Doctors are critical thinkers — they have to be to avoid making clinical blunders. And doctors are also advocates for their patients, so they speak out when necessary.

But both these traits mean doctors can become targets.

We learnt recently that Dr Adam Smith, a Melbourne GP who a few years ago took exception to various therapeutic claims made by a naturopath with a large Facebook following, had settled a defamation battle.

He was being sued by her for a million dollars in the Supreme Court of Victoria for implying she was a quack.