Who was that masked man?

Wow! I had no idea how many blogger docs were out there until I started poking around in Medicine 2.0. But what's with the anonymity?

I agree with Jay Parkinson - if you're a professional and have something to say about your profession, why not put your name on it? If it's controversial, be ready to support your opinion. If it's offensive, don't post it. Sooner or later, you're going to get outed. It just depends on how badly someone wants to find out who you really are.

I cringed recently while reading a post on Urostream, by keagirl, an anonymous urologist from "A Big City, USA". I generally enjoy this blog, but this time, she lists various euphemisms used in office notes to disguise what she is really saying about a patient.

Use these puppies at your own risk, keagirl! If one of your patients asks for a copy of her records, how will you explain what you meant when you called her "challenging and loquacious". Maybe you could bafflegab her, but what about her lawyer? A judge? Professional review board? Especially when you've published a glossary on the internet.

I guess that's why anonymity is so important.