taking-control) [![](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/Photos/Blog/blog-nurses-coffee-window.jpg) ](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/funding-available-for-burnout-prevention-in-rural-healthcare) ![](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SE%20Healthcare%202024%20-%20Growth%20Child/images/waves-corner-brand.svg) **Blog** ## [Funding Available for Burnout Prevention in Rural Healthcare](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/funding-available-for-burnout-prevention-in-rural-healthcare) October 23, 2025 [ READ MORE ](https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/funding-available-for-burnout-prevention-in-rural-healthcare) ![Footer divider](https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/raw_assets/public/SE%20Healthcare%202024%20-%20Growth%20Child/images/divider-teal-purple-ghosted.svg) ```json { "@context" : "https://schema.org", "@type" : "BlogPosting", "author" : { "@type" : "Person", "name" : "Joy Metrics", "url" : "https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/author/joy-metrics-author" }, "dateModified" : "2024-09-10T07:00:21.483Z", "datePublished" : "2019-11-04T18:12:36.000Z", "headline" : "How Responding to a Yelp Review Cost a Dental Practice $10,000", "image" : [ "https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/doctor-typing-on-laptop.jpg" ], "mainEntityOfPage" : { "@id" : "https://www.joymetrics.com/blog/2019/11/04/how-responding-to-a-yelp-review-cost-a-dental-practice-10000", "@type" : "WebPage" }, "publisher" : { "@type" : "Organization", "logo" : { "@type" : "ImageObject", "url" : "https://www.joymetrics.com/hubfs/Joy%20Metrics/Logos/JoyMetrics-Purple-Gradient-300px-1.png" }, "name" : "Joy Metrics" } } ```