Social Media Behavior Guidelines for Healthcare Professionals: An American Society of Pain and Neuroscience NEURON Project

Anthony Giuffrida; Christy Saia-Owenby; Chris Andriano; Douglas Beall; Ashley Bailey-Classen; Patrick Buchanan; Ryan Budwany; Mehul J Desai; Ashley Comer; Andrew Dudas; Vinicius Tieppo Francio; Warren Grace; Benjamin Gill; Betsy Grunch; Andrew Goldblum; Rosa A Garcia; David W Lee; Chad Lavender; Marco Lawandy; Lyric Mandell; Robin Mata; Morteza Rabii; Kiran Patel; Raj G Patel; Ankur A Patel; Dawood Sayed; Gurtej Singh; Natalie Strand; Jordan Tate; Michael E Schatman; Timothy Deer

doi:10.2147/JPR.S488590

Social Media Behavior Guidelines for Healthcare Professionals: An American Society of Pain and Neuroscience NEURON Project

J Pain Res. 2024 Nov 5:17:3587-3599. doi: 10.2147/JPR.S488590. eCollection 2024.

Authors

Anthony Giuffrida¹, Christy Saia-Owenby², Chris Andriano^#³, Douglas Beall^#⁴, Ashley Bailey-Classen^#⁵, Patrick Buchanan^#⁶, Ryan Budwany^#⁷, Mehul J Desai^#⁸, Ashley Comer^#⁹, Andrew Dudas^#¹⁰, Vinicius Tieppo Francio^#¹¹, Warren Grace^#¹², Benjamin Gill^#¹³, Betsy Grunch^#¹⁴, Andrew Goldblum^#¹³, Rosa A Garcia^#¹⁵, David W Lee^#¹⁶, Chad Lavender^#¹⁷, Marco Lawandy^#¹⁸, Lyric Mandell^#², Robin Mata^#¹⁹, Morteza Rabii^#²⁰, Kiran Patel^#²¹, Raj G Patel^#²², Ankur A Patel^#²³, Dawood Sayed^#²⁴, Gurtej Singh^#²⁵, Natalie Strand^#²⁶, Jordan Tate^#²⁷, Michael E Schatman²⁸, Timothy Deer²⁹

Affiliations

¹ Cantor Spine Center, Paley Orthopedic and Spine Institute, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA.
² MOXY Company, Covington, LA, USA.
³ Georgia Pain Care, Stockbridge, GA, USA.
⁴ Oklahoma Spine Hospital, Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
⁵ Trinity Pain Medicine Associates, Fort Worth, TX, USA.
⁶ Spanish Hills Interventional Pain Specialists, Camarillo, CA, USA.
⁷ Center for Pain Relief, Charleston Area Medical Center, Charleston, WV, USA.
⁸ International Spine, Pain, and Performance Center, Washington, DC, USA.
⁹ The Spine and Nerve Centers of the Virginias, Charleston, WV, USA.
¹⁰ Maya & Schnapp, Neurospine and Pain, Memphis, TN, USA.
¹¹ Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine, University of Kansas, Kansas City, KS, USA.
¹² Redefine Healthcare, Orthopedic Pain and Spine Center, Edison, NJ, USA.
¹³ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO, USA.
¹⁴ Longstreet Clinic, Gainesville, GA, USA.
¹⁵ Larkin Hospital Health Systems, Miami, FL, USA.
¹⁶ Interventional Pain and Spine, Fullerton Orthopedics, Yorba Linda, CA, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Orthopaedics, Marshall University, Huntington, WV, USA.
¹⁸ Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Montefiore Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
¹⁹ Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Miami, Miami, FL, USA.
²⁰ Crimson Pain Management, Overland Park, KS, USA.
²¹ Pain Medicine and Anesthesiology, Northwell Health, New York, NY, USA.
²² Central Texas Interventional Pain Doctor, Capitol Pain Institute, Austin, TX, USA.
²³ Department of Neurological Surgery, UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX, USA.
²⁴ Department of Pain Medicine and Neurology, University of Kansas Health System, Kansas City, KS, USA.
²⁵ Department of Pain Medicine, Rehabilitation, and Pain Medicine, the Center for Advance Orthopaedics, Cantonsville, MD, USA.
²⁶ Department of Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
²⁷ Department of Pain Medicine and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Southern Pain and Spine, Jasper, GA, USA.
²⁸ Department of Anesthesiology, Perioperative Care, and Pain Medicine at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
²⁹ Department of Pain Management, Spine and Nerve Centers of the Virginias, Charleston, WV, USA.

^# Contributed equally.

Abstract

Purpose: The American Society of Pain and Neuroscience (ASPN) identified a significant gap in resources and guidelines that aim to educate healthcare providers for best practices when engaging on social media. As part of the broader initiatives on Spine and Nerve practice, the executive board of ASPN has decided it would be beneficial to include comprehensive guidance for healthcare providers when engaging on social media.

Methods: A panel of experts was chosen based on expertise, publications, diversity, and their social media presence. Along with expert guidance, the committee conducted an extensive analysis of peer-reviewed literature in communication and medical journals to determine best practices for healthcare practitioners on social media.

Results: Social media messages significantly impact patients' and colleagues' perceptions and actions regarding medical issues. As such, providers and their teams must be aware of legal and ethical considerations in healthcare while maintaining a consistent, educational, and digestible persona online.

Conclusion: The advancement of communication and medical technologies and systems necessitates continued education and resources to adapt to our rapidly changing media and medical landscape.

Keywords: best practices; digital communication; healthcare providers; medical marketing; physician communication; social media; social networking sites; spine.