Should Doctors Google Patients?

from the information-wants-to-be-free dept

Thu, May 6th 2010 1:55am — Mike Masnick

We recently had a story about an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics that recommended doctors avoid using social networks entirely, because of potential ethical issues related to patient information. That seems a bit extreme. It seems like there would be ways to use social networks without compromising your ethics. However, a recent article in the LA Times takes this discussion a step further. Beyond discussing social networking usage and "friending" between doctors and patients, it wonders if it's okay for doctors to do internet searches on their patients to find out more info about them (or even see if they're lying about stuff). Of course, this seems like a bit of a flip side to the typical complaint from some doctors who don't like that patients are searching for information online themselves, though usually more for self-diagnosis. The article suggests that it really depends on the doctor, the patient and the situation, but it seems that many doctors are afraid to search for info about their patients.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: doctors, patients, search, social networking

12 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2010 @ 3:51am

The question is not whether doctors may look at publicly available and publicly posted information (for which there is absolutely no expectation of privacy), but rather how heavily they may rely on it.

There is always the what if scenario of: "But like what if like some guy hates you and makes a web page posing as you and how much you want to get AIDS and you go to your doctor and he's all like, 'dude, do you have AIDS?' and you're all like, 'no way man', but then he's all like, 'but your web page says you want to get it.'"
[ link to this | view in thread ]
nsaamiller (profile), 6 May 2010 @ 4:13am

What doc has the time?
Time to google patients? Not likely. Hell, I have hardly enough time to spend doing a good job evaluating, deciding, and informing, let alone snooping on my patiens.

Tempest in a teacup. Maybe the authors of the JMEdEthics article really need to get out and talk to docs who spend their days working for a living. The LATimes article is a joke, as far as I can see. Is there a "silly season" for health writers, or is it post Obamacare mania?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
nononymous cow hard, 6 May 2010 @ 4:15am

Re:
If your web page says you want to get something, wouldn't that mean you don't have it? So why would a doctor ask someone if they have something, when their web page says they want to get it? WTF?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Daniel, 6 May 2010 @ 4:24am

I bet House would do it! Seriously though, if it is relevant and could potentially save their life, why not?
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2010 @ 4:48am

So my doctor can stick his hand in my ass but he can't google my name??? Thats just stupid. As far as social networks go, I dont see a problem with a doctor creating a fan page...if clergy can do it, why not doctors too.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2010 @ 4:55am

Re:
I read that keyboards have a lot of germs on them, now I know why.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2010 @ 6:11am

I'd be more happy if my doctor actually cared that much about my health! i'm lucky to see my doctor for more than 2 minutes when I visit him.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
WammerJammer (profile), 6 May 2010 @ 6:42am

Right On
Absolutely!! I Google every new contact and glean all of the info about the perp, (oops I mean contact) I can find. It only makes sense to be informed.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
bobb, 6 May 2010 @ 7:04am

Knowledge is power
It is best to be forearmed.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
NullOp, 6 May 2010 @ 7:17am

Docs
I would absolutely encourage docs to google their patients! Not only could it possibly allow a better understanding of the patient but, even more importantly, it could potentially warn the doc about possible problematic behavior on the part of the patient. As far as docs 'friending' patients...it's probably not a good idea. I would have the receptionist do it!
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Pete Smith, 6 May 2010 @ 7:17am

Re:
I can see fake web pages about people wanting AIDs are becoming a serious problem for doctors and their patients.
[ link to this | view in thread ]
Anonymous Coward, 6 May 2010 @ 7:31am

Re:
I let hookers stick their hand in my ass but I don't even give them my real name.
[ link to this | view in thread ]