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Doctors are being cautioned by hospitals they work with to avoidinteracting with patients on social media , and that they reject any overtures by patients to interact on thelikes of Facebook and Twitter . Stanford University School of Medicine student Matt Goldstein, whograduates in June and has accepted a position at Brigham &Women's Hospital in Boston, says the hospital specifically statedin a letter to him that it would like him to refrain from usingsocial media with patients. Goldstein also says the letter he gottold him he should change his privacy settings on Facebook, if heused it at all, to optimize privacy. MORE: Hospital system pursues identity management Holy Grail "The letter said the patient may try to 'friend' you, but wesuggest you don't accept," said Goldstein. The letter alsosuggested he "review photos" he might have posted online anywherein the interests of establishing an online identity as a medicalprofessional. Goldstein, whose research has focused on lymphoma and leukemia,admits he's disappointed that his social-media interactions withpatients are to be curtailed, but he does understand that thephysician/patient relationship is sensitive. Stanford alsoexpressed the need to show caution about social networking as a medical professional , he said. And he acknowledges there are probably legal fine pointsto understand. But he added he still wishes there were an established way tocommunicate online with patients confidentially. He notes he hasbeen using a membership-based service called Doximity that letsphysicians exchange commentary in a private online forum. More than50,000 physicians are using it, he says, and it gives them a way toshare thoughts about patient cases -- not naming the patients --and get feedback from their medical peers. Others with familiarity about the medical profession also say it'scommonplace to discourage physicians from interacting with patientsin social media. David Sheidlower, chief information security officer at Health Quest, the healthcare group with hospitals andother facilities in counties outside New York City, says themedical profession is struggling with the question. One method to facilitate online contact between physician andpatient, though, has been to set up Internet-based portalsspecifically for this purpose, and Health Quest is engaged in anearly use of one to communicate with outpatients about healthmatters. He notes Kaiser Permanente in California is also known tomaintain a patient portal. "I think eventually we'll be using social networks," saysSheidlower. But he adds that in general, "nobody's sure how to doit." Ellen Messmer is senior editor at Network World, an IDG publicationand website, where she covers news and technology trends related toinformation security. Read more about wide area network in Network World's Wide Area Network section. The e-commerce company in China offers quality products such as Powder For Injection Manufacturer , Veterinary Raw Materials Manufacturer, and more. For more , please visit Sulfonamide Synthesis today!
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