Netizen Slam M’sian Doctors Who Share Private Patients’ Info on Social Media

In the medical field, what you tell your doctor is protected information that cannot be shared with others. However, some doctors themselves don’t believe in the idea of privacy.

Rasanya medical school dah kena ada syllabus etika social media because seeing some doctors sharing about their patients sangat menakutkan.

Patients punya privacy lebih penting berbanding likes tau.

— Arlina (@arlinabanana) July 5, 2019

Taking to Twitter, @arlinabanana writes, “I think there needs to be a class teaching social media etiquette in medical school. It’s frightening to see some doctors sharing patients’ information on social media. A patient’s privacy is more important than likes.”

According to her thread, she came across a Facebook post of a doctor mocking a suicidal patient.

I siap pernah baca my own doctor friend tulis status facebook "Nak bunuh diri datang ed buat apa"

Like wtf woman.

— Arlina (@arlinabanana) July 5, 2019

“I read that a doctor posted a Facebook status stating ‘if you want to kill yourself, why bother coming to see the ED?’.”

Her tweet which has garnered 2.3k likes has seen a mixed response from netizens and medical professionals alike.

One netizen defended doctors, saying that they were just trying to help prevent similar incidents from occurring.

Source: twitter

However, this was disputed by @AimanPsikologi who said that doctors should be mindful of what they post.

Source: twitter

“In psychology, doctors need to mindful of the cases that they mention. The only time a doctor can share confidential information is through a case study, not for the public eye.”

Several others began posting images of doctors apparently sharing confidential information of patients.

Image: twitter

Source: twitter

Throughout the thread, netizens remain divided as to what should be considered confidential and what is allowable to be shared.

Should doctors share their patient’s private information online even if it is done anonymously? Share with us your thoughts in the comments section below. 

Also read: UM Dean: Medical Graduates Can’t Complete Housemanship As Most Are Incompetent