Slides from a talk given to medical students at Queen's University Belfast highlighting key points in the GMC's guide "Doctors' use of social media"

1. Social Media
Health Check
DR HELEN DIXON
INFORMATION SERVICES
GMC
Doctors’ use of social media (2013)

2. How many of the
following questions can
you answer YES to?
BE HONEST!

3. Have you ever
accepted a friend
request from a
patient or someone
you don’t know?
Using social media creates risks,
particularly where social and
professional boundaries become
unclear.
Once information is published
online it can be difficult to remove
as other users may distribute it
further or comment on it.

4. Have you ever posted
a comment/image or
liked or shared a
post that others
might find offensive?
You must make sure that your
conduct justifies your patients’
trust in you and the public’s trust
in the profession.

5. Have you ever
used social media
while intoxicated?
Using social media has blurred
the boundaries between public
and private life, and online
information can be easily
accessed by others.

6. Have you ever posted
a video/photo of
yourself doing a
dare? (e.g. neck and
nominate)
You should remember when using
social media that
communications intended for
friends or family may become
more widely available.

7. Have you ever posted
a photograph of
someone without
their permission?
Once information is published
online it can be difficult to remove
as other users may distribute it
further or comment on it.
Information about your
location may be embedded within
photographs and other content
and available for others to see.

8. Have you ever
discussed a
colleague online?
You must treat colleagues fairly
and with respect.
When interacting with or
commenting about individuals or
organisations online, you should
be aware that postings online are
subject to the same laws of
copyright and defamation as
written or verbal
communications...

9. Have you ever
discussed a
patient online?
You should not share identifiable
information about patients where
you can be overheard, for
example, in a public place or in an
internet chat forum…
Social media sites cannot
guarantee confidentiality
whatever privacy settings are in
place.

10. Have you ever posted
anonymously or
using a false
identity?
If you identify yourself as a doctor
in publicly accessible social
media, you should also identify
yourself by name.
Any conflicts of interest?

11. So, how healthy is your
online profile?
IF YOU ANSWERED YES TO ANY OF THESE, YOU
MAY NEED A SOCIAL MEDIA DETOX!

12. In November 2011, The
Guardian reported details
of 72 actions carried out
against NHS staff for
‘inappropriately’ using
social media
The Guardian (9th Nov 2011): Trusts reveal
staff abuse of social media
▪ Using social media to threaten/intimidate
colleagues
▪ Sending inappropriate content to
patients/colleagues via social media
▪ Distributing sexually explicit material via
social media
▪ Making defamatory remarks about a
current or past employer on social media
▪ Photographic evidence identified on social
media of abuse of hospital equipment
▪ Photographic evidence of alcohol being
consumed at work
Fitness to
practice?

13. What does
professionalism
mean to you?
The standards expected of
doctors do not change
because they are
communicating through
social media rather than
face to face or through other
traditional media.

14. Although the way medical
professionals use social media in
their private lives is a matter for
their own personal judgement,
doctors and medical students
should consider whether the
content they upload onto the
internet could compromise
public confidence in the medical
profession.
BMA
Using social media:
practical and ethical guidance for
doctors and medical students

15. A waste of time?
Doctors’ use of social media can
benefit patient care by:
▪ engaging people in public health
and policy discussions
▪ establishing national and
international professional
networks
▪ facilitating patients’ access to
information about health and
services.
For the established physician, with a
busy clinical practice, there is no
need for additional unpaid
engagement through social media.
Dr Drummond

16. Using social media professionally
▪ Create a professional online profile
▪ Follow organisations such as GMC, BMA, RCGP, etc.
▪ Keep up-to-date with research and share resources
▪ Contribute to online discussions that share good
practice
▪ #MedEd #tipsfornewdocs
▪ Interact online at a conference
▪ Avoid opinions - stick to the facts!

17. Handling negative comments
KEEP
CALM
REPORT, BLOCK AND
CARRY ON

18. Further resources
▪ Doctors use of social media - GMC
▪ http://www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/ethical_guidance/21186.asp
▪ Interactive case studies - GMC
▪ http://www.gmc-uk.org/gmpinaction/case-studies/dr-walker/scenario-01/
▪ Social media use: practical and ethical guidance for doctors and medical
students - BMA
▪ http://bma.org.uk/practical-support-at-work/ethics/ethics-a-to-z
▪ Social media highway code – RCGP
▪ http://www.rcgp.org.uk/social-media
▪ Queen’s University’s social media policy and guide
▪ http://go.qub.ac.uk/socialmedia

19. Any
questions?
For further advice,
email
socialmedia@qub.ac.uk
or follow
SocialMediaQUB on
Facebook and Twitter
Remember, if it’s
online, it isn’t private!