Doctors whose patients write nice comments about their clinical care on Facebook or Twitter face fines of up to $5000 if they do not try to have the comments deleted.

The regulator’s revised advertising guidelines, which take effect in March, now state that comments about a doctor’s clinical care — on any website — are deemed to be testimonials and as such break the law.

If a doctor does not take « reasonable steps » to have these comments removed, they could be liable for a maximum $5,000 fine, or could even be investigated by the Medical Board in serious cases.

The only online comments that AHPRA says will be acceptable are those where a patient only discusses non-clinical matters.

Read more: http://www.rheumatologyupdate.com.au/latest-news/doctors-face-fines-over-patients-social-media-post

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