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Social media

In recent years social media has quickly embedded itself within our everyday lives. It presents great opportunities for organisations and individuals to listen and have conversations with the people they wish to both professionally and personally, however it is worth being mindful of the key points identified below.

  • Social media can blur the boundary between an individual’s public and professional lives.
  • Dentists should have conservative privacy settings - be aware that not all information can be protected on the web.
  • The ethical and legal duty to protect patient confidentiality applies equally on the internet as to other media.
  • It would be inappropriate to post informal, personal, or derogatory comments about patients or colleagues.
  • Dentists should not accept ‘friend’ requests from current or former patients.
  • Defamation law can apply to any comments posted on the web made in either a personal or professional capacity.
  • Dentists should be conscious of their online image and how it may impact on their professional standing.

The General Dental Council gives the following guidance:

Social networking sites and other social media are effective ways of communicating with others on both a personal and professional level.

Social media covers a number of internet based tools including, but not limited to, blogs, internet forums, content communities and social networking sites such as Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, LinkedIn, GDPUK, Instagram and Pinterest.

Professional social networking websites aimed solely at dental professionals are also forms of social media and are covered by this guidance.

4.2.3 of Standards for the Dental Team states:

‘You must not post any information or comments about patients on social networking or blogging sites. If you use professional social media to discuss anonymised cases for the purpose of discussing best practice you must be careful that the patient or patients cannot be identified.’

When using social media, you must:

  • a) Maintain and protect patients’ information by not publishing any information which could identify them on social media without their explicit consent.
  • b) Maintain appropriate boundaries in the relationships you have with patients and other members of the dental team.
  • c) Comply with any internet and social media policy set out by your employer.

 As a registrant you have a responsibility to behave professionally and responsibly both online and offline.

Your online image can impact on your professional life and you should not post any information, including photographs and videos, which could bring the profession into disrepute.

It is important to remember that anything you post on social media is in the public domain and can be easily copied and redistributed without your knowledge. You should presume that everything that you share online will be there permanently. 

Please think carefully before accepting friend requests from patients. 

Regularly review your privacy settings to ensure that information is not accessed by unintended audiences, however, remember that even the strictest privacy settings do not guarantee that your information will be kept secure and any information that you post could be viewed by anyone including your patients, colleagues, or employer. 

Remember that even if you do not identify yourself as a dental professional, you could still put your registration at risk if you display inappropriate behaviour whilst using social media. 

You should not have discussions with your patients about their dental care and treatments on social media.

While online discussions about anonymised patients and best practice can have an educational and professional benefit you should remember that posting information under another username does not guarantee your confidentiality. Please consider how your comments reflect on you as well as how they could impact on the public’s trust in the profession.