Some doctors connecting to local community through Facebook

Last week in USA Today, Rita Rubin looked at how some doctors are using social media to connect with their patients. An OB/GYN in Texas has replaced their babies wall in the office with a Facebook Fan Page, where pictures of the babies are now displayed. These fanpages have also become places where people come to ask their questions and look for information. While many doctors choose to remain anonymous, others have found it as a way to connect with their patients. Rubin relates this to how doctors used to make house calls and join the community of the towns they served. Read the full article here.

What do you think? Should doctors be connecting with their patients via Facebook? What privacy risks can Facebook Pages bring?

This blog is co-posted with the ePharma Summit.

Unknown

Phasellus facilisis convallis metus, ut imperdiet augue auctor nec. Duis at velit id augue lobortis porta. Sed varius, enim accumsan aliquam tincidunt, tortor urna vulputate quam, eget finibus urna est in augue.

1 comment:

JT said...: The general feeling from doctors in the UK is that they would rather not connect directly with their patients via Facebook or other social media.

There is a concern that the professional doctor-patient relationship becomes blurred in a social environment like Facebook.

I suspect the majority of doctors would choose anonymity or restrict their profiles to only their friends so as not to be found by their patients.

This is not to say that social media doesn't have a place in medicine. However, doctors, especially General Practitioners, will probably be more likely to promote their services to patients rather than themselves as individuals.

Jon Twinn
www.Doctors.net.uk - the UK's largest professional network of doctors; July 15, 2010 at 9:47 AM

Pages