Which action best demonstrates professional use of social media?

• A. Post patient information to educate the public.
• B. Mix professional and personal accounts in one profile.
• C. Maintain patient privacy, avoid posting patient-identifying information, and keep professional and personal accounts separate.
• D. Use social media for patient diagnoses.

Answer: (C)

Professional use of social media centers on protecting patient confidentiality and maintaining clear professional boundaries. The best approach is to keep patient privacy intact by avoiding any patient-identifying information and by keeping professional and personal accounts separate. This reduces the risk of accidental disclosures, upholds ethical and legal obligations, and helps maintain trust in the physician–patient relationship. Use official channels for general health education that do not reference identifiable patients, and apply careful privacy settings and careful judgment about what is shared, recognizing that even seemingly harmless details can enable identification.

Posting patient information to educate the public breaches confidentiality and violates privacy norms. Mixing professional and personal accounts can blur boundaries and increase the chance of sharing something inappropriate or identifiable. Using social media to discuss patient diagnoses is not appropriate practice and can compromise care and privacy.