“Pause Before Posting”: New Ethical Guidelines for Physicians and Social Media Usage April 12, 2013 Physician Resource, Practice Management, Technology American College of Physicians, Online Medical Professionalism, patient communication, social media, ACP 0 Physicians should exercise caution—and “pause before posting”—when interacting in online settings in order to preserve professionalism and maintain appropriate patient-physician relationships, according to a policy paper released today by the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards. “Online Medical Professionalism: Patient and Public Relationships” addresses the use of online and social media and electronic communication between physicians and patients. The two organizations looked at opportunities and challenges created by new technologies and online forums, and provided recommendations and strategies for physician behavior in these areas. Digital communications and social media use continue to increase in popularity among the public and medical profession. The ACP policy paper discusses best practices to inform standards for the professional conduct of physicians online and includes a chart of online activities, potential benefits and dangers, and recommended safeguards for physician behavior. Notable recommendations from ACP and FSMB include: Physicians should keep their professional and personal personas separate. Physicians should not “friend” or contact patients through personal social media. Physicians should not use text messaging for medical interactions even with an established patient except with extreme caution and consent by the patient. E-mail or other electronic communications should only be used by physicians within an established patient-physician relationship and with patient consent. Establishing a professional profile so that it “appears” first during a search, instead of a physician ranking site, can provide some measure of control that the information read by patients prior to the initial encounter or thereafter is accurate. The paper will be published in the April 16 issue of Annals of Internal Medicine, and is authored by ACP’s Ethics, Professionalism and Human Rights Committee; ACP’s Council of Associates; and FSMB’s Committee on Ethics and Professionalism. Click here to view the complete policy paper. Click here for the ACP press release. Comments are closed.
