HSA 6656 Blog 8

Healthcare and Social Media

Social media has been introduced to the healthcare industry and has made a global shift in how patients and healthcare professionals connect.  Physicians are now utilizing websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to make their social media presence known. Most healthcare professionals use these sites to interact with their current and future patients and also to blog their ideas about certain healthcare topics such as birth control and weight loss.  These websites can provide some beneficial information to patients and also encourage dialogue between patients and providers, however if taken out of context, these website can pose some major ethical issues. Some ethical dilemmas that can derive from healthcare and social media sites include the distribution of medical advice via the social network, discussion of private health issues, improper contact with patients, inappropriately diagnosing patients, and misrepresentations of credentials among others (Lee, 2012). 

Such violations can result in disciplinary actions against the physician such as suspension of medical license or revoking a physician’s license all together (Lee, 2012).

A recent study conducted on 48 state medical boards reported that 44 of them have received reports of violations of online professionalism (Lee, 2012). The violations ranged anywhere from physicians asking their patients out on dates, to insulting their patients for their poor healthcare habits.  Other violations were severe enough to breach HIPPA laws such as that of a medical student videotaping a doctor inserting a chest tube into a patient whose face was clearly visible and then posting the video on YouTube (Lee, 2012).

Cases such as these can have major implications on the physicians and can cause them to lose their license to practice. It is important that physicians use better judgment when using social media sites for both professional and personal use. Although the physicians may not intend to cause harm to patients, use of social media can ultimately cause more harm than help.

Reference:

Lee, S. M. (2012). Social media in health care create risks, benefits. San Francisco Chronicle , Retrieved from http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Social-media-in-health-care-create-risks-benefits-3650284.php