Avoiding legal woes when marketing a practice online

Going online can be an inexpensive and effective form of marketing for any physician practice. But if it isn’t done right, the Internet can end up being a legal minefield.

While the Web and social media can be beneficial, it is important for physicians to address the proper ways for a practice’s doctors and staff to use social media inside and outside the workplace — even for conduct outside the practice’s work or Web space.

Your Web presence is treated as advertising under the law, just as if you bought space in a newspaper or telephone book. So the legal and ethical rules of advertising for physicians apply. For example, your website should not contain patient or individual testimonials. The safest way is to concentrate on the facts of your practice: who you are, your level of experience, the services you provide and your practice’s location.

This is a highly informative article for Medical Professionals about Online Marketing.

For the complete article By Steven M. Harris, amednews contributor. Click Here