Social Networking 101 for Physicians

Monitor Your Web Presence Regularly

Harlow points out that the pervasiveness of social networking has resulted in some people transmitting all their communication through Facebook and Twitter and expecting others to be there to receive their messages. Doctors who enable such communication without properly monitoring their sites run the risk of missing urgent messages or a patient’s medical history details and possibly facing a malpractice action for failing to respond, he says.

While social media is obviously not a reliable means of clinical communication with a doctor, it’s hard to tell where a jury’s sympathies might lie. “There are now more than 300 million Facebook accounts,” says Harlow. “Do you run the risk of going to trial and facing a jury full of people who rely on Facebook as their primary means of communication? They might say someone should have been monitoring the account.” David S. Szabo, a partner at Edwards, Angell, Palmer & Dodge in Boston, agrees. “If you start using [social media] as a means of regular communication or an element in how you communicate with people, perhaps you could be charged with at least looking at it on a reasonably regular basis and being aware of information sent that way,” he says.

Next: Take Advice From Online Doctors' Forums With A Grain Of Salt