Ethical Issues Associated with the Provision of Medical Advice by Medical Influencers on Social Media

Abstract

Social media platforms are revolutionising the ease of communication and facilitating the formation of connections, such that deep and intimate communities are established and maintained online. Notably, there is a rise in healthcare practitioners actively participating on social media as medical influencers, to shape the health behaviours of their followers. The growing practice of medical influencers sharing medical advice in these virtual communities brings forth several ethical issues which are not fully addressed in current literature but are actively impacting healthcare practice. The ethical issues identified revolve around aspects of informed consent, the corresponding virtues and duties of healthcare practitioners in the dual identity of medical professional and medical influencer, and lastly, the potential breach of private and confidential information. Current ethical guidelines on the use of social media by healthcare practitioners published by the Health Professions Council of South Africa do not sufficiently address these unique interactions, and future research is needed to help establish regulatory and ethical guidelines to ensure the virtuous, professional and ethical practice of medical influencers providing medical advice virtually.