Via KevinMD: This issue has come up before, most recently when the New England Journal of Medicine asked whether doctors should friend their patients on Facebook.

Pediatrician Bryan Vartabedian looks further at the issue, and sees it fraught with potential risk.

He points out that sharing privileged information requires written consent. But what if the patient initiates the conversation? Some attorneys say that can imply consent, but the laws in this area are not yet clear.

Also, every communication between doctor and patient needs to be documented. Dr. Vartabedian notes that “the documentation on most social platforms isn’t detailed enough for other medical professionals or auditors to follow what’s gone on between you and your caregiver [and] let’s not forget that Twitter has a habit of disappearing after a couple of weeks.”

And perhaps most concerning is the privacy issue. When someone shares personal medical information in a public forum, like Twitter or a Facebook page, it has to potential to get indexed by search engines, making it permanent on the web.

There’s tremendous potential for doctors to better use Twitter and Facebook to interact with patients. By guiding patients to reputable sources of medical information, for instance.

But social media isn’t mature enough for doctors to provide personal medical advice to patients. Yet.

Related Botox Patient posts: Avoid A Facelift: Medical Spas, Laser Clinics, Skin Clinics & Laser Treatments.Clinical Exchange of Laser Treatments for Medical Spas, Laser Clinics, & Skin ClinicsBotax: New Taxes on Botox + Plastic Surgery?Cosmetic Surgeons enlist patients to fight Botox Botax.Plastic surgeons get Botox too

View the original article here

Friend of Michael Jackson joined him on his plastic surgery journey…

David Gest blames himself for having too much plastic surgery.

The 56-year-old TV star-and-concert promoter says he was encouraged by his late friend Michael Jackson to have several operations, but insists it was all his own decision.

David – whose cosmetic procedures include two facelifts and a nose realignment operation – said: “On Celebrity Come Dine With Me, I discuss the plastic surgery I had done between 1980-1981 and blame only myself for being so foolish, especially not Michael Jackson nor anyone else. I was an idiot. I look back at that time and think of myself as being so stupid, and was very appreciative of Michael’s support and being there when I went through all that.”

David appears on the Christmas special of the British dinner party TV show Celebrity Come Dine With Me.

The flamboyant star also revealed he had his cheek implants removed after having a surgery epiphany.

“It was my idea to put in a clef chin and cheek bones – not Michael’s. Sometimes when you are young you are foolish and you get carried away. I remember I was looking in the mirror in an office building when I was with Band of Gold singer Freda Payne. I was mortified and almost fainted. I had the cheekbones removed a week later. I’ve come to realize that it’s not what’s on the outside, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts.”

Related Botox Patient posts: Botched South African Plastic SurgeryBotax: New Taxes on Botox + Plastic Surgery?Plastic surgery advertising regulation in Britan?California tightens plastic surgery lawPlastic Surgery Product Placement

View the original article here