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Doctors/ Medical Professionals and the Internet

1K views 38 replies 14 participants last post by  ElDuderino 
#1 ·
What do you think of Doctors/ Medical Professionals and their use of Blogs or Forums?<br><br>
I've seen them post things about patients without the name. I think it's still a violation of Privacy.<br><br>
There was a story on NPR this morning that talks about how it opens them up to lawuit for privacy violations... What do you think?<br><br>
Here's the link to the story:<br><a href="http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=88163567" target="_blank">http://www.npr.org/templates/story/s...oryId=88163567</a>
 
#2 ·
One point that was stated (not sure if it's in the attached article)... if a Doctor/ Medical Professional feels a need to talk about their patients, or has a dislike for someone they are supposed to be treating, that doctor/ medical professional needs therapy.... I totally agree.<br><br>
Ok, comments please?
 
#3 ·
I have never seen a doctor blog. Are doctors sharing case studies or bitching and moaning about patients they do not like? I've shared case studies with colleagues, but in a closed forum setting.
 
#4 ·
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I've seen stuff on forums. You know how we all like to talk about our day at work, co-workers, etc... well, when a doctor does it, I think it crosses the line. To me, the world is too small to share any information about patients online.<br><br>
A closed forum with all doctors (case studies for educational purposes are a different thing entirely).
 
#6 ·
I think so because at that point they are nolonger objective....
 
#9 ·
I think that blogs/venting, etc are fine. Physicians get frustrated, aggravated, etc. with colleagues and patients just as anyone else would get frustrated with colleagues and clients. As long as the information is not individually identifiable - obviously no names, ages, occupations of patients mentioned, etc.. Only pertinent clinical information That's the whole key in my opinion.
 
#10 ·
I don't have customers... but, as for my lenders, no I don't like them all... however, I've not taken a hypocratic oath either. I would tend to think that their care could be (not necessarily is) compromised. I'm not saying they should like all their patients, but maybe just be indifferent.
 
#11 ·
Ok, so, what if a doctor were on a forum like this... talked about a case without mentioning any names... what if that patient were on the same site and was able to identify their case? Do you think that they have been violated or that trust has somehow been broken? What if a friend of theirs was on the same site and could figure it out... To me, the world is just too small these days.
 
#13 ·
I think as long as there is no way to know who the dr/medical person is talking about, it's fine. And I don't think it's a problem to treat someone you don't like. If your dislike interferes with your ability to treat them, then sure, you need to find them a new doctor.<br><br>
In my job, you bet there are people I represent that I don't like. They don't need a friend. They need an advocate. As long as my dislike of them doesn't keep me from doing my best int heir case, there's no problem. But if I can't do my best (like with a client who pushed me down), then I get them a new lawyer.<br><br>
Mr jebba will vent sometimes about how a patient behaved, or how obnoxious the family of a patient was. But he doesn't tell me who the person is, and doesn't go into detail about their medical problems. He's run into friends of mine in the hospital before, and never said anything to me about it b/c of privacy issues.<br><br>
In any case, I think vent/sharing stories is very important in keeping the morale to continue a difficult job.
 
#14 ·
Any professional in any field eventually has to work with/for/on someone they don't care for. The burden lies on the person with the issue to decide when they can no longer perform their job due to difficulties with a certain person.<br><br>
In healthcare, sometimes you have that option, sometimes not.<br>
Dealing with people who are ill or in pain is hard. Very few people are at their best when they feel like crap, so they are frequently difficult. And you work around it. Sometimes it means bitching about the situation after the fact to release the tension.<br><br>
I'd agree that public venting requires a level of discretion that many people may not have. But it's not something that requires therapy as standard protocol.
 
#16 ·
I didn't even read your original post, but after reading the title of the thread, I have three words:<br><br>
Liability. Liability. Liability.<br><br>
DH won't even treat our family...he always says to me, "Why don't you talk to your doctor about it?" Um...because YOU'RE a doctor?? He responds, "I'm not YOUR doctor."<br><br>
There's a lot your doc can tell by interviewing you, listenting to vital sounds, taking vital stats, doing bloodwork etc...things you don't get online.
 
#17 ·
What if they can identify themselves? Wouldn't you think they'd feel violated?
 
#20 ·
Sorry, but I disagree. Physicians who want to vent or blog can take things too far, and that should be watched, but they're human beings. And some of the blogs/fora are helpful.<br><br><br>
I couldn't disagree more. Physicians often treat people they don't care for: some communities have so many difficult patients that if it were a requirement for physicians to like all of their patients, nobody would have access to a doctor.<br><br>
Jenna, you're disagreeing with what these blogging physicians are doing, and posting about it to some of your internet friends. It's something you feel strongly about, and I respect that. But I do think everyone else is entitled to do the same. With doctors, they can't cross that HIPAA line (or come near it). TAK and Colby can't post about their customers; financials. I have no business posting about specific clients' procedure counts, how they run their endocenters or their patients' information. (I have to adhere to HIPAA, too.) But we can still all come here and complain about our days, or our industries.
 
#21 ·
I probably would. I'm sure that my feelings would also be hurt - especially if it were a doc that I really liked and respected.<br><br>
But, <b><i>feeling my privacy was violated</i></b>, and it actually <b><i>being violated</i></b>, at least with regard to the privacy statute (HIPAA) are 2 very different things.
 
#22 ·
No way would I want to... trust me.<br><br>
I don't think they should give up being human at all, but I would hope they would step back if they felt they disliked a patient badly enough they felt the need to talk about them in a public forum... that's all.
 
#23 ·
Agreed. I can understand posting about it in a public forum if it's a situation like "this is how I handled this", but if it's purely a vent, there are probably better ways to unload.<br><br>
Now. Can we beer and make up?<br><br><img alt="biggrin.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/biggrin.gif">
 
#24 ·
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I didn't know we were fighting... but we can always beer. <img alt="smile.gif" src="http://files.kickrunners.com/smilies/smile.gif">
 
#25 ·
I wanted people to see this video. Some of you may have already. It is kind of funny so here it is. BTW I have mixed feelings about what is being discussed here. Medical Professionals are humans too and many people seem to forget that. Unfortunately, they make mistakes too, everyone does. They need to vent too but I agree a public forum is not the place to do it. If you dislike a patient so much you can't be objective about their case then yes you should refer them to another Dr.<br><br><a href="http://youtube.com/watch?v=xskFo75Wdhs" target="_blank">http://youtube.com/watch?v=xskFo75Wdhs</a>
 
#26 ·
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dh is very discreet also. Once, he came home and said "so-and-so says hi. she said I could say hi to you and that she had shoulder surgery" (she was someone I knew from hs).<br>
Once he was talking about a doctors wife that needed an epi for a pap. I'm like "who? who?" he looks and says "crap. I said too much". There's hundreds of docs in my small town, but that the closest he's come to giving it up
 
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