title: Facebook activity of residents and fellows and its impact on the doctor-patient relationship.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Facebook is an increasingly popular online social networking site. The purpose of this study was to describe the Facebook activity of residents and fellows and their opinions regarding the impact of Facebook on the doctor-patient relationship.
  
  
  METHODS
  An anonymous questionnaire was emailed to 405 residents and fellows at the Rouen University Hospital, France, in October 2009.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 202 participants who returned the questionnaire (50%), 147 (73%) had a Facebook profile. Among responders, 138 (99%) displayed their real name on their profile, 136 (97%) their birthdates, 128 (91%) a personal photograph, 83 (59%) their current university and 76 (55%) their current position. Default privacy settings were changed by 61% of users, more frequently if they were registered for >1&emsp14;year (p=0.02). If a patient requested them as a 'friend', 152 (85%) participants would automatically decline the request, 26 (15%) would decide on an individual basis and none would automatically accept the request. Eighty-eight participants (48%) believed that the doctor-patient relationship would be altered if patients discovered that their doctor had a Facebook account, but 139 (76%) considered that it would change only if the patient had open access to their doctor's profile, independent of its content.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Residents and fellows frequently use Facebook and display personal information on their profiles. Insufficient privacy protection might have an impact the doctor-patient relationship.
authors.affiliation: Service de Cardiologie, Hôpital Lariboisière - Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 2, rue Ambroise Paré, 75010 Paris, France. ghassan.moubarak@gmail.com
authors.forename: Ghassan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Moubarak
authors.forename: Aurélie
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Guiot
authors.forename: Ygal
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Benhamou
authors.forename: Alexandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Benhamou
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hariri
mesh_terms: D005602:France; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D007396:Internship and Residency; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008505:Medical Staff, Hospital / Q000941:ethics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010361:Patients / Q000523:psychology*; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics*; D012944:Social Support; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014342:Truth Disclosure / Q000941:ethics*