Hunan University Of Chinese Medicine

To Post Or Not To Post

“My advice to medical students who use social media is they should be mindful about what they post,” says Nirmai Kakani. As a consultant vascular interventional radiologist at Manchester Royal Infirmary, Kakani encourages students to use social media as a tool for discussing scenarios, but “the problem arises if real cases are shared. Interesting and unusual cases are more likely to be discussed, which may allow patients to be identified.” Social media users usually have their location and even the hospital they work at visible on their profiles, which increases the risks of patients being identified.

Whether it’s acceptable to take photos in a clinical setting is a grey area, but ultimately it’s about patient consent, confidentiality, and professionalism.

Sally Old, medicolegal adviser at the Medical Defence Union, says: “Posting details of a clinical case, however heavily anonymised, without patient consent would constitute a breach of confidentiality.” In its explanatory guidance Doctors’ Use of Social Media, the General Medical Council states that doctors must not discuss individual patients or their care via publicly accessible social media.

Remember that when something is shared through social media it may not just be your friends and family who see it but it could potentially be shared with patients, employers, colleagues, national media, and regulatory bodies, for example. “Before posting, consider how you would feel if a colleague or patient saw what you had written, or if it was shared to a wider audience. You should also review the privacy settings for each of your social media profiles regularly,” advises Old.

She explains that images or audiovisual recordings of patients can be used only if you have the patient’s written consent to the specific use. If you are sharing with a colleague for a second opinion, get the patient’s consent and ensure that the image is transmitted and stored securely. Don’t use a photo sharing app or website as these might not be secure, and bear in mind that it is possible that images and recordings posted online may be reused in a different context.

“When anonymising the photo bear in mind that this does not mean just removing the patient’s name and other identifying labels. Consider whether the photograph includes a feature that could allow someone, including the patient, to identify themselves,” says Old.

As almost every aspect of life seems to be documented online, it may be tempting to capture all of your milestones and achievements at medical school on social media. Be cautious, however, for, as the General Medical Council guidance on social media use for doctors says, “Many improper disclosures [of confidentiality] are unintentional.” It can be easy to do, so don’t get caught out like Jeremy Hunt was—you may not be as lucky as him.

Management of diabetes mellitus in older people with comorbidities Diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease of aging that affects more than 20% of people over 65. In older patients with diabetes, comorbidities are highly prevalent and their presence may alter the relative importance, effectiveness, and safety of treatments for diabetes. Randomized controlled trials h...

Assessment and initial management of major trauma: summary of NICE guidance # # # # What you need to know Trauma is a major contributor to the global burden of disease. Those who experience major trauma have serious and often multiple injuries associated with a strong possibility of death or disability. Nationally there are around 20 000 cases of major trauma per year in Engla...

Daily Jang Epaper, Urdu Multimedia E-Newspaper of Pakistan with video footage - ejang.jang.com.pk

Via--- Being a Doctor

lol

How Girls use Google Translator ;)