Can Plastic Surgeons Maintain Professionalism within Social Media?

Plastic surgeons have evolved their methods of reaching potential patients by using various forms of social media. Such platforms can educate, inform, and, for some, entertain. Social media now allows consumers to compare themselves to a much wider, if not global, set of peers that might further exacerbate their anxiety regarding their appearance. Plastic surgeons should ensure that use of patient images does not violate privacy or create unreasonable expectations about the results that can be obtained; nor should plastic surgeons' marketing objectify women. Professionalism on the part of plastic surgeons, along with the utmost respect for patients, must remain paramount.

Professionalism, social media, and the Orthopaedic Surgeon: What do you have on the Internet?

BACKGROUND: Unprofessional conduct is detrimental to the Orthopaedic Surgery profession. Currently, no formal guidelines exist to define online professionalism other than the protection of patient confidentiality. OBJECTIVE: This study will extract a random but statistically significant number of practicing Orthopaedic Surgeons and review their online postings. METHODS: We observed the Internet content posted by 1,021 Orthopaedic Surgeons that were randomly selected from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons 2013 member directory. Each surgeon's name was entered into the Google.com search engine and on Social Media sites including Facebook.com, Twitter.com, LinkedIn.com, and YouTube.com. The content was evaluated and recorded where it was encountered. Unprofessional content was recorded and reviewed by a panel for appropriateness. RESULTS: Of the 1,021 Orthopaedic Surgeons sampled, 82% have professional websites, 4% have professional blogs, 21% have professional Facebook accounts, 14% have professional Twitter accounts, 26% have professional LinkedIn accounts, and 14% have professional YouTube accounts. Unprofessional content was identified in 3.5% of all surgeons sampled who have some form of content on the Internet. CONCLUSION: Every Orthopaedic Surgeon should be aware of the content posted on the Internet. Our recommendation is for surgeons to routinely evaluate content posted on publically available venues for professionalism.

Online medical professionalism: patient and public relationships: policy statement from the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards.

User-created content and communications on Web-based applications, such as networking sites, media sharing sites, or blog platforms, have dramatically increased in popularity over the past several years, but there has been little policy or guidance on the best practices to inform standards for the professional conduct of physicians in the digital environment. Areas of specific concern include the use of such media for nonclinical purposes, implications for confidentiality, the use of social media in patient education, and how all of this affects the public's trust in physicians as patient-physician interactions extend into the digital environment. Opportunities afforded by online applications represent a new frontier in medicine as physicians and patients become more connected. This position paper from the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards examines and provides recommendations about the influence of social media on the patient-physician relationship, the role of these media in public perception of physician behaviors, and strategies for physician-physician communication that preserve confidentiality while best using these technologies.

The hitchhiker's guide to global health blogging.

Social media use in modern medicine is fraught with ethical dilemmas and risks of unprofessional behavior. This essay surveys the existing literature on the possibilities and pitfalls of social media use by health-care professionals and concludes that non-engagement with social media is not an option. A mindful approach, not vague guidelines or long checklists, will foster a generation of physicians comfortable using online platforms for education and reflection. The use of social media during global health experiences abroad has been largely ignored in the literature and presents special challenges. With a view to starting a reflective dialogue on this subject, this essay identifies some ethically nebulous aspects of global health blogging. The discussion focuses on physician and student blogging, but these principles should apply to other online platforms as well and should prove valuable for health-care professionals who are engaged in developing guidelines, educating medical students and resident physicians, or in sharing their experiences and insights on the internet.

Plastic surgery marketing in a generation of "tweeting".

BACKGROUND: "Social media" describes interactive communication through Web-based technologies. It has become an everyday part of modern life, yet there is a lack of research regarding its impact on plastic surgery practice. OBJECTIVES: The authors evaluate and compare the prevalence of classic marketing methods and social media in plastic surgery. METHODS: The Web sites of aesthetic surgeons from seven US cities were compared and evaluated for the existence of Facebook, Twitter, or MySpace links and promotions. To find the sites, the authors conducted a Google search for the phrase "plastic surgery" with the name of each city to be studied: Beverly Hills, California; Dallas, Texas; Houston, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; Miami, Florida; New York City, New York; and San Francisco, California. The trends of social networking memberships were also studied in each of these cities. RESULTS: In comparison to aesthetic surgeons practicing in other cities, those in Miami, Florida, favored social media the most, with 50% promoting a Facebook page and 46% promoting Twitter. Fifty-six percent of New York City aesthetic surgeons promoted their featured articles in magazines and newspapers, whereas 54% of Beverly Hills aesthetic surgeons promoted their television appearances. An increase in the number of new Facebook memberships among cosmetic providers in the seven cities began in October 2008 and reached a peak in October, November, and December 2009, with subsequent stabilization. The increase in the number of new Twitter memberships began in July 2008 and remained at a steady rate of approximately 15 new memberships every three months. CONCLUSIONS: Social media may seem like a new and unique communication tool, but it is important to preserve professionalism and apply traditional Web site-building ethics and principles to these sites. We can expect continued growth in plastic surgeons' utilization of these networks to enhance their practices and possibly to launch direct marketing campaigns.

Ethical considerations in the study of online illness narratives: a qualitative review.

AIM: This aim of the review was to describe differences in ethical approaches to research on Internet communication during illness and to report conclusions drawn relevant to a proposed narrative analysis of parent blogs of childhood illness. BACKGROUND: As the study of the online expression of illness experiences becomes more expansive, discussion of related ethical issues is central to promoting research trustworthiness and rigour. Ethical considerations are central to the patient-provider relationship. DATA SOURCES: The EBSCO Host, CINAHL, Medline, Communication & Mass Media Complete, and Google Scholar databases were searched from January 1990 to September 2009 using the terms 'Internet research and ethics', 'Internet research, illness and ethics' and 'blog, Internet research and ethics'. Of the 4114 references found, 21 met the inclusion criteria for the review. REVIEW METHODS: The review was designed to be a comprehensive assessment of the concepts analysed and the qualitative research measures taken concerning ethics in Internet research across formats. RESULTS: Three main approaches to ethical conduct in Internet research on illness experiences were found: human subjects, representation and open source approaches. CONCLUSION: The personal and sensitive nature of online illness narratives demand their consideration in health care as 'human subjects' research. The best hope for ethical treatment of author-participants is the creation of a comprehensive plan for addressing any and all potential ethical conflicts that may arise in the collection, analysis and reporting of data, taking into consideration rapid changes in technology.

Patient privacy and social media.

Healthcare providers using social media must remain mindful of professional boundaries and patients' privacy rights. Facebook and other online postings must comply with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), applicable facility policy, state law, and AANA's Code of Ethics.