ETHICS
Avoiding practice pitfalls on social media By Paula Alves Horne, DVM
Dr. Paula Alves Horne
Social media, it sounds so friendly and innocuous—a place to be ourselves and become one with a community—but the realities of negotiating this new realm as a professional can be difficult and dismaying. Real risks exist that can have a profound effect on you, your employees and your business. Establishing an ethical standard for you and your employees is an important step toward preventing lost resources,
breaches of confidentiality and conflicts of interest, as well as protecting the practice’s reputation.
Protecting your resources Veterinary practice relies on our employees to take initiative and work independently. Situations abound where employees are not under direct supervision. Since most have smartphones within reach, the opportunity for misusing time during working hours is ample. The use of social media during working hours can be beneficial. It allows the employee the chance to mentally recharge, connect with their family and friends, network with other veterinary pro- fessionals and learn new information or techniques. But the chance for wasting time or misusing company resources is ever-present. Additionally, computer hardware and networks are vulnerable to being compromised if misused on the web. Viruses and malware are abundant and can be downloaded inadvertently. The AVMA has a template for social media use that can be adapted to your practice needs. It is available to AVMA members at
https://tinyurl.com/ avmasmr.
Protecting Privacy
Protecting confidentiality is important to any medical practice. As veterinarians, we are trusted to maintain the privacy of our clients and patients. Social media has intruded into this relationship in both naive and malicious ways. Something as simple as posting a photo of a client’s horse can be considered unethical if permission is not granted by the owner. You may simply be trying to get advice from colleagues for how to treat a wound, but once the photo is posted on the web, it can go anywhere. This can come back to bite you if the owner is not onboard from the start. A disgruntled employee could also post informa- tion about a case where they feel the client, or their animal, was not treated properly. This could leave the veterinarian
and practice open to charges of breaching the confidentiali- ty of the client’s information. Written policies and communi- cation with your staff are essential when privacy is at stake.
Protecting Your Interests
Conflicts of interest can arise when either employees or clients are using the social media sites of a practice for their own gain. These sites require monitoring by the practice to maintain the proper content and tone. It is important to have a designated person or team to maintain a consistent message and to deal with any infractions quickly. The practice manual should have a policy on who can post to the social media sites and what kind of posts are not acceptable, i.e., solicitations, sales of non-practice items, harassment of fellow employees or clients, etc. Care needs to be taken when dealing with clients using the practice name as a reference without permission. You do not want to alienate a good client, but they do need to understand that you need to control the voice of your business.
Protecting Your Reputation
Negative reviews are a guarantee if you are in business in the wired age. Social media works faster then warp speed when someone has a beef. It is therefore incumbent upon a business owner to make sure that a trusted individual is constantly monitoring the web for reviews that are less than glowing. The practice manager should utilize tools at hand to reply to the complaints as quickly and professionally as possible. You want the client to know that their concerns are heard and addressed; then you can urge them to take the discussion to a more private medium. Hopefully, you can then calmly resolve the issue and have them remove the unflattering comments. The AVMA offers its members some valuable guides and strategies for responding to negative media at
https://tinyurl.com/avmasmfc.
The maze of social media can be navigated successfully by setting a practice policy for content and use, responding to negative reviews quickly and professionally, and monitoring the web frequently to keep the practice’s message on point. Communicating with your staff is essential to make sure they are aware of your desires and restrictions. Social media ultimately should be an avenue for marketing your business and communicating with current and potential clients. Younger staff members can be an important resource in learning about the different apps and how they can be best used to further this goal. “Community Is King,” and we all need to learn how to ethically use it to our benefit.
AAEP News April 2018 III
Dr. Horne is the owner of Hoof & Paw Veterinary Service in Purcellville, Va., and a member of the AAEP’s Professional Conduct and Ethics Committee.
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