Social media is instrumental to building your business and clients. However, there is a reason to be cautious if you are a medical doctor with a practice. Doctor’s inappropriate behavior using social media and social networking sites can lead to an investigation from the State Medical board resulting in unwanted lawsuits, letters of reprimand, license limitation, suspension and possible loss of employment. Therefore it is imperative that medical practices understand the laws of social media engagement.
In a 2010 survey of Executive Directors at state medical boards in the United States cited the following as grounds for investigation:
- Misrepresenting Credentials or clinical outcomes (60%)
- Inappropriately contacting patients ( 69%)
- Inappropriate prescribing ( 63%)
In another survey published Jan 15th Annals of Internal Medicine, hypothetical vignettes were used to see what would prompt a medical investigation. There were 10 possible scenarios; the situations that prompted an investigative response were photographs of intoxication, discriminatory language and speech, violations of patient confidentiality on a blog. As a medical physician with an on-line presence, you need to adhere to the guidelines of proper social media engagement.
At Acara Partners it is our job to always be up to date on best practices for medical spas. We stay on the pulse of the latest news regarding changes as they relate to social media with individual state boards. Our social media program for our medical spa practices lead by Lauren Levy, our Digital Marketing Manager, follows all guidelines to keep your business in compliance. We actively manage all our client’s social media in real-time, and respond appropriately.
Don’t let seemingly innocuous on-line interactions put your business in jeopardy. Acara Partners can manage and protect your social media presence.
