Social Networking Could Haunt Doctors

The hazards of posting revealing information on social networking sites are well-known, but when it comes to medical students, even innocent quips about college shenanigans could be too much. There’s just something unsettling about knowing that your doctor was a hero at “keg stands” or a member of “Physicians looking for trophy wives in training.” A University of Florida study published this week in the Journal of General Internal Medicine examined the Facebook pages of 362 medical students and found information that some faculty members believe is inappropriate for future doctors. “We were a little shocked,” said Lindsay Acheson Thompson, an assistant professor of general pediatrics at UF’s College of Medicine, who worked on the study. “Facebooking is part of our culture, but when you are an emerging specialist in medicine, you have to realize that this is public domain that your patients can access.” According to the study, which began last summer, only 37 percent of the medical students studied had set their Facebook pages to “private” so that only people they approve can see it. Students revealed sexual orientation and relationship status, posted political opinions and included photos, some of which implied excessive or hazardous drinking. Other students were members of eyebrow-raising groups such as “I should have gone to a blacker college” and “I hate medical school.” “Doctors are held to a higher standard,” Thompson said. “My hunch is medicine has just been a little bit behind in knowing how widespread the use of this is.” UF cautions all students about putting personal information on Facebook pages. Two years ago, voluntary guidelines were issued that include tips such as “Partying and boozing probably don’t qualify as hobbies and interests.” Thompson said some professors are wondering whether stricter rules should apply to medical students. Besides the embarrassment of a patient seeing a doctor in a compromising position, there could be more serious legal implications. If a doctor gets sued for malpractice, a drunken Facebook photo from a college frat party could be used as evidence of a drinking problem, even if there is none, Thompson said.

Please click on the link below to read the Palm Beach Post article:

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/state/content/state/epaper/2008/07/10/m1a_uf_study_0711.html

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.

Drug-Resistant High Blood Pressure on the Rise

High blood pressure, the most commonly diagnosed condition in the United States, is becoming increasingly resistant to drugs that lower it, according to a panel of experts assembled by the American Heart Association. “It’s becoming more difficult to treat and it’s requiring more and more medications to do so,” said the panel chairman, Dr. David A. Calhoun, a hypertension specialist. The problem is not that the medications have stopped working, said the report, published this month in the journal, Hypertension. Instead, many blood-pressure patients are sicker to begin with and require more drugs, at greater dosages, to manage their conditions. The doctors say this is especially worrisome because recent surveys estimate that one in three Americans have hypertension, an underlying cause of heart attacks, strokes, kidney disease and heart failure. Resistant hypertension is defined as blood pressure that remains above clinical goals, even after a patient has been put on three or more different classes of medications. Additionally, patients whose blood pressure can be lowered to normal on four or more drugs should be considered resistant and should be closely monitored, the panel said.

Please click on the link below to read the New York Times article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/24/health/research/24bloo.html?_r=1&ref=health&oref=slogin

For more information on defending medical malpractice and nursing home matters in Florida contact Howard Citron at The Citron Law Firm, P.A. – www.citronlegal.com.