Establish a Social Media Policy

Physicians who opt out of social media risk losing control of their reputations to a certain extent, according to Dr. Danielle S. Walsh.

"People are creating accounts and information about you whether you do it or not. Google your name and I promise you will find something there. You can either contribute to this and police what’s said about you and add to that information, or you can let everyone else do it for you," Dr. Walsh said at the annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.

If you choose to become a social media player, one of the best ways to protect yourself from a legal standpoint is to establish a social media policy, said Dr. Walsh, an ACS Fellow in the division of pediatric surgery at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. "You want to ensure that you can place accurate information on there and correct any inaccuracies that are posted to your site. You also want to give guidance to employees who already use or want to use social media appropriately," she explained.

Templates of social media policies can be found at www.SocialMediaGovernance.com, and the American Medical Association’s guidelines for professionalism in the use of social media can be seen at www.ama-assn.org/ama/pubmeeting/professionalism-social- media.html.

As you devise a policy, identify all of the involved parties, including your information technology department if you have one, the risk management team of your employer or your hospital, and the legal department and administrative leaders of your institution. "Make sure they all have an opportunity to review what you’re about to do, why you’re doing it; and get their feedback," she advised. Next, decide who will have ultimate ownership and oversight of the social media sites you plan to launch. She offered five "Ws" to include:

• Who it applies to and who manages the content.

• What types of information/statements are covered by the policy, including legal issues.

• Where it applies, that is, whether it applies to computers used at home, in the workplace, or both.

• When to bring information to top-level managers (e.g., in cases of threats of harm to office staff or patients, complaints about the practice, or privacy violations).

• Why it’s important: Your guidelines should be designed to keep you out of legal trouble.

She emphasized the importance of protecting patient privacy online and noted that physicians’ identities can be traced through posts referring to patients, even if physicians omit their names. "If they know where you work and you describe a patient scenario, or if you post a photograph, and a story about that person eventually hits the media, they can go back and put the pieces together and identify you," she said. If a patient posts a complaint about you or your practice, a carefully worded response can offset negativity, Dr. Walsh said, by showing that you care and that you are responding in a proactive way.

Dr. Walsh said that she had no relevant financial disclosures.

–Doug Brunk

Physicians who opt out of social media risk losing control of their reputations to a certain extent, according to Dr. Danielle S. Walsh.

"People are creating accounts and information about you whether you do it or not. Google your name and I promise you will find something there. You can either contribute to this and police what’s said about you and add to that information, or you can let everyone else do it for you," Dr. Walsh said at the annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.

If you choose to become a social media player, one of the best ways to protect yourself from a legal standpoint is to establish a social media policy, said Dr. Walsh, an ACS Fellow in the division of pediatric surgery at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. "You want to ensure that you can place accurate information on there and correct any inaccuracies that are posted to your site. You also want to give guidance to employees who already use or want to use social media appropriately," she explained.

Templates of social media policies can be found at www.SocialMediaGovernance.com, and the American Medical Association’s guidelines for professionalism in the use of social media can be seen at www.ama-assn.org/ama/pubmeeting/professionalism-social- media.html.

As you devise a policy, identify all of the involved parties, including your information technology department if you have one, the risk management team of your employer or your hospital, and the legal department and administrative leaders of your institution. "Make sure they all have an opportunity to review what you’re about to do, why you’re doing it; and get their feedback," she advised. Next, decide who will have ultimate ownership and oversight of the social media sites you plan to launch. She offered five "Ws" to include:

• Who it applies to and who manages the content.

• What types of information/statements are covered by the policy, including legal issues.

• Where it applies, that is, whether it applies to computers used at home, in the workplace, or both.

• When to bring information to top-level managers (e.g., in cases of threats of harm to office staff or patients, complaints about the practice, or privacy violations).

• Why it’s important: Your guidelines should be designed to keep you out of legal trouble.

She emphasized the importance of protecting patient privacy online and noted that physicians’ identities can be traced through posts referring to patients, even if physicians omit their names. "If they know where you work and you describe a patient scenario, or if you post a photograph, and a story about that person eventually hits the media, they can go back and put the pieces together and identify you," she said. If a patient posts a complaint about you or your practice, a carefully worded response can offset negativity, Dr. Walsh said, by showing that you care and that you are responding in a proactive way.

Dr. Walsh said that she had no relevant financial disclosures.

–Doug Brunk

Physicians who opt out of social media risk losing control of their reputations to a certain extent, according to Dr. Danielle S. Walsh.

"People are creating accounts and information about you whether you do it or not. Google your name and I promise you will find something there. You can either contribute to this and police what’s said about you and add to that information, or you can let everyone else do it for you," Dr. Walsh said at the annual meeting of the Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons.

If you choose to become a social media player, one of the best ways to protect yourself from a legal standpoint is to establish a social media policy, said Dr. Walsh, an ACS Fellow in the division of pediatric surgery at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, N.C. "You want to ensure that you can place accurate information on there and correct any inaccuracies that are posted to your site. You also want to give guidance to employees who already use or want to use social media appropriately," she explained.

Templates of social media policies can be found at www.SocialMediaGovernance.com, and the American Medical Association’s guidelines for professionalism in the use of social media can be seen at www.ama-assn.org/ama/pubmeeting/professionalism-social- media.html.

As you devise a policy, identify all of the involved parties, including your information technology department if you have one, the risk management team of your employer or your hospital, and the legal department and administrative leaders of your institution. "Make sure they all have an opportunity to review what you’re about to do, why you’re doing it; and get their feedback," she advised. Next, decide who will have ultimate ownership and oversight of the social media sites you plan to launch. She offered five "Ws" to include:

• Who it applies to and who manages the content.

• What types of information/statements are covered by the policy, including legal issues.

• Where it applies, that is, whether it applies to computers used at home, in the workplace, or both.

• When to bring information to top-level managers (e.g., in cases of threats of harm to office staff or patients, complaints about the practice, or privacy violations).

• Why it’s important: Your guidelines should be designed to keep you out of legal trouble.

She emphasized the importance of protecting patient privacy online and noted that physicians’ identities can be traced through posts referring to patients, even if physicians omit their names. "If they know where you work and you describe a patient scenario, or if you post a photograph, and a story about that person eventually hits the media, they can go back and put the pieces together and identify you," she said. If a patient posts a complaint about you or your practice, a carefully worded response can offset negativity, Dr. Walsh said, by showing that you care and that you are responding in a proactive way.

Dr. Walsh said that she had no relevant financial disclosures.

–Doug Brunk