April 08, 2015
Bruce Levin/pennmedicine.org
Psychiatrist and psychoanalyst Bruce Levin M.D.
The New York Times published a Montgomery County psychiatrist's letter on Tuesday despite the doctor's singular purpose: I want my patients to see my name in your newspaper.
Despite his bluntness, the 27-word letter by Bruce Levin of Plymouth Meeting apparently caught the fancy of the Times letter editor.
To the Editor:
Please print this letter so that when my patients Google me they will see that their psychiatrist and psychoanalyst has been published in The New York Times.
BRUCE J. LEVIN
Plymouth Meeting, Pa.
Surely, Levin wasn't being completely serious, right?
"Slate called me, they took it literally," Levin said. "When I told them it wasn't serious, they weren't interested in talking to me anymore. They were probably thinking, 'Let's speak to this kooky shrink.'"
Levin said the letter was tongue-in-cheek. In private practice as a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst, Levin said the idea came to him spontaneously.
"It's not really a marketing ploy," he said. "It was taking the idea to the absurd."
The letter was in response to an opinion piece from a psychiatrist that took a look at how patients googling their doctors can blur professional and personal boundaries. The article – titled "Do You Google Your Shrink?" – was written by Dr. Ana Fels, a New York-based psychiatrist who has been published in the Times on several occasions.
Fels explored how medical professionals handle the pros and cons of the Internet, something that's not a new phenomenon, but one that provides interesting advantages and issues depending on the field you practice in.
For Fels specifically, she had a patient who found much of her personal information on the Internet, and subsequently came in with a folder full of that information for his first appointment. Another psychiatrist whose letter was published in response, Dr. Elizabeth Hay of Indiana, found this to be "unacceptable."
If a patient came into my office with a manila folder full of personal information on me that he or she had gotten off the Internet, I would likely tell that patient that it’s time to find another psychiatrist. I have never Googled a patient or his or her family (and hope I will never do so).
"It was really scary," Levin said regarding the intensity of that letter.
While not every patient is likely to bring a doctor's entire life history to an appointment, websites like Health Grades and Vitals can be easily accessed for those looking to choose a new dentist, physician, etc. Levin has wonderful reviews on both of those sites, but that doesn't mean he thinks they're all that helpful.
"I don’t think it’s particularly meaningful," he said. "Quite frankly, I would never look to such a thing."
As he notes, all it takes is one bad review to make an otherwise respected medical professional look bad. While Levin doesn't advise against taking advantage of such sites altogether, he cautions not to rely on them completely, suggesting that patients should first schedule a consultation.
"I don’t pick a car through Consumer Reports," he said. "Maybe you would use it for guidance, but I would take it for a test drive first. I wouldn’t just buy it."
The doctor is no stranger to interesting metaphors. In a 2011 profile for the Montgomery News, he said he'd never try to psychoanalyze friends in social situations, likening that to a cardiologist putting stethoscopes up to peoples' chests at a cocktail party.
Levin, who has had earlier letters published in The New York Times, said that with any patient, the relationship with a psychiatrist is one that takes time and trust, and needs to be tailored specifically to each patient.
"Some people come to you with a greater understanding or sophistication in terms of why they're there, while others may need more help putting their difficulties into words," he said
No matter the ability of Levin's patients to identify their problems, they can be assured that their doctor has in fact been published in The New York Times.
