Social Media Guidelines for Physicians

In an article for MedCityNews, attorney John Greenleaf introduces and then briefly highlights a position paper by the American College of Physicians (ACP) and Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) in the Annals of Internal Medicine called, “Online Medical Professionalism: Patient and Public Relationships,” which provides guidelines for physicians as they venture into the World Wide Web:

Ever hear the one about the physician in an impaired provider program who appears in a Flickr photo with a martini in hand?  How about the one about the physician’s office manager who makes a comment on a patient’s Facebook photo, congratulating the patient on her weight loss and asking if her diabetes has improved?  If only these were jokes.  Unfortunately, these situations actually occurred.

The creation, dissemination, and use of information online offers new opportunities for patient care.  However, physicians must weigh possible patient care benefits against the need to protect patient privacy and preserve professionalism in the online world.

The ACP and FSMB position paper is available here.

Category: 

Tag: 

By: