Monday, November 29, 2010

Healthcare Providers and Social Media

The American Medical Association has issued a new policy on the use of social media (AMA Issues New Policy To Guide Physicians’ Use of Social Media on the Health Care Law Blog). The new policy "aims at helping physicians to maintain a positive online presence and preserve the integrity of the patient-physician relationship."

Do you think that the AMA guidelines would be helpful for other types of healthcare providers, such as midwives, doulas, chiropractors, and so on? Although these types of providers often have a much closer, personal relationship with their clients than do medical doctors, it is always a good idea to protect client's privacy (whether or not the provider is a HIPAA-covered entity) and to separate personal and professional online content.

5 comments:

Sophie said...

This is good news in a way that the patient can update easily to his medical record without going to clinics. It can save your time and effort going to your doctor. This law is okay as long as they can privately secure the data online.

Jamie said...

Interesting info, definitely something to think about.

Rightthinker said...

Well, I am not a fan of social media...I know, I know..about the last people on Earth my husband and I..LOL!

So, I suppose it wouldn't help me at all. I really prefer more intimate personal thoughts conveyed via blogs, websites. To me, it really gives you a better picture of what a practitioner believes and wants to accomplish, than the small snippets of "me-ism" that are on social media.

Unknown said...

I agree with you. I am a RN and am bound by HIPPA. Even if I wasn't bound by it though, I do need to protect my patient's privacy, which is one reason I don't blog or post anything about work, even if I'm not giving out names of patients.

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