Hi everyone! Welcome to our series on Social Media Use for Dietitians. My name is Emily Hunter and I am a graduate student in the Nutrition Communications program at Ryerson University.
In Part 5, we will discuss jurisprudence and practice guidelines that apply to dietitians who use social media. We'll look at case studies about the ethical, legal and regulatory issues that can arise and provide best practice recommendations.
By the end of this presentation you should: have an increased awareness of ethical, legal and regulatory considerations when engaging in social media; be able to identify appropriate courses of action when compromising situations arise, and understand how to apply best practices in social media use.
We will present the information using the following themes:
1. Maintaining Your Professional Image
2. Protecting Client Privacy and Confidentiality
3. Creating Your Message
4. Abiding by Legal Regulations
5. Applying Best Practices
Social media can be effectively used in dietetic practice to make communication more timely and accessible. But, while the scale and speed of communication has changed, the guidelines for sharing information as a dietitian have not. For more information on social media platforms and how to use them, see Part 1 of this video series.
Social media is simply another form of communication. Dietitians who use social media must still abide by the jurisprudence and professional practice guidelines, such as.
● The ‘Code of Ethics’
● Federal or provincial laws and organizational policies. Such as:
○ The Regulated Health Professionals Act and,
○ The Personal Health Protection Information Act, and
● Professional Practice Standards
Maintaining Your Professional Image
Your professional image can be impacted by the images and comments you post on social media, and the content you “like” or “share,” even on your personal accounts.
Social media can magnify negative statements and take away the credibility and client rapport of a dietitian. Defamation is one example. It is subject to civil action and cases caused by social media are rising at roughly 300 percent per year since 2012.
Social media posts can potentially violate the boundaries of professional relationships. For example, if you send or accept “Friend requests” from clients or their families, over-share personal information, or search for background information regarding a client, this may lead to violation of your professional boundaries.
In a recent study, 18.7 percent of physicians reported that they had searched social networking sites for a client’s profile. Another 4% had sent ‘friend’ requests to clients or clients’ family members. The reasons given for these actions included following patient progress, checking on clients who did not attend consultations, curiosity, and gaining collateral information. These activities may violate professional boundaries.
The College of Dietitians of Ontario requires dietitians protect personal health information and medical records.
When using social media, Dietitians should avoid posting:
· identifying information about clients (Including: names, physical
descriptions, birthdates, quotes, and photos)
· Times and locations of client treatments
· case-studies involving current or previous clients
Privacy breaches can result in disciplinary action, termination, and even resignation from the College.
Dietitians are accountable for obtaining clients' consent before collecting, using or disclosing information even on social media. Use your professional judgment to determine whether implied or formal consent is required.
For example: If a client sends you a tweet asking what are good sources of Vitamin C, it would be appropriate to assume you have implied consent to tweet them back with an answer. However, if you decide you want to re-post this tweet for other people to see, you would need to obtain the client's consent, as their name and twitter handle would be seen by others.
Let’s look at a case study! Teresa, a Registered Dietitian, wants to upload pictures taken in her workplace on her social media page.
She has a great photo of a client in a cooking class. Since there's no identifiable information related to the client, Teresa decides that it is acceptable to upload. Is this a privacy breach, and if so, why would this be a concern?
Using photos of clients without their consent is a breach of privacy. This could be harmful to the client, who may not want their photo online or their location accessible to the public.
Creating Your Message
Messages you post should be evidence-based and sources should always be provided.
Accessible messages are generalizable to the public and use plain language. They also accommodate assistive technologies such as screen readers. One way to do this is to capitalize the first letter of each word in a hashtag.
Transparency refers to explicitly stating that you are a registered dietitian and disclosing any conflict of interest. State the intended use of the social media site, for example whether it is to educate, advocate, promote, or network.
Let’s look at a case study! Connie is a dietitian who works for a large Canadian food company. She has a professional Facebook account where she shares nutrition-related news and tips. While browsing Facebook, she finds a message that contains false information about the health effects of a product that her company makes. How should Connie proceed?
Connie can post a response to this inaccurate information. She can start by looking for high quality sources on the topic. Then compose her message using plain language principles. Finally, she needs to be sure to disclose that she is a dietitian who represents the food company.
Abiding by Legal Regulations
Copyright infringement involves using the work of others without properly acknowledging the source. Information posted on social media sites in Canada must comply with our copyright laws. Infringement can result in fines or a civil lawsuit.
Dietitians face legal risks when providing nutritional advice on social media, as the information could be interpreted or used incorrectly.
Providing a disclaimer is one way to prevent liability lawsuits.
For example, here's the disclaimer used by EatRight Ontario:
“service only provides general nutritional health information, and should be used for informational purposes only”.
Let’s look at a case study! Tyrone, a Registered Dietitian, recently received the following comment on his Facebook page:
“I am a 46-year-old male, and I have been really thirsty, tired and hungry lately. I searched this in WebMD and I think I might have diabetes. What do you think?”
What would be an appropriate response?
Tyrone could respond by saying:
“Symptoms of diabetes may include: increased thirst, frequent urination, increased hunger, blurred vision, and numbness in the hands or feet. However, any health concerns should be directed to your family physician.”
This way he is providing general information, and directs the question of diagnosis to a medical professional.
Applying Best Practices
To summarize, we have outlined 5 ‘best practice’ principles for using social media.
‘Maintain Professionalism’: ensure that what you post reflects a professional, keep separate professional and personal social media accounts, and refrain from connecting with patients on personal networks.
‘Ensure Client Privacy and Confidentiality’: comply with privacy laws and avoid posting identifying information about clients.
“Be Transparent”: disclose any conflict of interest and state if you are representing an employer in a post.
‘Deliver Credible Content’: provide current, evidence-based information and communicate in a way that is clear and accessible to your target audience.
‘Protect Patient Care’: do not give medical advice, and include a disclaimer when providing health-related information.
Thank you for your joining us today! For more information on appropriate use of social media for dietitians, consult the College of Dietitians of Ontario website.