5 things doctors should NEVER post on social media

5 Things Doctors Should NEVER Post on social media.
Doctors–Be Careful About What You Post on Social Media.
The popularity of social media has exploded in recent years with 31.24% of all web traffic now
coming from social media platforms. According to the New York Times, in April of 2015, the leading
social media platform is Facebook with an incredible 1.44 billion users.
This immense popularity offers medical professionals some exciting opportunities to improve their
patient interaction and profile. Some of the most constructive ways in which physicians can utilize
social media include:
- Better engagement with patients.
- Answering general questions, responding to feedback, and sharing useful medical resources.
- Promoting medical services.
- Building a stronger profile within the local community.
- Spreading important information about medical conditions, new treatments, and research findings.
However, you should also be aware of the potential hazards of using social media. Here are 5 things
which doctors should never post to social media.
1. Inaccurate Medical Information: When using social media, there are dozens of medical headlines
thrown at users each day. The related articles are often full of inaccuracies and distortions of medical
research. Medical professionals should avoid republishing, sharing, “liking,” or “retweeting” news
stories about medical treatments unless they have completely read the story and have verified its
accuracy. If a user finds inaccurate medical information through your social media channel, it can
reflect very poorly upon you and your practice. Medical jobs rely upon the distribution of accurate
information.
It is important for clinicians to realize that millions of people use the Internet to find out more about
their condition. Pew Research estimates that more than one-third of Americans have used the
Internet to discover what medical condition they or someone else might have. Current and potential
patients will find your social media profile and they will assess its content and accuracy.
2. Do Not Post Anything that Violates Patient Confidentiality: The American College of Physicians
recommends that doctors be especially aware of the implications for patient confidentiality when
using social media. There have been cases of physicians losing their medical license after posting
an image on social media that violated patient confidentiality. Even posting an image of a skin rash
can be considered a violation of patient confidentiality, so be very careful. Always obtain permission

from the patient in writing if you intend to use an image featuring any body part. Avoid talking about
specific patients at all on social media unless you have permission to do so. Even if there is no
chance that a patient could be identified by what you write on social media, it is considered
unprofessional to discuss the specifics of their condition.
Be careful when taking photos of yourself while in your practice. There have also been cases where
medical professionals have accidentally included the image of the patient behind them while taking a
‘selfie’. Make sure there are no patient health records on display when taking photos in the medical
practice and no patients are included in photographs unless they want to be. All professionals in
medical jobs and doctors office jobs (nurses, general practitioners, receptionists, surgeons) should
keep patient confidentiality in mind when posting to their social media streams.
3. Your Personal Information: You should avoid posting any personal information to your professional
social media streams. Posting an inappropriate comment, image or video can tarnish your


professional reputation. It also risks a breach in the patient-doctor relationship if patients know too
much about your personal life. Put it this way — when you are talking to your patients in a clinical
setting would you ever tell them you got too drunk last Friday and had a great time?
The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB)
recommend that doctors create separate social media accounts for their professional and personal
lives. They also suggest that the professional profile be more visible than any personal one.
Medical professionals should assess if the information they put on their social media profile suits the
needs of their clients. If you are a general practitioner, it is unlikely that posting about your personal
life would be of any benefit to your patients. Always think about the kinds of information your patients
and community are interested in. Other staff in doctors office jobs including receptionists and
managers should be also careful about the contents of their social media feed.
4. Opinions on Controversial Issues: While using the Internet, many people feel more opinionated
and free to speak their mind. They believe the virtual world is not connected to the real one!
Unfortunately what you say in the virtual world will most definitely have repercussions in the real
world. Any controversial topic or “hot button” topic should be avoided as much as possible, including
anything to do with religion, politics, racism, abortion, and gun control. You may see patients leave

your practice, get confronted by your current patients, or dissuade members of the community from
becoming your patient if they find out that your positions on these volatile issues are diametrically
opposed to theirs.
5. Complaints or Rants: Even if you are having a really bad day, it is unprofessional to use social
media platforms to complain or rant about your situation. Even if you have a horrible patient or an
annoying colleague, don’t use social media as a way to blow off some steam. Everything you write
on social media may one day come back to haunt you. If you complain about your boss, the next
time you change jobs, a prospective employer might find the comments online. A patient might
realize that you were complaining about them on social media!
*Remember the golden rule of using social media as a physician — only post information that your
patients and community will find useful. Be professional and remember that social media posts have
real world outcomes*

BS.Nguyễn Trọng Anh – giới thiệu