Cited by 79Social Media in Health EducationImpact of Technology on AdolescentsPrivacy, Security, and Data Protection

The decision to access patient information from a social media site: what would you do?

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Jent, Jason F., Eaton, Cyd K., Merrick, Melissa T., Englebert, Nicole E., Dandes, Susan K., Chapman, Ana V., Hershorin, Eugene R.·2011·Journal of Adolescent Health

Abstract

Purpose The current study examined the prevalence with which healthcare providers use a social media site (SMS) account (e.g., Facebook), the extent to which they use SMSs in clinical practice, and their decision-making process after accessing patient information from an SMS.Methods Pediatric faculty and trainees from a medical school campus were provided a SMS history form and seven fictional SMS adolescent profile vignettes that depicted concerning information. Participants were instructed to rate their personal use and beliefs about SMSs and to report how they would respond if they obtained concerning information about an adolescent patient from their public SMS profile.Results Healthcare providers generally believed it not to be an invasion of privacy to conduct an Internet/SMS search of someone they know. A small percentage of trainees reported a personal history of conducting an Internet search (18%) or an SMS search (14%) for a patient. However, no faculty endorsed a history of conducting searches for patients. Faculty and trainees also differed in how they would respond to concerning SMS adolescent profile information.Conclusions The findings that trainees are conducting Internet/SMS searches of patients and that faculty and trainees differ in how they would respond to concerning profile information suggest the need for specific guidelines regarding the role of SMSs in clinical practice. Practice, policy, and training implications are discussed.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2011.02.004

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  • The findings provide an important foundation for developing training on PSM in medical schools.

    “Given the increasing use of SM among medical students and health professionals and the concerns about unprofessional behaviors online (15, 50–56), these findings provide an important foundation for developing training on PSM in medical schools.”
  • The public availability of information on patients and physicians represents a threat to privacy, with the potential for a negative impact on patient-physician relationships.

    “As previous research shows, the public availability of information on patients and physicians represents a threat to privacy [140-142], with the potential for a negative impact on patient-physician relationships [143,144].”
  • In general, healthcare providers do not believe it is an invasion of privacy to conduct an Internet or social media search for people they know or work with, and they believe publicly accessible social media profiles are public information.

    “In general, healthcare providers do not believe that it is an invasion of privacy to conduct an Internet or social media site search for people that they know or work with, and they believe that publicly accessible social media profiles are public information.18”
  • A study of pediatric faculty and trainees found that 14% to 18% of trainees, but no faculty, had searched the Internet or social media for information about a patient; 14% of faculty said they would conduct such a search if necessary.

    “A study of pediatric faculty and trainees found that 14% to 18% of trainees (but no faculty) had conducted an Internet or social media Web site search for information about a patient; 14% of faculty stated they would conduct an Internet search for additional patient information if necessary.18”
  • Significant variation exists in how providers would respond to information accessed from a patient's social media.

    “However, significant variation exists in how providers would respond to accessed information.”

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Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. [14]American Medical Association AMA’s code of medical ethics 1992 Accessed August 16, 2010 Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/medical-ethics/code-medical-ethics.shtml
  2. [15]American Medical Association Legal issues for physicians: Patient-physician relationship issues 2009 Accessed August 16, 2010 Available at: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/physician-resources/legal-topics/patient-physician-relationship-topics.shtml

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Authors
Jent, J. F., Eaton, C. K., Merrick, M. T., Englebert, N. E., Dandes, S. K., Chapman, A. V., & Hershorin, E. R.
Affiliations
University of Miami (US)
Corresponding author
Jent, Jason F.
Venue
Journal of Adolescent Health
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2011-10
Volume
49
Issue
4
Pages
414-420
ISSN
1054-139X (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W2038242117
Cited by
79
References
18
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 22 · 2021: 6 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 5
FWCI
7.57
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Adolescent Health (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
Funders
  • University of Miami
  • National Institutes of Health
  • Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (T32HD007510, 5T32HD07510-08)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Impact of Technology on Adolescents
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Privacy, Security, and Data Protection
Keywords
social media, Facebook, adolescent patient, privacy, physician decision-making, medical trainees, medical faculty, physician-patient relationship
MeSH terms
Academic Medical Centers, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Attitude of Health Personnel, Decision Making, Faculty, Medical, Female, Florida, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Pediatrics, Physicians, Students, Medical, Prevalence, Access to Information, Young Adult, Social Media

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