Doctors disregard confidentiality on Facebook

Physicians often violate the doctor's secret in social networks

29/10/2013

Doctors who publicly comment on their work on the Internet or share their professional details with others often overlook the fact that they quickly violate the doctor's secret. Therefore, experts urge physicians to pay attention to what is communicated on Facebook and Co..

Make sure that patients do not recognize each other
Medical professionals increasingly violate secrecy when social networks such as „Facebook“, „Twitter“, „Wikipedia“ or blogging and podcasts, posting comments or sharing details about their work with others. This can happen very quickly and unintentionally, so should „The doctor is very careful about what he writes on his Facebook page, so that the patient does not rediscovered, "said the Junior Professor of Medical Ethics at the Hannover Medical School (MHH), Daniel Strech, the news agency dpa.

Legal „gray area“
The medical ethicist had recently examined in a study, to what extent the use of offers of the so-called „Web 2.0“ compatible with medical ethics. As a particularly important aspect, the observance of secrecy turned out here - because that can quickly become problematic when doctors, for example, in blogs and so-called „Posts“ on Facebook or „Tweeds“ Announce details about their work on Twitter. „This is a gray area that can become legally relevant, "the scientist continues.

Study on Agreement of Medical Values ​​and Social Media
So was the researcher in the context of a systematic literature search in the English-language meta-database of medical articles „PubMed“ come to the conclusion that „the interweaving of traditional core values ​​of medicine (privacy, confidentiality, one-to-one interactions and formal behavior) and the culture of social media (which aims at openness, connection, transparency and informality) presents opportunities as well as challenges for medical staff“, so the researcher in an article in „Journal of Medical Internet Research“.

Every second physician uses Web 2.0 offerings
The risk, as a physician is one „misstep“ not to be underestimated, as more and more doctors are using social networks to offer counseling to patients, to publicize medical knowledge, or to discuss complicated cases with other colleagues. As early as 2011, a study by the medical information service showed that even then, more than one out of every two general practitioners uses the corresponding offers for professional purposes - and the trend is rising. According to the graduate mathematician Tobias Hartz of the University Medical Center Mainz, a profile used exclusively for professional purposes can not prevent a breach of the doctor's secret. For here, networking with patients would often be enough to reveal treatment conditions.

Educate medical staff adequately
Accordingly, in his view, doctors and nurses would have to deal with the offerings of „Social media“ be trained intensively in order to point out the dangers and to observe the observance of the confidentiality at any time. But despite all the risks and dangers, the positive aspects of Web 2.0 should be considered sufficiently, according to medical ethicist Strech. Finally, there would be a lot of new opportunities for physicians, ranging from professional exchange to the ability to offer counseling or other services to patients over the Internet, regardless of location. (No)