Medical codes must evolve to cover the use of social media by doctors and medical students, claims a paper published by the Medical Journal of Australia on 1 June.
The article, authored by a group of doctors and educators including former president of the Australian Medical Students Association at the University of Queensland, Michael Bonning, states notes that there are already medical codes of conduct but argues that inappropriate use of social media by medical professionals must be incorporated into them.
“The Medical Councils of both Australia and New Zealand have widely accepted guidelines on good medical practice, and the Australian Medical Association (AMA), New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) and Australian Medical Students’ Association (AMSA) also have codes of ethics for their members,” the report states.
“The world within which these professional standards apply is expanding rapidly. Society has embraced user generated content such as blogging, personal websites, and online social media technologies.”
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The report warned doctors that while they may believe that their information is safe online, this may not be the case.
“Many people are unaware of how accessible and durable their online information is. Even with the use of stringent privacy settings, once information is posted online, it is ‘out there’. “Information on social networking sites may be made available to third-party companies and internet search engines.”
Gartner recently estimated that by the end of 2013, half of all companies will have been asked to produce material from social media services for legal proceedings.
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