Social Media Policy for Healthcare Providers

Social media has become an undeniable force with the integration of informal communications for healthcare providers and healthcare facilities, fundamentally broadening  possibilities for healthcare providers to engage with patients and colleagues to build stronger, more successful relationships. Good social media policies and structured  training can help providers pursue the benefits and mitigate potential risks.

Social Media Policy for healthcare providers – the following is a shortlist of policies from various healthcare facilities to explore ideas for your own social media activities.

• • Boston Children’s Hospital
  • Carolinas HealthCare System
  • CDC The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

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• • • • CDC Social Media Toolkit – 59 pages
        • The Social Media Toolkit has been designed to provide guidance and to the share lessons learned in more than three years of integrating social media into CDC health communication campaigns, activities, and emergency response efforts. In this guide, you will find information to help you get started using social media—from developing governance to determining which channels best meet your communication objectives to creating a social media strategy. You will also learn about popular channels you can incorporate into your plan – like blogs, video-sharing sites, mobile applications, and RSS feeds. (Revised July 2011)
      • CDC’s Guide to Writing for Social Media
        • DC’s Guide to Writing for Social Media was written to provide guidance and share the lessons learned in more than three years of creating social media messages in CDC health communication campaigns, activities, and emergency response efforts. In this guide, you will find information to help you write more effectively using multiple social media channels, particularly Facebook, Twitter, and mobile phone text messaging.
        • CDC’s Social Media Security Mitigations
  • Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles

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• • • • Social Media Use
      • Share Your Story – Use and Access
  • Cleveland Clinic
  • Iowa Hospital Association

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• • • • Comment Policy
  • Gila River Health Care (GRHC)
  • Heywood Healthcare
  • Kaiser Permanente Social Media Policy
  • Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital
  • Mayo Clinic Social Media Policy for Employees and Students
  • Mountain Star – HCA Healthcare
  • Saint Peter’s Healthcare System
  • Sant Joan de Déu-Barcelona Children’s Hospital
  • Sentara Norfolk General Hospital
  • Sutter Health (North Carolina)

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• • • • Sutter Health Social Media Tip Sheet for Sutter Health Network Employees
  • The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Twin County Regional Healthcare
  • University of Maryland Medical Center

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• • • • Social Media Code of Ethics
      • Web Comments Policy
  • University of Pennsylvania Health System
  • Vanerbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) Social Media Policy
  • Vertex Pharmaceuticals: Twitter Guidelines

AMA Policy Helps Guide Physicians’ Use of Social Media

Rhode Island Board of Medical Licensure and Discipline Policy Guidelines For the Appropriate Use of Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice

International Healthcare – Social Media Policy

• Medical Board of Australia