The Importance of Ethical Use of the Internet and Social Media In Medicine

Dr. Parviz Kavoussi gives a lecture on the ethics of internet and social media use at Baylor Health Care System’s 2014 Urology Update on March 28, 2014.

As social media and the internet have become more and more integrated in our lives, they have become more commonly used as resources in all aspects of medicine. Dr. Kavoussi was invited as a faculty lecturer to discuss patient relations in the social media era. “As doctors and patients are relying more and more on on-line resources for information and social media for communication, we must be careful to do so in an ethical and responsible manner.” There are 1 million Facebook users within a 50 mile radius of Austin. This can be an excellent resource for communication, and in certain circumstances, for information, but it is certainly a public domain, so users must be aware of this. Medical practices also utilize the internet for exposure and there are cases where this may be done in an unethical manner. Practices should apply the same ethics that are applied to the practice of medicine to the use of online resources.

Dr. Kavoussi states, “I was very pleased to have the opportunity to be a faculty lecturer at this conference to discuss the importance of ethical use of the internet and social media in a professional setting with colleagues from across the state and country. This is a crucially important topic, especially in a profession as sensitive as medicine.”