Social networking 101 for physicians

December 18, 2009

Massachusetts Medical Law Report’s Social networking 101 for physicians is a great summary for physicians who are looking to get into social networking or have already been participating for some time.

It’s got some great tips that sound obvious but should be heeded carefully:

  • Be mindful of patient confidentiality.
  • Remember that your patients are not your ‘friends.’
  • Monitor your web presence regularly.
  • Take advice from online doctors’ forums with a grain of salt.
  • Be aware that you’re never truly anonymous on the web.

It may seem like the article is scaring you into not using social media to improve your medical practice or is providing techniques that limits social media’s effectiveness but in actually it’s just common sense advice for one of the world’s most litigated professions. It’s well worth reading.

Thanks to Engadget and KevinMD for the pointers to this article.

  • Thanks for highlighting this article. For more common sense advice from one of the sources in the article (me), please be in touch if you are contemplating launching a social media presence. See also a presentation I've given recently to physicians (there's a version directed at hospitals, too): http://j.mp/sHtw0
  • Great stuff, thanks David.
  • Good reading, thanks. I caution my employees on friending patients on Facebook, but I do twitter on a regular basis, trying to be helpful as well as create somewhat of a following. Not trying to spam, but this is my twitter link to see what kind of posts I normally write:

    http://twitter.com/dibbsolutions
  • I belive that not only for health care social networking is highly beneficial for all businesses and professionals peoples.
  • This will be increasingly important once patients make use of Personal Health Records and telehealth programs.
  • Hi,

    Great post. I believe that social networking is highly beneficial for all businesses and professionals. Physicians should take advantage of social networking to keep in touch with fellow Health care professionals, and be able to keep in touch with their patients or locate new patients.
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