title: European Association of Urology (@Uroweb) recommendations on the appropriate use of social media.
abstract: Social media use is becoming common in medical practice. Although primarily used in this context to connect physicians, social media allows users share information, to create an online profile, to learn and keep knowledge up to date, to facilitate virtual attendance at medical conferences, and to measure impact within a field. However, shared content should be considered permanent and beyond the control of its author, and typical boundaries, such as the patient-physician interaction, become blurred, putting both parties at risk. The European Association of Urology brought together a committee of stakeholders to create guidance on the good practice and standards of use of social media. These encompass guidance about defining an online profile; managing accounts; protecting the reputations of yourself and your organization; protecting patient confidentiality; and creating honest, responsible content that reflects your standing as a physician and your membership within this profession.
authors.affiliation: Academic Department of Urology, Assistance Publique Hôpitaux de Paris, Hôpital Pitié-Salpétrière and UPMC Univ Paris 6, Paris, France. Electronic address: morgan.roupret@psl.aphp.fr.
authors.forename: Morgan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rouprêt
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Todd M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Morgan
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Turku University Hospital, Turku, Finland.
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Bostrom
authors.affiliation: Departments of Urology and Epidemiology and Biostatistics, UCSF Helen Hiller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center, San Francisco, CA, USA.
authors.forename: Matthew R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Cooperberg
authors.affiliation: Division of Urologic Oncology, Department of Surgical Oncology, Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kutikov
authors.affiliation: Urology Department, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: Kate D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Linton
authors.affiliation: European School of Urology, Fundació Puigvert, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Joan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Palou
authors.affiliation: Hospital Universitario Infanta Sofia, Urology Unit, Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Luis
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Martínez-Piñeiro
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Netherlands Cancer Institute, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Henk
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van der Poel
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Hospital Rijnstate Arnhem, Arnhem, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Carl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wijburg
authors.affiliation: Fight Bladder Cancer, Oxfordshire, UK.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Winterbottom
authors.affiliation: Sydney Adventist Hospital Clinical School, University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Henry H
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology, Medical Faculty Carl Gustav Carus, TU Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
authors.forename: Manfred P
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Wirth
authors.affiliation: Academic Urology Unit, University of Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: James W F
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Catto
mesh_terms: D003219:Confidentiality / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards; D005060:Europe; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000941:ethics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D018570:Risk Assessment; D061108:Social Media / Q000941:ethics* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012955:Societies, Medical / Q000941:ethics / Q000592:standards; D014572:Urology / Q000941:ethics* / Q000592:standards*
keywords: Ethics; Guidelines; Social media; Urology