Maintaining Boundaries on Social Media
As a dentist, you want your patients to look forward to their appointments. So, using social media to share fun events or fun facts about you should make them want to visit you, right? It’s tempting to use your existing social media profile for both business and personal life, but here are several reasons why your brand account should be separate from your personal account.
- Maintaining Professionalism: A dentist's social media presence is an extension of his or her professional persona. Sharing personal opinions, photos, or information may not align with the image a dentist wants to portray. To some viewers, a red Solo cup can mean you’re having fun, but others may infer that you drink too much.
- Avoiding Conflict of Interest: A dentist who shares personal opinions or affiliations on social media may create conflicts of interest with patients. For example, if a dentist shares political views that are opposite of a patient's, the patient may feel uncomfortable or may choose to seek treatment elsewhere.
- Preventing Misunderstandings: Sharing information about patients or their treatment on a social media account could violate patient privacy laws. Even if the dentist does not mention patients by name, sharing any information that could identify a patient could be a violation of HIPAA regulations. Patients or colleagues may misinterpret a post or comment as being directed at them or their situation, leading to confusion or potential conflicts.
- Damage to Reputation: Posting controversial or offensive content on a social media account can damage a dentist's reputation and negatively impact their practice. You may want to share your opinion on the COVID-19 vaccine with your friends, but do you really want your patients to know your thoughts on this? Patients may choose to seek treatment elsewhere if they are offended or disagree with the content posted on the dentist's social media account.
Interacting with Facebook, Twitter and Instagram has become routine, and the boundaries that separate healthcare professionals and patients when they interact on such sites have become blurred. Social media is an excellent way to communicate, but relationships may be damaged if caution is not used to separate personal and professional experiences. By keeping your personal life private and your business life separate on social media, you can maintain a professional image and ensure that patients view you as a trusted healthcare provider.
