Table 1.

Medical schools policies addressing social media and their key features^a

Medical school or center	Website address, all prefixed by http://	Title	Date	Key features
Ohio State University College of Medicine	medicine.osu.edu/students/life/resources/handbook/Documents/8%20Professionalism.pdf	Professionalism and the Internet	July 2006	Developed by student council
				Describes duty of future physicians to uphold standards of profession that extend beyond the classroom, including on the Internet.
				States it is not permissible under any circumstances to demean or degrade any individual associated with the College of Medicine on Internet resources. Breaches of professionalism include but not limited to sexism, racism, and libel.
				Lists examples of possible infractions, including but not limited to any inappropriate away messages or profiles on instant messenger services, any inappropriate postings on social networking sites, blogs, or public websites, and any inappropriate postings of pictures.
Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine	www2.oakland.edu/audit/Policy890.doc	Use of University Information Technology Resources	June 2008 last update	Provides guidelines regarding the use of information technology resources including blogs, other online services, and digital images.
				Reminds users to use courtesy and respect and avoidance of harassment.
				Tolerates limited recreational game playing and web surfing, but not ‘excessive’ recreation.
				Has section on sanctions describing consequences and the range of disciplinary actions for first and minor incidents and subsequent and/or major violations for medical students.
Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine	www.medschool.vcu.edu/gme/manuals/documents/VCUHSPolicySummary.doc	Confidentiality and Release of Patient Information	2009	States that cell phones, fax machines, and email should not be used to transmit confidential information and that extreme care must be taken not to disclose PHIb if these are used.
				Prohibits communication with patients through social networks
				States that staff members are responsible for reminding each other of confidentiality guidelines.
University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine	pritzker.bsd.uchicago.edu/current/students/AcademicGuidelines.pdf	Digital Media Policy	2009–2010	States that videotaped encounters with students and standardized patients in any clinical skills or clerkship experience cannot be publicized on any personal website, media-share site, or social networking site. Also mentions that these videotaped encounters cannot be used in a student-run skit or performance.
University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences	sos.und.edu/csl	Social Networking Sites	2009–2010	States that the university, faculty, and staff do not monitor online communities, but that any behavior violating the code of conduct that comes to a university official's attention will be treated as like any other violation.
				Does not forbid faculty, staff, and students from joining and participating in online communities as long as individuals are not acting as agents of the university.
				Encourages students to use privacy functions.
Oregon Health and Science University	www.ohsu.edu/xd/about/services/technology/webstrategies/policies/content/upload/Social-Networking-Safety-TipsAugust09.pdf?WT_rank=1	Safety Tips for Using Social Networking Sites	July 6, 2009	Derived from University of California Santa Barbara Social Networking Guidelines
				Provides questions for students to ask themselves when using online social networks. For example, students are asked to consider if they would post this material on a roadside billboard or the exterior of their door. Asks if the image they are projecting is the one they want to project (to friends, faculty, advisors, interviewers, future employers, neighbors, family, parents).
Duke University Health System	medschool.duke.edu/wysiwyg/downloads/Duke_Confidentiality_Agreement_7-17-09.pdf	Duke Confidentiality Agreement	July 17, 2009	Policy includes a series of agreement statements regarding privacy and security, for example, ‘I WILL NOT post or discuss any Duke information, including sensitive information on my personal social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter.’Other ‘agreement’ statements include not taking any pictures of patients with cell phones; not posting sensitive information or patient pictures on Duke-sponsored social networking sites without appropriate patient authorization; only accessing information needed for one's job or service; agreeing not to access, show, tell, use, release, email, copy, give, sell, review, change, or dispose of confidential or proprietary information unless it is part of one's job at Duke.
				Affirms an understanding that Duke may take away or limit access at any time.
Rush University Medical Center	www.rushu.rush.edu search ‘social networking’ provides a link to PDF	Social Media Policy and Social Computing Policies	Draft September 10, 2009	Policies cover all publicly accessible communications via the Internet relating to Rush, including wikis; video-sharing sites, online social networks; social bookmarking sites; online publishing including blogs, discussion forums, newsgroups, and e-mail distribution lists.
				Reminds that Rush relies on the trust and support of communities served
				States that personal communications about any Rush patient are always forbidden and may support grounds for immediate termination and legal action.
				Lists contact information to help determine material's appropriateness for social media site
				Should not let one's networking activity interfere with work commitments
				Reminds users they are personally responsible for the content they publish online.
				In social media forums, users should not reference Rush; identify patients or share PHI; use Rush's logo/trademarks or make endorsements without approval; use
				Rush's logo/trademarks or make endorsements without approval; use Rush's name or resources for political purposes; post Rush's confidential/proprietary information; use ethnic slurs, racial epithets, personal insults, or obscenity; or engage in any offensive conduct.
				Users should ensure all communications in social media forums comply with Rush policies regarding privacy of student records; should respect copyright, trademarks, and intellectual property rights, should be aware of their association with Rush; and should secure supervisor's permission in advance before administering an informal departmental group.
University of Florida College of Medicine	www.med.ufl.edu/oea/osa/pp_social_networks.shtml	Official Policy Regarding Use of Social Networking Sites	Updated October 21, 2009	Lists actions strictly forbidden and actions strongly discouragedForbidden actions include posting PHI; reporting private academic information of another student or trainee; presenting self as an official representative or spokesperson for the university; representing self as another person, real or fictitious, as a means to circumvent these prohibitions; letting social networking interfere with official work commitments.
				Reminds users that removal of an individual's name is not proper de-identificationStrongly discouraged actions include display of vulgar language; of language or photos that imply disrespect for any individual or group because of age, race, gender, ethnicity, or sexual orientation; of photos that may reasonably be interpreted as condoning irresponsible use of alcohol, substance abuse, or sexual promiscuity; and posting of potentially inflammatory or unflattering material on another's website
University of Rochester Medical Center	www.facebook.com/notes/university-of-rochester-medical-center/social-media-policy-for-urmc-employees/223741921344	Social Media Guidelines	December 17, 2009	Guidelines posted on Facebook for URMC employees
				Reminds users of a rule of thumb before engaging in blogs, Facebook, and other networking sites: that the same policies applying to other aspects of one's professional life also hold true in online forums.
				Lists principles to empower user to appropriately participate in social media communities.
West Virginia University Health Sciences Center	www.hsc.wvu.edu/its/Administration/PoliciesProcedures/SocialNetworkUse.aspx	Use of Social Networking Sites, Blogs, and Instant Messaging	2010	Provides examples of what should not be shared by social networking and instant messaging
				States that faculty, staff, residents, and students are not permitted to post confidential patient information, including PHI, educational records protected by FERPA, institutionally owned asset data, confidential, proprietary, or private information on any social networking sites, personal/business related blogs, and/or instant messaging service
				Highlights the permanency of published material on the Web and that social networking sites are increasingly being targeted by cyber-criminals.
Northwestern Feinberg School of Medicine	www.feinberg.northwestern.edu/communications/brand/social-media	Social Media Guidelines	Updated February 5, 2010	Provides guiding principles to raise awareness of current best practices and opportunities.
				Encourages school community to ‘engage, build a network of like-minded scholars, stay connected, share information, and help us promote the medical school's goals and vision.’
				Reminds users that professional activities online and off-line reflect user and organization
				Guiding principles are to be transparent, be respectful, be generous, add value, aim for quality, use disclaimers, and be mindful of copyright law.
Brown University	www.brown.edu/cis/think	Think. Facebook: Your Space, Your Responsibility	No date	Retrievable by searching ‘Facebook policy’ on the Brown Alpert Medical School site but originates in the undergraduate university.
				Encourages students to think about content they put online, to check privacy settings and consider openness and vulnerability, to avoid ruining their reputation, to stay safe, to think twice about what they post, and to do no harm.

^aListed chronologically by date or date updated.

^bPHI, protected health information.