Medical professionalism in the age of online social networking

Abstract

The rapid emergence and exploding usage of online social networking forums, which are frequented by millions, present clinicians with new ethical and professional challenges. Particularly among a younger generation of physicians and patients, the use of online social networking forums has become widespread. In this article, we discuss ethical challenges facing the patient-doctor relationship as a result of the growing use of online social networking forums. We draw upon one heavily used and highly trafficked forum, Facebook, to illustrate the elements of these online environments and the ethical challenges peculiar to their novel form of exchange. Finally, we present guidelines for clinicians to negotiate responsibly and professionally their possible uses of these social forums.

The Patient–Doctor Relationship and Online Social Networks: Results of a National Survey

“…[7][8][9] The ambiguous status of OSNs as they relate to medical interactions and the potential they present for altering fundamental aspects of the patient-doctor relationship have also prompted the formulation of proposed guidelines for physicians using OSNs. 10,11 Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s11606-011-1761-2) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.…”

Physicians, Social Media, and Conflict of Interest

“…In addition, considerable uncertainty exists about appropriate behavior on social media, 14,15 with standards described recently as the "Wild West." 16 For example, in spite of early arguments against "friending" patients on Facebook, 17 in a recent national survey, only 68% of medical students, residents, and practicing physicians found interacting with patients on social media "ethically unacceptable" for either personal or patient-care related reasons. 5 Recognizing this, as well as empirical research documenting physician 18 and medical student 19,20 misbehavior online, national organizations in the United States, [21][22][23] Canada, 24 United Kingdom, 25,26 and Australia and New Zealand 27 have issued guidelines on professionalism and social media.…”

“…5 Recognizing this, as well as empirical research documenting physician 18 and medical student 19,20 misbehavior online, national organizations in the United States, [21][22][23] Canada, 24 United Kingdom, 25,26 and Australia and New Zealand 27 have issued guidelines on professionalism and social media. Professionalism and social media has also attracted attention from various scholars 17,[28][29][30][31] and medical schools 32 hoping to realize social media's benefits while minimizing inherent ethical risks. Current guidelines, however, fail to address adequately the risk conflicts of interest present for physician use of social media.…”

The Challenges of Professional Development in the Evolving World of Pharmacy Education

“…In a recent survey of U.S. medical schools, 60% reported incidents of students posting unprofessional content on the internet (Chretien, 2009). Complicating this problem is the variable privacy settings of these sites which has blurred the line separating any user's private life and public life (Cain, 2008;Guseh, 2009). A lack of privacy has resulted in unprofessional content being posted online, and students involved in the posted material not always being aware of the negative impact that results (Farnan, 2008).…”

“…Although these innovations are a very beneficial, convenient and sometimes an enjoyable way to share information, they can cause many pitfalls for a young professional. E-professionalism involves how we conduct and represent ourselves when using e-communication, or "high tech" forms of communication (Kaltschmidt, 2008;Guseh, 2009). E-communication requires some additional tips to translate into proper e-professionalism, because there are unique scenarios that could result in potentially unprofessional behaviors.…”