‘No anonymity for doctors’ on social media
Doctors must identify themselves by name on Twitter if their profile alludes to their profession, new guidance suggests.
If clinicians call themselves a doctor on social media they should also identify themselves, the General Medical Council (GMC) said. The guidance says any material written by authors who call themselves doctors is “likely to be taken on trust”, and tweets posted by clinicians should maintain public trust in doctors.
“The standards expected of doctors do not change because they are communicating through social media rather than face-to-face or through other traditional media,” the GMC says.