Is it Unethical to 'Look Up' ED Patients on Social Media?

medscape

Conclusion

Our findings suggest that although some emergency physicians and trainees use OSM and Google to research their patients, many consider it unethical. Furthermore, we found no age or training-level differences in the likelihood of using Facebook to research patients. Future work should focus on exploring patients' views on whether this act is desirable and permissible. Research should also explore the nature and content of online searches performed on patients, and the usefulness of information obtained. As the prevalence of social media use by patients increases steadily, individuals, institutions, and professional bodies will need to ethically integrate social media into patient care and medical education.^[33] Autonomy and beneficence should be guiding principles so that we benefit, rather than harm, our patients and profession.