Social media and messaging app tips

  • Information governance

Advice on how to navigate some of the more sensitive aspects of social media and instant messaging.

Your first point of reference should be the GMC guidance on social media, which GPs must follow in order to avoid possible sanction. The advice below is not derived from the GMC guidance, nor is it a comprehensive guide to how to behave, rather it gathers together some common issues that we have seen GPs have difficulty with.

Social media tips

  • If commenting on medical related matters, always identify who you are, and do not use aliases or other means to deceive people. It is easier for people to identify anonymous profiles than you may think and invariably attracts negative attention when this happens. If you are not comfortable having something attributed to you publicly then it is probably best not to say it.
  • Be honest and open but be mindful of the impact your contribution might make to people’s perceptions of you. If you make a mistake in a contribution, be prompt in admitting and correcting it.
  • Before your first contribution on any social media site, group, etc, observe the activity of other participants before posting something yourself. It helps to get a feel for the style of contributions, the nature of the content and any conventions that other contributors may follow.
  • It is acceptable to quote a small excerpt from an article particularly for the purposes of commenting on it. However, if you think an excerpt is too big, provide a link to it and reference appropriately.
  • Do not provoke or escalate heated discussions, try to be conciliatory, respectful and quote facts to lower the temperature and correct misrepresentations. Try not to contribute to a discussion if you are angry or upset; return to it later when you can contribute in a calm and rational manner.
  • If you are sharing someone else’s post or a link to a page it helps to provide a comment to explain why you think it is interesting, including whether you agree or disagree with certain aspects of what is being said in it. This reduces the space for other people to infer your motives in sharing it. This is also applicable when forwarding messages and links within messaging apps (see section below).

Comments on social media can be quoted selectively, in isolation, by other people. Be aware what may be a reasonable statement in a back and forth can be taken out of context. For example:

  1. A GP tweets: “Some patients need to accept they’ll get better with a couple of days rest and there are sicker people who need our time much more given how overstretched the service is.”
  2. You reply: “My day would be better off if a quarter of the people in the waiting room had just stayed in bed and let me get on with my job.”
  3. In context, it is clear you are endorsing a legitimate complaint about inefficient use of NHS resources, but if your tweet is taken in isolation, it could cause a lot of trouble.
  4. Instead, be more measured: “I see many people wanting me to prescribe for self-limiting viruses, sadly they take time away from the very ill who need our attention.”

Messaging platforms tips

This refers to WhatsApp, Signal, Microsoft Teams, Slack, iMessage and other messaging platforms. It should also be considered when using the messaging box of online meeting platforms and the messaging features of Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. An app or a group within it is only as private as each member wants it to be:

  • Be aware that although not a public social media platform it is easy for anyone else in a messaging group to covertly take screenshots of what is being discussed and share them externally.
  • Do not share sensitive/privileged information, positions, options etc with a group even if you are confident in the confidentiality of that group.
  • You should consider whether the group you are in is the best place for expressing an opinion that is contentious or critical of other individuals or organisations, it may be that a face-to-face or phone conversation is more suitable.
  • If you are going to express such an opinion, try to stick to factual, measured language and avoid being emotive. Taking this approach does not eliminate the repercussions from any leaked message, but it does at least slightly lessen any controversy.
  • Bear in mind who is in a group and check before posting a contentious view, it is easy to forget that somebody is a member of a group if they do not frequently contribute messages, or not to have noticed that someone was recently added. Group administrators should consider carefully how the competing interests that may exist within a group or any potential new member may have. Access to the group should be managed carefully.

Deleting messages:

  • Each messaging platform will have its own approach to deleting messages, it is important that you understand how this works.
  • For example, WhatsApp will not remove messages from other group participants’ phones if they have already seen them, it will also display a permanent ‘message deleted’ entry at the point in a conversation where a deletion has taken place.
  • Consider that messages sent in error may have been screen-shot or saved locally and could subsequently be shared. Deleting messages often attracts more attention and creates more confusion than simply following them up with a message that explains that the initial one was incorrect.

Sticking to the point:

  • There is no reputational risk to this area, but it may help to get the most out of using messaging apps. Off-topic conversation will reduce engagement from other members and may cause them to mute or leave the group, meaning they do not receive important information later on.
  • When contributing to a group think about what purpose it has been set up for, the occasional brief tangent is fine, but if you find yourself and some other members spending a lot of time going off-topic then that is likely a sign you should create a separate group to discuss this new topic.

You may also find our tips on managing your practice’s website of interest.