title: Dangers and opportunities for social media in medicine.
abstract: Health professionals have begun using social media to benefit patients, enhance professional networks, and advance understanding of individual and contextual factors influencing public health. However, discussion of the dangers of these technologies in medicine has overwhelmed consideration of positive applications. This article summarizes the hazards of social media in medicine and explores how changes in functionality on sites like Facebook may make these technologies less perilous for health professionals. Finally, it describes the most promising avenues through which professionals can use social media in medicine-improving patient communication, enhancing professional development, and contributing to public health research and service.
authors.affiliation: Department of Humanities, Penn State Hershey College of Medicine, Hershey, Pennsylvania, USA. drg21@psu.edu
authors.forename: Daniel R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Liza S
authors.initials: LS
authors.lastname: Rovniak
authors.forename: Jennifer L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kraschnewski
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003219:Confidentiality / Q000592:standards*; D006282:Health Personnel; D006801:Humans; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D061108:Social Media; D060756:Social Networking
references.citation: Science. 2012 Jul 6;337(6090):49-53
references.pmid: 22767921
references.citation: J Contin Educ Health Prof. 2011 Summer;31(3):215-9
references.pmid: 21953663
references.citation: J Clin Ethics. 2012 Winter;23(4):348-52
references.pmid: 23469697
references.citation: Acad Med. 2011 Dec;86(12):1545-50
references.pmid: 22030752
references.citation: J Clin Ethics. 2011 Summer;22(2):165-72
references.pmid: 21837888
references.citation: Teach Learn Med. 2012;24(2):155-7
references.pmid: 22490097
references.citation: Am J Prev Med. 2012 Nov;43(5):571-2
references.pmid: 23079184
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2012 Sep 6;367(10):891-3
references.pmid: 22931258
references.citation: Obesity (Silver Spring). 2013 Jan;21(1):25-31
references.pmid: 23505165
references.citation: JAMA. 2012 Jul 4;308(1):60-6
references.pmid: 22729481
references.citation: Arch Intern Med. 2011 Sep 26;171(17):1589-91
references.pmid: 21949173
references.citation: J Gen Intern Med. 2008 Oct;23(10):1642-6
references.pmid: 18649110
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2007 Jul 26;357(4):370-9
references.pmid: 17652652
references.citation: J Gen Intern Med. 2010 Nov;25(11):1227-9
references.pmid: 20632121
references.citation: JAMA. 2009 Sep 23;302(12):1309-15
references.pmid: 19773566
references.citation: Am J Prev Med. 2012 Nov;43(5):527-32
references.pmid: 23079176
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2011 Jul 28;365(4):289-91
references.pmid: 21793742
references.citation: N Engl J Med. 2009 Aug 13;361(7):649-51
references.pmid: 19675328
references.citation: J Med Internet Res. 2010 Dec 17;12(4):e72
references.pmid: 21169161
references.citation: J Gen Intern Med. 2011 Oct;26(10):1168-74
references.pmid: 21706268
references.citation: Acad Med. 2009 Nov;84(11):1479-81
references.pmid: 19858794
references.citation: J Med Internet Res. 2012 Feb 23;14(1):e28
references.pmid: 22360969
references.citation: J Gen Intern Med. 2008 Jul;23(7):954-7
references.pmid: 18612723
references.citation: Ann Intern Med. 2011 May 17;154(10):707-8
references.pmid: 21576547
references.citation: Lancet. 2011 Jun 18;377(9783):2083
references.pmid: 21684379
references.citation: J Med Ethics. 2011 Feb;37(2):101-4
references.pmid: 21160080
references.citation: Med Econ. 2010 Dec 3;87(23):22-6, 28, 30
references.pmid: 21287933
references.citation: Am J Prev Med. 2012 Nov;43(5):467-74
references.pmid: 23079168