---
title: "Dos & Don’ts: Social Media Tips for Healthcare Professionals"
url: "https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/dos-donts-social-media-tips-for-healthcare-professionals/"
type: post
date_published: 2012-08-24
date_modified: 2012-08-24
schema:
  @type: Article
language: en-US
word_count: 446
reading_time: 3 min
canonical: "https://arizonacollege.edu/blog/dos-donts-social-media-tips-for-healthcare-professionals/"
categories:
  - General
topic:
  - Uncategorized
---

# Dos & Don’ts: Social Media Tips for Healthcare Professionals

When you work in the medical field, you’re sure to experience many exciting and
memorable moments that you’ll want to share with your friends and family – maybe
you had a particularly good (or bad) interaction with a patient, or maybe you
assisted with a certain procedure for the first time. As a healthcare
professional, it is your responsibility to protect the privacy of the people you
care for, as well as the facility or facilities where you provide patient care.
In the age of social media, you are interlinked with patient communities,
topics, and issues more than ever before. For this reason, it is of the utmost
importance that you exercise extreme caution when you share information via
social media networking sites so that you don’t risk exposing sensitive or
protected health information that may violate patient privacy.

When using social media networking sites, keep these top dos and don’ts in mind
to protect your patients, your workplace, and yourself.

**Do** exercise best judgment when posting your personal opinions and photos on
social media sites. Be sure to separate your professional opinions from what you
share online, and refrain from discussing your colleagues and sharing too much
information.

**Don’t** disclose sensitive or protected health information. While this may
seem like common sense, even adding a friend on Facebook or answering a health
question could be a violation of patient privacy. For most Arizona College
graduates, remember your training regarding HIPAA (Healthcare Information
Portability and Accountability Act). Your patients have the right to privacy
when it comes to their health information.

**Do** use social media for professional networking and educational purposes.
Join sites like LinkedIn and connect with healthcare professionals whose careers
you admire, especially when you are searching for a job in the allied health
field. Utilizing social media sites can be a great way to stay connected and up
to date on the latest healthcare topics and trends.

**Don’t** think that what you post on social media sites will remain private.
Always be aware of your online footprint and the content associated with you
both professionally and personally. Google yourself and make sure that what
appears in search results is how you want to be represented.

As a general rule, if you’re ever in doubt about whether or not something is
appropriate to post online – don’t post it. It’s natural to want to share your
accomplishments and the highlights of your day (or even do a little venting),
but it’s just not worth jeopardizing the health career that you’ve worked so
hard to attain.

---

_Information in this blog post is accurate as of August 24, 2012._

**Categories:** General