Article archive / September 1, 2015
Originally published: . Volume 6, No. 9. Source pages: 3.
In August the state medical board, the Louisiana State Board of Medical Examiners (LSBME), published a Statement of Position regarding the “Use of Social Media by Physicians and Other Healthcare Providers.”
While the statement refers to physicians, it is applicable to all healthcare providers under the LSBME jurisdiction, said the authors.
The Medical Board noted that “Physicians can protect their professional relationship with patients, colleagues, and others by refraining from interacting with current or past patients on personal social networking sites such as Facebook.”
They said that it is important to note that “complete confirmation of the patient’s or physician’s identity is not possible on an electronic medium.”
The statement said that physicians should avoid posting unflattering portrayals of other healthcare providers or engaging in cyber-bullying. They said that this “… undermines public trust and could be considered unprofessional conduct.” Also, physicians must be mindful of their employer’s social media or social networking policy.
“In concordance with HIPAA laws, physicians must always protect patient privacy and should never do anything to compromise their confidentiality. While it might be of use for physicians to discuss information concerning their patients and other medical experiences outside of a clinical setting, physicians should refrain from posting or referring to identifiable patient information online.”
The authors write that physicians should constantly monitor the content that they post and what is posted about them as well as their privacy settings. They strongly recommend that physicians separate their personal and professional content online and well as keep communications consistent across all forms of communication with patients.
This article is part of a historical newspaper archive. Read the original issue for its original layout, photographs and graphics.