An incident in which a Rhode Island physician was disciplined for discussing a patient on Facebook highlights growing concern about physicians' use of social media, the Boston Globe reports.
Rhode Island Incident
The physician was fired from Westerly Hospital in Rhode Island last year after posting information about a trauma patient (Conaboy, Boston Globe, 4/20).
The Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline also recently found the doctor guilty of unprofessional conduct.
According to the board, the physician did not mention the patient's name in the Facebook post, but included enough information to allow an unauthorized third party to identify the patient.
The physician received a reprimand and a $500 fine (Morgan, Providence Journal, 4/19).
Broader Implications
According to the Globe, one Wisconsin hospital and several California hospitals have fired nurses and other staff for discussing patients on Facebook or posting photographs of them online.
Bradley Crotty, a physician at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston, said state medical boards likely will see more social media-related privacy violations as Facebook and other websites become more popular among health care providers.
Recommendations for Physicians Using Social Media
According to Crotty, hospitals should teach their workers about appropriate behavior on social media platforms.
In an Annals of Internal Medicine editorial published this week, Crotty and Arash Mostaghimi -- a colleague at Beth Israel Deaconess -- recommend that physicians establish separate social media accounts for their private and professional lives.
They also suggest that physicians use work e-mail or other secure portals -- rather than social media sites -- to communicate with patients (Boston Globe, 4/20).