What
This policy provides guidance for members of the practice on using social media internally and externally. The policy helps identify and mitigate risks associated with social media use.
For the purposes of this policy, ‘social media’ is online social networks used to disseminate information through online interaction.
The practice complies with AHPRA national law and takes reasonable steps to remove testimonials that advertise their health services (which may include comments about the practitioners themselves).
The practice is not responsible for removing (or trying to have removed) unsolicited testimonials published on a third-party website or in social media accounts over which they do not have control.
When
Regardless of whether social media is used for business-related activity or for personal reasons, the following policy requirements apply to all doctors and practice staff of this practice. GPs and practice staff are legally responsible for their online activities.
Who
All staff at this Practice.
Why
To provide guidance to staff and contractors on the use of social media at work and at home. We aim to respect patient confidentiality, laws relating to medical practice, and professionalism.
Cranbrook Medical Practice has a website and a Facebook account.
How
The practice will appoint a staff member as a social media officer responsible for managing and monitoring the practice’s social media accounts. All posts on the practice’s social media website will be made by this staff member. The practice reserves the right to remove any content at its own discretion.
When using the practice’s social media, all members of our practice team will not:
Post any material that:
- Is unlawful, threatening, defamatory, pornographic, inflammatory, menacing, or offensive
- Infringes or breaches another person’s rights (including intellectual property rights) or privacy, or misuses the practice’s or another person’s confidential information (e.g. do not submit confidential information relating to our patients, personal information of staff, or information concerning the practice’s business operations that have not been made public)
- Is materially damaging or could be materially damaging to the practice’s reputation or image, or another individual
- Is in breach of any of the practice’s policies or procedures
- Use social media to send unsolicited commercial electronic messages, or solicit other users to buy or sell products or services or donate money
- Impersonate another person or entity (for example, by pretending to be someone else or another practice employee or other participant when you submit a contribution to social media) or by using another’s registration identifier without permission
- Tamper with, hinder the operation of, or make unauthorised changes to the social media sites
- Knowingly transmit any virus or other disabling feature to or via the practice’s social media account, or use in any email to a third party, or the social media site
- Attempt to do or permit another person to do any of these things:
- Claim or imply that you are speaking on the practice’s behalf, unless you are authorised to do so
- Disclose any information that is confidential or proprietary to the practice, or to any third party that has disclosed information to the practice
- Be defamatory, harassing, or in violation of any other applicable law
- Include confidential or copyrighted information (e.g. music, videos, text belonging to third parties), and
- Violate any other applicable policy of the practice.
- All members of our practice team must obtain the relevant approval from our social media officer prior to posting any public representation of the practice on social media websites. The practice reserves the right to remove any content at its own discretion.
- Any social media must be monitored in accordance with the practice’s current policies on the use of the internet, email and computers.
Any social media posts by members of our practice team on their personal social media platforms should:
- Include the following disclaimer example in a reasonably prominent place if they are identifying themselves as an employee of the practice on any posting: ‘The views expressed in this post are mine and do not reflect the views of the practice/business/committees/boards that I am a member of’, and
- Respect copyright, privacy, fair use, financial disclosure and other applicable laws when publishing on social media platforms.
- Social media activities internally and externally of the practice must be in line with this policy.
Additional Relevant Links
AHPRA Social Media Obligations under the National Law
RACGP 5th Edition Standards
Core 6.4 Information Security