Today, you can find quite a few doctors on-line within blogs, social networking sites, and web sites. Doctors, your professional duty is to maintain certain ethical standards at all times. Possible hazards the internet may pose to doctors include:
Patient opinion after seeing the doctor in their personal habitat
Risk of being misquoted or taken out of context, especially regarding medical/health advice
Difficulty maintaining professional doctor-patient relationships
However, the world of medical practice is still a business. Web presence is almost expected anymore, and technology is affording for a more personable experience between doctors and patients as well as providing a secondary means for communication outside office hours.
Tips to Help Avoid any Ethical Issues While Working Online
1.Separate personal relationships from professional. For instance, keep a profile for personal friends and a page for the practice listing basic information about hours of operation, contact information, links to good health articles, and possibly an occasional blog post on basic health intended for wide audiences.
2.Some doctors have profiles where they add patients, but they post no statuses, no comments, and no photographs. This method can establish a web presence and a communication gateway (private messaging) without the worry.
3.Use the highest privacy settings available. Keep in mind that high privacy settings don’t guarantee privacy.
4.Be careful what you post. All info on the web is permanent. Never post identifiable information about a patient, and keep one-on-one health conversations private. Any public advice should pertain to a large audience. Be aware your posts will reflect upon your reputation and your field.
5.Preserve professional boundaries with all patient interactions, online and off line.
6.The American Medical Association strongly suggests it is your duty to correct any other health professionals on unprofessional behavior if you witness it. Any severe unethical behavior needs to be reported to the proper authorities if the individual refuses to remedy their behavior.