Social media in the healthcare context: Ethical challenges and recommendations

Abstract

The same professional ethics that are expected from healthcare professionals, are expected of health sciences students, yet in a

Ethical and legal perspectives on the medical practitioners use of social media

“…The same laws and codes of conduct apply in the real world and cyberspace. [12] Users of Facebook must be extremely careful not only about what they post but also with regard to posts on which they may be 'tagged' , because if they do not 'un-tag' themselves or if they 'like' , it will be construed that the they agree with the shared content, as seen in the Isparta v Richter case. [3] The patient-professional relationship and its boundaries Trust is the foundation of the patient-professional relationship.…”

“…[1] Professionals ought to think carefully before accepting friend requests from their patients or sending friend requests to them, because of the risk of blurring professional and personal lives. [5,12] Importantly, professionals ought to have a reliable character, good moral sense, and an appropriate emotional responsiveness. [8] Some users are naive and believe social media to be platforms for self-expression without legal restraint.…”

“…[5,9,12] Ethical codes have no legal precedent, but hold professionals to a higher moral obligation in serving the public, and they can be enforced through professional standards. [14] Virtues depicting traditional medical practice are care, compassion, discernment, trustworthiness, integrity, conscientiousness, respectfulness, benevolence, truthfulness and justice.…”

“…[11,12] Breaching confidentiality erodes the public's trust in the medical profession. [9] Ethical framework Morality and ethical principles ought to guide the professional's disclosure of patient information, both online and offline.…”

“…[8] Professionalism is the founda tion of the social contract with patients, and society expects professionals to behave empathically and professionally. [12] The HPCSA's General Ethical Guidelines [13] state that professionals ought to act quickly to protect patients from risk due to any reason, and to report violations and seek redress in circumstances where they have a good or persuasive reason to believe that the rights of a patient are being violated. Professionals therefore have the moral obligation to Use of social media has increased exponentially throughout the world.…”