HAVING trouble remembering your medical history? Try Facebook. Some 13 per cent of American medical schools have reported that their students have leaked confidential information about patients via blogs or social networking websites.
The students didn’t name names, but did provide enough personal information, such as the medical condition involved and hospital, for patients or their families to recognise who is being described. The information was provided by medical school administrators as part of a survey into students’ behaviour online (Journal of the American Medical Association, vol 302, p 1309).
That’s a potential violation of patient confidentiality laws, says Katherine Chretien, a clinician-educator at the…
