Seventy-five percent of physicians have seen other physicians make inappropriate comments on social media, whether they be about themselves, friends or politics, according to Medscape's 2023 "Physician Behavior" report, published Aug. 30.
Here are six additional things to know about physicians' social media behavior:
1. The most common inappropriate physician social media behaviors include posting inappropriate comments about patients (40 percent), posting inappropriate pictures of themselves (33 percent), posting inappropriate pictures of patients (18 percent) and posting sexually suggestive material (18 percent).
2. Physicians most commonly misbehave on Facebook (50 percent), followed by Instagram (16 percent), Twitter (11 percent), TikTok (3 percent) and Snapchat (1 percent).
3. Forty-four percent of millennial physicians believe it is acceptable for other physicians to post photos in revealing swimwear and 51 percent believe it is acceptable for physicians to post photos drinking alcohol. An additional 11 percent think it is acceptable for physicians to post recreational drug use.
4. Twenty-eight percent of Generation Xers believe swimwear photos are acceptable, while 35 percent think alcohol photos are acceptable and 8 percent think drug use photos are acceptable.
5. Only 10 percent of baby boomers believe swimwear photos are acceptable, 16 percent believe photos with alcohol are acceptable and 4 percent believe recreational drug photos are acceptable.
6. Eight-eight percent of physicians have never friended a patient on social media; however, 4 percent reported they would do so. Eight percent of physicians have already friended a patient on social media.