If there is anything incorrect or potentially misleading on FreeBooks4Doctors.com, we want to know. This policy applies to all types of grievances including factual error, misrepresentation or misleading language, citation, image, authorship and review credit issues along with any potential conflict of interest or other errors found within our book listing.
How to send a report
For submitting an editorial correction/complaint regarding a book or article, please use the Contact Us Form. Please place “Editorial Correction” or “Editorial Grievance” in the Subject Line. Along with this, please include:
- Title & URL of the Book/article/Directory.
- Specific location of the issue/problem in question (i.e. the passage/image etc.)
- Brief Description of Issue/Problem.
- Any supporting documentation (citation, source etc.) you have to support your claim.
- Method of Communication you would prefer from us if you wish a response.
You do not need to supply a replacement article. A specific description of the problem is more useful than a general request to remove a page.
Please do not send us any sensitive medical information such as medical records, identifiable patient photos etc. While we cannot offer medical advice, we also cannot determine medical necessity through editorial complaints.
Concerns that may affect safety
If you believe a particular statement could result in someone taking a medication improperly, delaying immediate care or misunderstanding a significant risk factor, please inform the editor at the beginning of your email. The editor should prioritise assessing the concern and seek appropriate clinical input.
During an evaluation of a potential safety issue, the editor may add a cautionary statement, remove the problematic section(s) or take the entire article offline temporarily. These decisions will depend on the degree of potential harm and evidence available, not the popularity of the article.
Because the editor is not constantly monitoring for complaints and this is not an emergency service, if you have an urgent need for medical attention, please contact a local medical provider instead of awaiting a response from the editors.
How a report is assessed
When evaluating your grievance, the editor will examine the contested section(s) of the article, verify referenced sources and consider any evidence provided by you. Clinical questions should be referred to a suitably qualified reviewer. When a grievance pertains to the author/reviewer of a piece, it is advisable that it be evaluated by someone who is not involved with either party.
Ultimately, the goal of an evaluation is to determine whether the text requires correction/clarity or if the original statement remains valid. Not everyone agrees with articles; however, disagreements with articles do not equate to errors and may be resolved through explanations when feasible.
We strive to acknowledge receipt of your grievance quickly. Depending on complexity or clinical issues, some responses may take longer to resolve than others. If further research is required before resolving your grievance, we will notify you of this fact as opposed to providing a promised resolution date that we may be unable to fulfill.
How corrections appear
Minor corrections that do not alter the content (spelling correction/link repair) may not require a prominent corrective notice. Major corrections to clinical content/conclusions/images/disclosures should include a dated explanatory note indicating what was wrong or unclear and what was altered. Revised versions of articles should show their original date of publication. A new medical review date may be shown only when a new medical review actually took place.
Articles whose major premise cannot be validated should be withdrawn or replaced. Minor corrections are insufficient when the fundamental conclusion of an article is flawed. Records related to each complaint should contain information about the initial concern, decision, associated correspondence and actions taken.
If you disagree with the outcome
Use the Contact Us Submission System to respond to the editorial response; identify which prior complaint you are referencing and describe those aspects of the grievance process which remain unresolved. Providing additional evidence will assist in having your grievance reevaluated. Ask that another editor/reviewer (with relevant qualifications) reassess your complaint.
We do not promise an external appeal body or an independent complaints service that the website has not established. However, we expect an honest explanation of the decision-making process that considered any potential conflicts of interest.
Other kinds of requests
Using the same contact mechanism as above (Contact Us), you can file complaints regarding non-working book links or erroneous edition information. Label clearly as such, privacy/copyright/consent-related issues so they are routed accordingly. Soliciting placement of commercial links, improving business rankings or removing fair critique are not self-contained correction requests.
Correspondence with regard to complaints should be respectful. Confidential information collected through a private complaint should not be contained in a public corrective notice absent a valid reason for doing so. We reserve the right to disregard repetitive or abusive communications while simultaneously reviewing any new evidence concerning previously published materials.