The Facebook Phenomenon: Boundaries and Controversies

Abstract

With the increasing use of the Internet by patients and providers alike, it is not unexpected that their online lives would someday intersect. Before the days of Internet search engines, patients knew little about their providers until the day they meet. Now, patients can check the medical board for background checks on past complaints; physician rating sites from other patients; PubMed.gov to find their articles; and physician profiles on either academic, private practice, or marketing Web sites. Likewise, for physicians and other healthcare providers, the only preview of the patient was what they indicated on their first call to determine if they can come in for an intake appointment; however, nowadays many patients have a personal Web site, blog, and/or social networking accounts on services such as Facebook and MySpace. It is all too easy with the power and sophistication of today's search engines to uncover more information about one another, be it pictures posted on Flickr, videos on You Tube, or comments posted on various blogs, discussion forums, or fan sites. Anonymity, privacy, and boundaries are at risk in cyberspace, yet the Internet also offers the power of information, decreasing isolation, and establishing helpful relationships that did not exist prior to its existence. This column explores the issues that impact the patient-physician relationship brought to bear today by social networking and other sites online.

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