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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Doctors and social media

42 replies

BashfulShark · 17/03/2018 08:32

Curious, should doctors be talking to and discussing medical advice (which goes against the current published NHS stance) over social media?

It's made me feel pretty damn uneasy - was about to register at that practice but don't think I will be doing so now though a bit unsure if I am being knobbish.

OP posts:

Pengggwn · 17/03/2018 08:37

Depends what they are advising and who they're discussing it with.

Doctors aren't there to parrot NHS advice. They are qualified independently of the NHS, aren't they?

Booboobooboo84 · 17/03/2018 08:37

Depends what they were discussing and if they thought they were doing so in a private forum.

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 17/03/2018 08:39

Unless they are discussing a specific case with full name, photos and all the details, what's wrong with that?

Original poster

BashfulShark · 17/03/2018 08:40

Hmm intersting.

They were discussing things in a group with members of their practice there too (both their NHS practice, and their private practice). No confidentiality was broken.

There's like 10,000 people in said group so not exactly private. Just seemed really odd to me.

OP posts:

Booboobooboo84 · 17/03/2018 08:43

What were they discussing

Guavaf1sh · 17/03/2018 08:44

It’s good to discuss things. I would be impressed. Obviously if patient confidentiality is broken that’s completely different

Pengggwn · 17/03/2018 08:44

Sounds fine to me.

slytherindungeon · 17/03/2018 08:47

I think if confidentiality is preserved then discussing things with other doctors is an amazing resource and learning opportunity. Each doctor has had their own journey and may have different things to add to the conversation.

teainbed · 17/03/2018 08:47

Sometimes the NHS guidelines are out of date. There may be new research that supports their view.

Original poster

BashfulShark · 17/03/2018 08:49

Ok thank you - really valuable to hear your input into things. I know doctors who have passionately advocated for things to change over social media, but this just seemed differed.

Clearly I am being knobbish!

OP posts:

SpuriouserAndSpuriouser · 17/03/2018 08:57

I'm not sure I quite understand the situation. Is this a Facebook group or something? And they were discussing the treatment for something in that group?

Medicine isn't a matter of following nhs guidelines to the letter in all situations and for all patients, and medical research moves on all the time. Part of medical training involves looking critically at new research and deciding whether it's applicable to your patients. Was the discussion you saw about this?

I do think giving medical advice over the Internet to people who are not your patients is dodgy though, and it's worth noting that if you are calling yourself a doctor on social media your full name should be there and your GMC number should be traceable.

drivingmisspotty · 17/03/2018 08:57

But is it the confidentiality or the doctor’s views that are concerning you?

If the doctor is saying eg ‘cancer patients don’t need to bother with chemo therapy they should be using my snake oil’ or something towards that, I wouldn’t trust their judgement and wouldn’t register. If they are rationally discussing different treatment options that might not be available on the nhs - so in my example ‘chemotherapy is life saving for cancer patients but alongside it reiki could really help you relax and manage side effects’ then I would be impressed.

I don’t think you are being knobbish though- it is important that you trust your doctor’s judgement or you will always be second guessing them.

I know a GP local to me who is vehemently against contraception (for moral reasons). I would hope she is a professional at work but I would NEVER register with her as knowing her views I would not feel comfortable discussing any contraception/ sexual health issues and I would always have a niggle of doubt that she might not be giving me the full picture re contraception options.

SpuriouserAndSpuriouser · 17/03/2018 08:59

It as also depends on the exact nature of what they were discussing. The ins and outs of a particular treatment, deciding to prescribe one drug over another = ok. Urging people to stop chemotherapy and take broccoli supplements and cannabis oil instead = not ok

SpuriouserAndSpuriouser · 17/03/2018 09:00

Cross post with misspotty!

Idontdowindows · 17/03/2018 09:05

Like Spur and Miss said: depends entirely on what they were discussing.

ikeepaforkinmypurse · 17/03/2018 09:05

Urging people to stop chemotherapy and take broccoli supplements and cannabis oil instead = not ok

but what is the actual problem with that? Is it discussing it on a public forum, or actually giving the advice in real life too?
I mean I can't see what the problem is if a doctor makes his views public, if he's pushing them in private consultations anyway. keeping them "secret" is more harmful and less open to debate.

Original poster

BashfulShark · 17/03/2018 09:14

Thank you - it's pretty outing to discuss it here, but I am rethinking it over in my head and the examples you are giving are helping me a lot.

I do think it's important I register at a GP surgery where I don't have contact with the GPs on social media who go against the advice of other GPs in that surgery because I wouldn't be able to trust any advice i was given (massive anxiety issues)

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TheXXFactor · 17/03/2018 09:15

Curious, should doctors be talking to and discussing medical advice (which goes against the current published NHS stance) over social media?

Medicine is constantly changing. If doctors weren't allowed to disagree with current practice, we would still be bleeding patients for the dropsy and drilling holes in the skull for headache. I am really confused as to why you would think debate is a bad thing.

C8H10N4O2 · 17/03/2018 09:17

I know a GP local to me who is vehemently against contraception (for moral reasons).

This really bugs me. There are many areas where its hard to get into a GP practice at all, GPs taking NHS money for a job, whilst restricting access to family planning services part of that job is abhorrent.

Original poster

BashfulShark · 17/03/2018 09:18

I think I was most uneasy about it because they could profit from the advice they were given, and that it went against what other people had been told by their GPs in the same practice...

But thank you for all the posts correcting me, I understand I got this wrong (and thanks for not flaming me!).

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C8H10N4O2 · 17/03/2018 09:19

I think I was most uneasy about it because they could profit from the advice they were given

Do you mean they were advocating additional private services/treatments which they sold?

Phosphorus · 17/03/2018 09:20

But you should always question things.

You should expect a good doctor to question, and look to their colleagues for different viewpoints and applications.

You should never trust a doctor who slavishly follows NHS/government mantras, without applying critical judgement and their own experience.

TheXXFactor · 17/03/2018 09:20

GPs on social media who go against the advice of other GPs in that surgery

Just because some GPs don't agree with current practice doesn't mean that they will treat patients differently. What they probably do is say, "The current guidance is X, but personally I think it's OK if you do Y" - so the patient can make an informed decision.

Exclusive breast-feeding would be an example - do you really want a GP who Insists you must only bf your baby for 6m - which is the current guidance - or one who says, "well the current guidance is bf only for 6m, but lots of mothers introduce solids before that"?

Personally, I would hate to have a GP who rigidly toed the party line and didn't acknowledge that many of today's medical 'truths' will turn out to be wrong in the future.

SpuriouserAndSpuriouser · 17/03/2018 09:24

ikeepaforkinmypurse the problem is that it's bad advice based on little evidence. Whether that advice isn't given over social media or in real life doesn't make much difference to me. It's dangerous in both cases.

Original poster

BashfulShark · 17/03/2018 09:24

Do you mean they were advocating additional private services/treatments which they sold?

Yes.

But you should always question things.

I actually really agree with this as a life philosophy so thank you for posting it as it's really hit home for me.

Thank you for the examples and helping me to change my thinking behaviour.

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