Social Media Etiquette For Medical Practices
It’s crucial for medical practices to be active on social media to market their brand and attract new patients, but medical professionals must follow a few rules online. When running your practice’s social media accounts, keep in mind that you are representing the practice, and must meet a higher standard of conduct that is expected of professionals.
Professional BoundariesOne mistake medical professionals make is combining their personal and professional social media accounts. This is a big mistake, as you do not need potential clients looking at old photos on your Facebook page. Creating accounts for your practice allows you to keep professional boundaries with your patients and keep your personal life private.
No Specific Medical AdviceMedical practices should also never give specific medical advice online, and never share health information about a patient. Patients may think it’s okay to ask advice via Twitter or Facebook, but the best way to respond is by providing the patient with the office phone number to handle the question offline.
Recording PatientsCertain medical professionals, such as dermatologists and plastic surgeons, film patient visits to show services for other potential clients to watch on social media. One of the most popular dermatologists to record patients is Dr. Sandra Lee, better known as Dr. Pimple Popper. Her videos on Youtube and other social media sites went viral and proved to be beneficial to her brand.
Recording patients has become very popular in the age of Snapchat and Instagram videos, but it’s essential for medical practices to know the rules of recording patients before doing so. You must always have consent to film and should keep identities anonymous and protect patients’ privacy. Also, you should have a reason for filming a patient, mainly for educational value. If you film for shock content or with the sole purpose to go viral, other dermatologists see that as self-promoting and damaging to the specialty.
Alternatively, it’s becoming more common for patients or clients to record their visit at a medical practice. Whether they want to record the visit for social media or purely for educational reasons, a medical professional must choose words carefully when being filmed. Ask your patient to repeat back what you’ve said to ensure they don’t have any misunderstandings, as this will protect yourself in case any issues arise.
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