A physician’s online presence is vitally important, but maintaining it can be a potential minefield for practices. Now you can take advantage of resources on the topic shared during the Texas Medical Association’s latest Ask the Expert event, Protecting Your Online Reputation and Do’s and Don’ts of Social Media, to help you put your best foot forward on the internet.
Using social media to help establish an online presence can keep physicians “top of mind” for patients while also relaying changes at their practice, establishing them as an expert, and making them more approachable, Jen Rios, TMA’s director of digital communications, told physicians at the virtual event.
“It’s also just a good way to drive new patient engagement,” she said. “Because when your patients are liking and sharing the things that you post, it’s not only them liking and sharing these things. [Once] they hit that ‘like’ button and that ‘share’ button, that’s going into their feeds, and it’s showing up on their friends’ pages as well. So, it’s almost like a recommendation.”
But the online world also poses dangers, said Austin attorney Reid Wittliff, who also presented during the virtual event, held June 1. He’s helped medical practices in online reputation cases. For instance, responding to any comment on review sites like Yelp or Healthgrades – even positive ones – can cause physicians to run afoul of HIPAA regulations, he says.
“I've dealt with some of the government attorneys doing HIPAA investigations, and they take the position that if you acknowledge a patient’s online post in any way – even if somebody posts something favorable about your practice or you as a doctor or a health care provider and you simply say, ‘Thank you,’ – that’s a violation of HIPAA. So it is really, really important that you think long and hard before you respond to any kind of online post.”
Physician practices should designate one or two “champions” who understand the online world as well as the practice’s online goals and policies, Ms. Rios said. Those people alone should handle posting and other matters on the internet.
During the question-and-answer period, several physicians asked about how to handle negative comments or reviews. On Facebook, physicians can prevent those comments by turning off the review functionality, Ms. Rios said.
However, there is no uniform way to address negative comments, Mr. Wittliff said. Practices usually can handle the process of removing them on their own or get help from the site administrators, especially if those comments are racist or sexist.
But in more serious instances, it might require legal help, Mr. Wittliff added. For instance, some disgruntled patients have made coordinated efforts to lower physicians’ online ratings by posting negative reviews under several false names. That situation may require legal advice or intervention.
Check out TMA’s Ask the Expert webpage to find more resources on this topic and see upcoming events.