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Monday, November 14, 2011

Online etiquette. Stop telling me what to do.


Don't blog/tweet anonymously. Tweet before you blog. Bloggers should meditate [of course]. Don't use emoticons. Don't “dis” patients. Mind your HIPAA (often misspelled "HIPPA"). You have to have a social media presence. I could go on.

I blog anonymously because I want to. I started blogging and tweeting at the same time and I'm doing fine. I use emoticons because sarcasm and satire are difficult to convey in a tweet or email. I find they help me express myself and avoid misunderstandings.

Occasionally, patients who do silly things should be dissed. I rarely do it myself but if others do, it's their business. Also, this can be funny.

Digression: HIPAA is a major nuisance. It's one of the most annoying and misunderstood federal laws ever enacted. Really, are there large numbers of people trying to look at my patients' x-rays so I need to go through logins to get into the PACS? It's not a HIPAA violation to exchange patient information in the process of caring for said patient. But many times doctors and hospital medical records people stubbornly refuse to tell you vital information needed in emergency situations.

I don't want to have a social media presence for my practice. I don't need it. I don't have the type of practice that would benefit by it.

So do me a favor; don’t tell me what I should or should not do online.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Please? Telling the fancy doctor what to do makes us feel superior, and it's either that or go back to talking to the dog.

Anonymous said...

Really, are there large numbers of people trying to look at my patients' x-rays so I need to go through logins to get into the PACS?

And at least two or three levels of login! Plus, after over three years of working here, I have still to get access to PACS from home due to ongoing problems with firewalls, VPN software, and the fact that the remote access software always seems to be incompatible with the current version of Mac OS (at least 2 systems behind, usually.)

My hospital forces a password change every couple of months, and you can't reuse any of your last 6 passwords. This has not markedly increased security, as most people admit to using variations like "jenny1, jenny2, jenny3" etc. & just cycling through if they can't recall which iteration they're on. Plus, they keep "upgrading" PACS with the current result that not only can outside malefactors not see my patients' imaging, but neither can I or the radiologists. *throws up hands*

/vent

Skeptical Scalpel said...

Yes. And there is no evidence that frequent password changes prevent hacking. Apparently when a password is stolen, the thief does not wait 6 weeks to use it. Elaborate passwords and frequent changes lead to users writing passwords down and taping the passwords to the computer.

My hospital forces password changes for some programs and doesn't for others. It makes no sense to me.

Anti Money Laundering said...

Proper etiquette is a must wherever we go. It reflects what kind of being you are. So always bring it along with you.

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