Media Matters – Why Doctors Can’t Friend Patients on Facebook

Social media & professionalism:

A new policy report from ACP- the American College of Physicians- and the Federation of State Medical Boards advises doctors not to "friend" patients on Facebook. The policy paper, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, was unveiled at Internal Medicine 2013- ACP’s annual meeting.

These professional organizations say "friending" patients blurs personal/professional boundaries. They stress the importance of separating professional from personal in your on-line presence. Professional profiles are acceptable. Doctors' pages on sites such as Facebook and Twitter should have strict privacy settings to limit patient access, unless dedicated strictly as a professional page or community outreach tool.

They also recommend against short messaging services, text messaging and instant messaging, even for established patients. This technology can present unintended expectations of immediate access (and answers). Because text messages are usually short and often abbreviation-filled, they also increase the odds the message could be misconstrued. E-mail is the best option if doctors and patients must communicate electronically; it creates an automatic record.