The first item mentions how medical students and attending physicians are engaging in unprofessional behaviors on Facebook. The author, Dr. Kevin Pho, suggests one solution would be to embrace the “dual-citizen” approach. This approach suggests that physicians allow only friends and families to view their personal profile, not patients. Then, the physician should create a separate Facebook account/page to serve as their public persona for patients to view.
We have been discussing the “dual-citizen” approach in my current graduate course “Social Media and Public Relations.” I believe that having two online personas, one personal and one professional, is the most efficient way for health care professionals to engage in social media. What I would warn is this: With a personal account, the person must check privacy settings weekly and also check their friends list. Facebook is constantly updating privacy settings, which sometimes can cause current privacy or profile settings to change. Also, glancing through your friends list once every few weeks is a proactive way to identify who has direct access to your profile.
Having a professional, public account is a great way to connect with patients and others in the community. This page could be used to disperse information about health by posting context from online articles, events such as free screenings, fundraisers, etc. Also, the page could serve as a direct communication source for patients to contact a physician for any health information they might be seeking.
Just remember, a public Facebook page must be professional. Make sure that each post is HIPAA compliant and that the content is appropriate. This page should be used to create trust with those in the community as well as in the health care industry. 
I think if you need two FB pages, then maybe what you are posting on the internet isn't appropriate. Part of the lifestyle of being in the healthcare industry is maintaining a professional and compassionate attitude at all times, because you never know when a need may arise for your assistance. Therefore, I don't think anything should be posted on a "personal" FB page that would be inappropriate to post on a "professional" page. Another option would be to have a main page for the overal Practice, then the healthcase professionals could still maintain their personal pages separately.
ReplyDeleteI like your suggestion at the end Shayla. It will be interesting to see which route health care professionals will take with the Facebook pages and profiles.
ReplyDeleteI just have to wonder if the health care "professional" is spending time creating even one page for online viewing, what other concerns is he/she neglecting-----perhaps keeping current on pertinent issues?
ReplyDeleteGood points about professional vs. prvate. Everyone must be careful about privacy these days. Interesting topic, well covered! Good job Brittany.
ReplyDeleteAs an old-schooler who believes in separation of your social life and your professional life, it's amazing to see how fb has evolved from a college networking site to a global directory used both commercially and personally. And indeed, having a fb page is more convenient than a web page for your business: instant interaction w/your clients, real-time updates, cheaper and easier to set up and maintain. So, since there's no avoiding fb unless you want to stomped into the ground by your competitors, I'd agree with Shayla's approach and also the two-profile approach.
ReplyDeleteAgnes I tend to agree with you because business are utilizing facebook and if physicians arent going to get on board with social media, they will get left behind. It is a great tool to use, if used correctly. I love the comments and discussions that everyone is posting! Keep them coming!
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