Defense Attorney Mandi Karvis Offers Social Media Advice
Attorney Mandi Karvis recommends doctors have two separate social media profiles—one for their personal life and one for their practice.
She adds that it’s important to establish adequate privacy settings and to revisit the various sites’ privacy policies periodically, as they tend to change over time. Privacy settings should preclude patients from accessing the practice’s personal information.
Ms. Karvis also recommends developing a standard policy to address friend requests from patients. For example: I am unable to friend current or former patients on social networking sites out of respect for our doctor/patient relationship and to safeguard your confidentiality. Instead, I encourage you to like my practice page.
Finally, she notes that society expects a high level of professionalism from doctors. In court, jurors may react negatively to a doctor who interacts casually with patients.