2. It is safest to separate personal from professional social networking sites, and to avoid patient contact ("friending") on private personal sites.
3. Inappropriate posting, even on one’s personal social networking sites, may become visible, and could get one in trouble for violations of medical professionalism.
4. Although receiving a negative review on a doctor rating site may be frustrating, an approach that begins with understanding any valid objections, developing a positive digital footprint, and avoiding direct response (careful re HIPPA violations) is preferable to seeking legal action against the patient reviewer, which may even backfire.
Content from this column was originally published in the "Practice Management: The Road Ahead" section of Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology (2013:11:883-6).
Resources for Practical Application: To view additional online resources about this topic and to access our Coding Corner, visit www.cghjournal.org/content/practice_management.
References
1. Kadry B., Chu L., Gammas D., et al. Analysis of 4999 online physician ratings indicates that most patients give physicians a favorable rating. J. Med. Internet Res. 2011;13:e95.
2. AMA policy: professionalism in the use of social media policy [internet]. http://www.ama-assn.org//ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics/opinion9124.page Accessed November 8, 2010.
3. Gao G., Greenwood B., McCullough J., et al. The information value of online physician ratings. https://server1.tepper.cmu.edu/seminars/docs/Agarwal_paper.pdf Accessed May 27, 2013.
4. Texting orders. Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 2011;37:480.
5. Ohio State Medical Association. Social networking and the medical practice guidelines for physicians, office staff and patients. 2010; http://www.osma.org/files/documents/tools-and-resources/running-a-practice/social-media-policy.pdf. Accessed May 27, 2013.
6. Federation of State Medical Boards. Model policy guidelines for the appropriate use of social media and social networking in medical practice. Accessed at http://www.fsmb.org/pdf/pub-social-media-guidelines.pdf on 5 March 2014.
7. Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline Policy Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice. Adopted Sept 2013. Accessed: http://www.health.ri.gov/publications/guidelines/AppropriateUseOfSocialMediaAndSocialNetworkingInMedicalPractice.pdf, accessed March 5th, 2014.
8. Greysen S.R., Johnson D., Kind T., et al. Online professionalism investigations by State Medical Boards: First, do no harm. Ann. Intern. Med. 2013;158:124-30.
9. Personal communication and knowledge. Feld A.D., March 4, 2014.
Jessica M. Belle, J.D., associate, Garvey Schubert Barer, Seattle; Kayla M. Feld, School of Law, University of Washington, Seattle; Andrew D. Feld M.D., J.D., ACG, AGA, ASGE, Service Line Chief, Group Health Cooperative, Seattle, clinical professor of medicine, University of Washington, Seattle.
