AMA Adopts Recommendations on Physicians’ Social Media Use

On Monday, the American Medical Association endorsed several recommendations aimed at helping physicians maintain an appropriate and professional online presence, MedPage Today reports.

 AMA adopted the new policy during its House of Delegates meeting in San Diego. The policy encourages physicians to:

• Use privacy settings on social networking websites;
• Ensure that their online postings are accurate and professional;
• Recognize that posting inappropriate material online could jeopardize their reputations among colleagues and patients;
• Alert colleagues about online postings that could be considered unprofessional;
• Notify the appropriate authorities if a colleague posts material online that “significantly violates professional norms” (Walker, MedPage Today, 11/9);
• Uphold patient privacy and confidentiality standards in online environments (Goedert, Health Data Management, 11/9);
• Consider separating personal and professional content online; and
• Maintain appropriate physician-patient boundaries during online interactions (CMIO, 11/9).

Source: iHealthBeat

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