Social Media Guidelines for Health Care Professionals

HCP Buzz has developed the following Health Care Social Media Guidelines based on the recommendations of the AMA, CDC, AAFP and several other medical organizations. 

If you are a physician and follow these simple guidelines, you will be safe! Enjoy the world of social media!

Social Media Guidelines for Health Care Professionals

The Internet has created a venue for health care professionals (HCPs) to engage their patients and the larger community to rapidly exchange information. Social media, in particular, presents new opportunities for HCPs to widely disseminate public health messages and other health communication as well as foster collegial discussion and camaraderie within the profession. Social networks, blogs and other forms of communication online also create new challenges to the HCP-patient relationship.

To that end, it is our recommendation that you implement the following principles to protect the integrity of your practice through all online activities:

1.   Be professional!
2.   Place HIPAA compliance above all!
3.   Remember that the Internet is forever!
4.   Maintain proper patient boundaries!
5.   Educate, don’t treat!
6.   Don’t shirk your ethical responsibilities!

1.       BE PROFESSIONAL! Use good judgment and be accurate and honest in all communications, online or otherwise; errors, omissions, unprofessional language or inappropriate behavior reflect badly on your practice and may result in liability.

o  Be aware that you represent your profession and promote the humanistic values identified as congruent with medical professionalism.

o    Be honest, forthright, helpful, and compassionate.

o    Offer help, answer questions, and suggest resources when you are able to do so.

o    Be open to contact from others and participate in discussions when time allows.

2.       PLACE HIPAA COMPLIANCE ABOVE ALL! Be cognizant of the standards of patient privacy and confidentiality that must be maintained in all environments (including online) and refrain from posting identifiable patient information online.

o    A preferred option to discussing a specific case is offering a broader perspective or discussion on the topic.

o    In the extreme circumstance that online discussion of a patient’s illness or personal information is required, prior to posting, consult with your superiors.

o    ADDITIONALLY:

§  Do not discuss any patient’s illnesses, medical conditions or personal information online without obtaining the patient’s express written permission to share their information.

§  Any posting that includes patient information must include clear text indicating that the patient has given expressed written permission to the poster to discuss their situation.

3.       REMEMBER THAT THE INTERNET IS FOREVER! Use privacy settings to safeguard personal information and content to the extent possible. You must realize that privacy settings are not absolute and that once content is on the Internet, it is likely to remain there permanently. Presume that content posted online cannot be removed.

o    Routinely monitor your own Internet presence to ensure that personal and professional information on your own sites and, to the extent possible, content posted about you by others, is accurate and appropriate.

o    Recognize that your online actions and posted content may negatively affect your reputation among patients and colleagues. This may lead to adverse consequences for your medical career and may undermine public trust in the medical profession.

o    You should assume that NOTHING posted online is actually private, including direct messages and emails; therefore only post information with the assumption that all comments are public.

4.       MAINTAIN PROPER PATIENT BOUNDARIES! When interacting with patients on the Internet, maintain appropriate boundaries of the HCP-patient relationship, in accordance with professional ethical guidelines, just as you would in any other context.

o    Maintain separate personal and professional social media accounts to ensure appropriate professional boundaries.

o    It is not acceptable to communicate with patients via personal social media or email accounts.

5.       EDUCATE, DON’T TREAT! Use social media to share up-to-date medical information that promotes quality health care.

o    DO NOT practice medicine via social media.

§  Do not provide any individual, specific medical care or medical advice via social media.

§  You should not directly reply, comment or contact patients who have disclosed their treatments or conditions on public websites such as WebMD, Facebook, Twitter, etc.

o    Address those societal needs that you think are most important or that motivate you.

§  It is acceptable to provide links to already available online resources for people to review and to aid in making their own decisions as to how to proceed with any medical issue.

§  Focusing on issues that are relevant to you will make it easier to stay motivated to sustain the efforts needed to consistently follow these best practices.

o    Do not “Like”, “+1”, etc using your professional accounts. Posts and comments should be written responses to a specific topic, not products or companies. “Like’s” and “+1s” can be construed as promoting or endorsing and can pose potential legal challenges.

6.       DON’T SHIRK YOUR ETHICAL RESPONSIBILITY! You have an ethical responsibility to bring information regarding unprofessional content posted by colleagues to the attention of the individual so that the content can be removed or other appropriate actions can be taken. If the behavior violates rules of professional conduct and/or the individual does not take appropriate action to resolve the situation, you should report the matter to your superiors and the appropriate authorities immediately.