Pharmacists' perceptions of professionalism on social networking sites

A total of 11 studies conducted in-depth or semistructured interviews, and 6 studies used focus groups.

“A total of 11 studies conducted in-depth or semistructured interviews [34,36,44,49,58,65,73,76,97,104,117], and 6 studies used focus groups [45,49,58,70,112,117].”

A total of 8 studies were conducted in several countries simultaneously.

“A total of 8 studies were conducted in several countries simultaneously [32-39].”

Thematic analysis of pharmacists' semistructured interviews recognized addressing unprofessional posts made by peers as positive online behavior.

“The thematic analysis of pharmacists’ semistructured interviews recognized addressing unprofessional posts made by peers as positive online behavior.”

Studies investigated whether participants mixed professional and personal information and activities on social media sites (blended profiles) or adopted a separation strategy (dual citizenship).

“Studies also investigated the purpose of SM use, whether participants mixed professional and personal information and activities on SM sites (blended profiles) or adopted a separation strategy where professional information and activities were clearly separated from personal ones (dual citizenship) [34,39,69,78,79,91,96,97,106].”

Social media benefits e-professionalism by improving established networks or enabling collaboration through social media sites.

“The benefits of SM on e-professionalism of HCPs can be seen as improvements of established networks or possibilities for collaboration through SM sites [33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 44-46, 53, 69, 72, 76, 78, 79, 92, 97, 106-108, 117].”

Professional networking and collaborations on social media enable development and building of professional identities for health care professions.

“Professional networking and collaborations on SM enable the development and building of professional identities for health care professions [34,38,39,45,67,73,104].”

Positive professional behaviors and attitudes regarding patient education and health promotion were reported.

“Positive professional behaviors and attitudes regarding patient education and health promotion were also reported [34,37,75,97,106].”

Breaches of patient privacy were a concern for many different types of health care professionals.

“Breaches of patient privacy was a concern for many different types of HCPs [34,43,47,57,91,94,97,107,111,119].”

Another positive professional activity was use of social media to educate society in general about the role that pharmacists play in the health care system, their clinical roles, and how they can promote quality care for patients.

“Another positive professional activity was the use of SM to educate society in general about the role that pharmacists play in the health care system, their clinical roles, and how they can promote quality care for patients [34].”

Blurred boundaries between professional and personal spheres of social media use, with concerns about exposure of private life or separating private and professional profiles, have been presented in numerous studies in this review.

“Blurred boundaries between professional and personal spheres of SM use [34, 39, 47, 51, 69, 78, 79, 91, 96, 97, 106], with concerns about exposure of one’s private life or separating private and professional profiles have been presented in numerous studies of this review.”

Among pharmacists, perceived unprofessional behaviors included revealing details of personal life and activities; open complaints about the pharmacy sector, coworkers, physicians, and patients; inappropriate description of pharmacists' roles and activities; and breaches of patient confidentiality.

“Among pharmacists, examples of perceived unprofessional behaviors included revealing details of personal life and activities; open complaints about the pharmacy sector, coworkers, physicians, and patients; inappropriate description of pharmacists’ roles and activities; and breaches of patient confidentiality [34].”

Professional networking and collaborations on social media enable the development and building of professional identities for health care professions.

“Professional networking and collaborations on SM enable the development and building of professional identities for health care professions [34,38,39,45,67,73,104].”

Benefits of social media on e-professionalism of health care professionals can be seen as improvements of established networks or possibilities for collaboration through social media sites.

“Benefits of SM on e-professionalism of HCPs can be seen as improvements of established networks or possibilities for collaboration through SM sites [33, 34, 36, 38, 39, 44-46, 53, 69, 72, 76, 78, 79, 92, 97, 106-108, 117].”

Compromising confidentiality concerns were described in numerous studies in this review, especially about breaches of patient privacy or possible risks of violating HIPAA online.

“Compromising confidentiality concerns were described in numerous studies in this review [34, 43, 47, 57, 91, 94, 97, 107, 111, 119], especially about breaches of patient privacy or possible risks of violating HIPAA online.”

Blurred boundaries between professional and personal spheres of social media use, with concerns about exposure of one's private life, presenting details of personal life, or separating private and professional profiles, have been presented in numerous studies in this review.

“Blurred boundaries between professional and personal spheres of SM use [34, 39, 47, 51, 69, 78, 79, 91, 96, 97, 106], with concerns about exposure of one’s private life, presenting details of personal life, or separating private and professional profiles, have been presented in numerous studies in this review.”

A study on pharmacists recruited from numerous countries found that most of them did not adopt separate accounts for professional and personal matters on social media, with resultant negative outcomes on the professional career of the individuals.

“A study on pharmacists recruited from numerous countries found that most of them did not adopt separate accounts for professional and personal matters on social media, with resultant negative outcomes on the professional career of the individuals [52].”