Draft changes to the medical profession’s code of conduct – the cornerstone document used to hold doctors to account – include explicit warnings about the use of social media.
The draft code, which has been released for public consultation, stresses that its edicts no longer apply only to “traditional face-to-face consultations”.
Under the section on confidentiality and privacy, it now states that good medical practice involves “ensuring that your use of social media is consistent with your ethical and legal obligations to protect patient privacy”.
