Skip to content

Peer-reviewed article

Ethics Rounds: In the Eye of a Social Media Storm

Social media, no stranger to health care environments, is increasingly used by patients, families, clinicians, and institutions to interact and engage in new ways. The ethical challenges related to the use of social media in the clinical…

By John D. LantosJanuary 1, 20161 min readin PEDIATRICS

Social media, no stranger to health care environments, is increasingly used by patients, families, clinicians, and institutions to interact and engage in new ways. The ethical challenges related to the use of social media in the clinical setting are familiar, yet come with a novel twist, including the possibility of having a conflict "go viral". Health care clinicians and institutions must understand and embrace these technologies, while at the same time promoting policies and practices that ensure the ethically appropriate use of social media and address strategies for preventing and responding to a social media crisis.

Originally published at PEDIATRICS · January 1, 2016.

About the author

John D. Lantos is a pediatrician and bioethicist writing on AI in medicine, neonatal intensive care, and end-of-life decisions. His essays appear in JAMA, JAMA Pediatrics, the Hastings Center Report, the New England Journal of Medicine, and Aeon. Read more about John.

The full archiveSubscribe