A very important question - especially since these media aren't going away; so we'll all have to confront these questions and hope workable solutions arise.
Perhaps new skills will have to be developed.
Just on the matter of protecting privacy and dignity, perhaps the skill of real-time "fictive" tweeting will be something practitioners will need to learn *if* they choose to use Twitter this way.
I don't think there's a black-and-white, right-or-wrong answer.
Maybe it's like a Koan: it's not the answer as much as the process of getting there. At least for now, until enough people examine this and formulate responses.
Hi Thanks Phil. I've been meaning to write a bit more commentary myself about this story. Last week we had a great discussion on Twitter about NICE referral guidelines for ovarian cancer. If I'd spotted this tweet when Amit was still around we'd probably have had a great discussion about the referral guidelines for sarcoma. If he'd been online when I retweeted he could have responded with the context for the tweet. But because he wasn't we were left having a more general conversation about the appropriateness of a 'clinical tweet'. My personal feeling is that 140 characters is not enough for a reasonable discussion.
If one wants to discuss a clinical case with others in a public space, talk to the patient about it. Let them know how this will be useful for their care and explain why you would like to share their story. Make sure that no-one else could identify them when you write if they are in agreement that it is reasonable to share the story. Then write a blog post. Then tweet the link.
If Amit had tweeted "The next case is about a fictional case for discussion purposes. I'm just interested in your responses and all will be revealed in a blog soon" before his 'single tweet' then the discussion would have been much different.
Hi Anne Marie - funny that your post should appear just as I have been discussing a very similar situation in a completely different topic area (mega sporting events) - which should be published later today in @freepint. It reminds me that information is information, no matter the platform, and that context is just as important as ever. Thanks for sharing. Joanna (@chibbie)
A very important question - especially since these media aren't going away; so we'll all have to confront these questions and hope workable solutions arise.
ReplyDeletePerhaps new skills will have to be developed.
Just on the matter of protecting privacy and dignity, perhaps the skill of real-time "fictive" tweeting will be something practitioners will need to learn *if* they choose to use Twitter this way.
I don't think there's a black-and-white, right-or-wrong answer.
Maybe it's like a Koan: it's not the answer as much as the process of getting there. At least for now, until enough people examine this and formulate responses.
Hi
ReplyDeleteThanks Phil. I've been meaning to write a bit more commentary myself about this story. Last week we had a great discussion on Twitter about NICE referral guidelines for ovarian cancer. If I'd spotted this tweet when Amit was still around we'd probably have had a great discussion about the referral guidelines for sarcoma. If he'd been online when I retweeted he could have responded with the context for the tweet. But because he wasn't we were left having a more general conversation about the appropriateness of a 'clinical tweet'. My personal feeling is that 140 characters is not enough for a reasonable discussion.
If one wants to discuss a clinical case with others in a public space, talk to the patient about it. Let them know how this will be useful for their care and explain why you would like to share their story. Make sure that no-one else could identify them when you write if they are in agreement that it is reasonable to share the story. Then write a blog post. Then tweet the link.
If Amit had tweeted "The next case is about a fictional case for discussion purposes. I'm just interested in your responses and all will be revealed in a blog soon" before his 'single tweet' then the discussion would have been much different.
Thanks
AM
Hi Anne Marie - funny that your post should appear just as I have been discussing a very similar situation in a completely different topic area (mega sporting events) - which should be published later today in @freepint.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me that information is information, no matter the platform, and that context is just as important as ever.
Thanks for sharing.
Joanna (@chibbie)