Social Media and medical practice

Social Media and medical practice
Gareth Rhys Williams, Welsh Affairs Officer
21 June 2013
Join the conversation online
#gmcSoMe
@gmcuk
Why is the GMC here to talk about social media??
‘to protect, promote and
maintain the health and
safety of the public’
Medical Act 1983
Functions of the GMC
How do we define social media?
 “web-based applications that allow
people to create and exchange
content”
 Can include:




Social networking
Blogs/microblogs
Content communities
Forums
A force for learning
“We need to spread reputable medical information on
social media…and get it in front of as many people as
possible”
Dr Kevin Pho
Beware: the ripple effect of social media
Does anyone really take any notice of your tweets? Yes!
More on this at: http://storify.com/amcunningham/how-should-a-gp-practice-respond-to-an-offensive-t
Reasons to be professional…
What about the other way around?
 From 2007-11,
100 cases of
unwanted
advances to
doctors
A digital footprint to be proud of? #YOLO?
Confidence in the medical profession

In 2011, what percentage of people said they
always trusted doctors to tell the truth?
88%

For the last 29 years, doctors have consistently
been named the profession most trusted by
the British public.
(Survey by IPSOS MORI)
GMC guidance
Guidance on social media
88% of medical students
viewed colleagues acting
unprofessionally on
Core message: Same advice, new context
“The standards expected of doctors do
not change because they are
communicating through social media
rather than face to face.”
(para. 5)
 Maintaining professional boundaries
 Upholding confidentiality
 Respect for others
Anonymity
 “If you identify yourself as a doctor in publicly
accessible social media, you should identify
yourself by name…”
(para. 17)
 Why do you think we advise this?
Because…
 “Any material written by authors representing
themselves as doctors is likely to be taken on
trust and may reasonably be taken to represent
the views of the profession more widely”
(para. 17)
Common questions we’ve had
 Does this mean I can’t tweet about The
Apprentice - or post about music on Tumblr?
The GMC has no interest in doctors’ use of
social media in their personal lives. But if you
tweet about health/medical issues, it’s good
practice to identify yourself
 Why can’t I raise my concerns in social media
without naming myself?
We’re not trying to restrict discussion but there
are better avenues for this – we have a
confidential helpline to assist with such queries:
0161 923 6399
SCENARIO
Scenarios
Ki and Shona are trainees who went to the same medical
school. They are now on the Foundation Programme working
at different GP practices. They regularly share experiences on
a ‘private’ Facebook group they’ve been members of since uni:
 Shona: OAPs with the usual complaints today, and the usual
hypochondriac of course!
 Ki: The same one from yesterday?
 Shona: Yep. Fourth day in a row, different complaint each
time. Brain tumour to Norovirus, the whole lot.
 Ki: What was it today?
 Shona: Only a migraine, quite boring really
Is this type of discussion acceptable?
 A: Yes, it’s a private group. No name or locations
are mentioned and the trainee is not responsible for
the patient. There’s no risk of breaching
confidentiality.
 B: Yes, but not in this way. There is value in
sharing professional experience appropriately online
but the tone should be professional, and it’s
important patients cannot be identified.
 C: No, professional experiences should not be
posted online in any way. There are patients
mentioned directly by name, but they are clearly
identifiable.
 A = not in line with the guidance
 B = would comply with the guidance
 C = may comply but is an extreme reaction
What happened next?
 A friend of theirs within the group alerted them
of their potential breach of confidentiality
 Realised they could not control ownership of
this data
 Ki and Shona contacted group admin to get
conversation removed
More scenarios like his at: www.gmc-uk.org/guidance/case_studies.asp
#YOLO
so think about what you post online!
“The standards expected of doctors do not
change because they are communicating
through social media rather than face to face.”
(para. 5)
#gmcSoMe
@gmcuk
Diolch / Thank you.
Gareth Rhys Williams
02920 504060
07554 459039
[email protected]