The Unintended Consequences of Social Networking Frederick L. Greene, MD from General Surgery News June 2010

11:15 26.06.2010

 The author, a respected academic General Surgeon, wrote this column as an opinion in a widely read surgical paper for General surgeons. He begins his opinion by stating that he recently attended the annual surgical program directors meeting and heard a presentation dealing with the social networking dalliances of surgical residents and attending at a reputable academic institution. The researchers reviewed the Facebook pages of both residents and attending to get a flavor of material that appears in these sites.

 The essence of the above mentioned study was than on more than one of these sites, information relating to patients and patient encounters were described in some detail. It appeared that most of these references were meant to either impress or inform the friends of surgical residents about important or remarkable work in which they were involved. The conclusion of the study was that rather innocent references on social networking sites could have potential unsavory consequences although these were deemed harmless.

To this author it indicated a severe departure form the core competency of professionalism. Greene continues stating we are witnessing an entire new generation that is wedded to electronic gadgetry and who spend an estimated 7 to 8 hours a day using some sort of electronic device. The social networking interaction represents only a morsel of the texting and twittering that is pervasive. The use of these technologies has now transcended generational boundaries and is not limited to those other, less professional groups. 

He concludes stating that although sharing thoughts may be both therapeutic and wholesome on social networking sites, the urge to reveal all, especially about patient encounters, is ill advised. Greene, a proactive surgeon, has as yet not heard specifically about plaintiff attorneys introducing material gleaned from a review of Facebook pages, but he is sure the day is coming.