Personal social media use can cause more problems than you’d expect, here are 7 common pitfalls to avoid

While your professional online presence may be front of mind when it comes to triggering an AHPRA investigation, personal posts actually cause more problems, says David Gardner, a lawyer and former AHPRA investigator who now runs AHPRA compliance training.

“Most of the cases that have gone to tribunals about social media use have been from the practitioner’s personal not professional use,” he says. “A lot of people don’t appreciate that just because it’s not a professional post, doesn’t mean AHPRA won’t care—because they very much will.”

Issues typically arise when posts don’t reflect the behaviour expected of health practitioners — and it doesn’t matter whether they’re shared with three friends or 30,000 followers.

Here are seven ways GPs can come to grief on their socials.

1. Airing extreme views

Two Sydney nurses recently hit the news when a video emerged of them threatening to kill Israeli patients. While clearly filmed in the workplace, the footage would still have been extremely damning if it was taken “entirely in their own homes, and they weren’t representing themselves as nurses,” Gardner says.

Doctors have also fallen afoul of AHPRA for posting extreme content, exemplified in the case of Dr Christopher Kwan Chen Lee, an emergency doctor who posted extreme sexist and racist comments online — including endorsing violence against women and sharing intimate photos of him and his wife without her consent, and other gruesome images.

A tribunal described his behaviour as “outrageous” and “far beyond the standards expected of … medical practitioners”, and cancelled his registration for 4.5 years.

2. Making sweeping statements

More subtle online behaviours could also see you skidding over AHPRA’s guardrails.

Their guidelines for expressing your opinions on social media are “super vague”, Gardner cautions, and even carless language or framing could drop you in high-risk territory.

“It basically says, here’s the values we expect from you. Don’t display something that’s not this,” he says.

Broad statements about groups of people are particularly problematic, he warns, citing the Israel-Gaza war as an example.

Dozens of doctors have already faced AHPRA scrutiny for sharing their thoughts about the conflict on social media.

It’s absolutely not OK to criticise people of a particular race, religion, ethnic group, or country, he explains.

While it is permitted to criticise a government or political group as long as it’s “accurate and appropriate,” be particularly careful if you want to post anything contentious, he warns.

“When you’re going to criticise a government or a similar group, you need to know that you might get a complaint.”

“You need to go in with your eyes open, knowing that it’s higher risk, and you need to be very careful and very measured and accurate in what you say,” Gardner explains.

3. Friending patients online

This blurs professional boundaries and could send you down the slippery slope of an AHPRA investigation. And yes, it does happen.

“I’ve seen several cases where a practitioner has been reported for friending patients,” Gardner says.

4. Broadcasting unsubstantiated medical opinions

The speed at which COVID-19 vaccines were developed and rolled out during the pandemic prompted a range of commentary and opinions. This was tolerated as long as the discourse was reasonable – for example discussing the evidence-base or gaps in the evidence – and not scare-mongering or propagating misinformation.

“Nuanced discussion around the COVID-19 vaccines has generally not been treated too harshly by the regulator, particularly more recently,” Gardner says.

“The problem is more when you’re making statements like, ‘the drug companies are out to kill you,’ or ‘the government’s out to kill you.’ It’s those kinds of statements that are really problematic.”

Where this line sits is complex. Some tribunals have raised concerns in relation to these sorts of statements, but other decisions have suggested that some discourse of this nature is political and may be protected. If you do intend to make statements like this, again, Gardner says that you “need to be aware that this is potentially a high risk path to go down, and you need to be measured and thoughtful.”

In cases where the evidence is more established – for example the polio vaccine or MMR – which have a long history and substantial evidence that they are safe and effective, you’d be likely to get into trouble with the Board if you were discouraging patients from getting them, he says.

5. Criticising your colleagues

One Victorian GP was deregistered for various social media aberrations, including posts disparaging his workplace, colleagues and other health practitioners.

6. Flaunting fringe political opinions

While it’s generally fine to talk politics online, what if your opinions are a bit radical?

“If you’re looking at parties on the extreme—like extreme left, extreme right—and you’re looking to publish things that are positive about them, you are going to be putting yourself at greater risk,” Gardner says.

7. Flirting

Recent changes to Health Practitioner Regulation law may leave doctors more vulnerable than ever to allegations of sexual misconduct. The new legislation leaves a lot open to interpretation.

“If they take the broad interpretation, which I suspect that they will, it is basically that any sort of sexualised contact or relationship with a patient is sexual misconduct.”

If AHPRA or the Medical Board were to take it to its most extreme, then a flirty email with a patient would probably meet that threshold, he says.

Tips to avoid landing in hot water with AHPRA

It’s important to remember anything you share online lasts forever. Even if you delete a post, someone may have screenshotted or stored it—and it can come back to bite you.

“Five years down the track when you’re sitting in a tribunal with those words on a big screen and the judge asking about them, those words can take on a lot more meaning than you might’ve intended,” Gardner warns. “So you really need to think about whether what you’re saying is going to model the values set out in the code of conduct.”

If you get the dreaded notification of a potential breach, Gardner advises getting appropriate education, mentoring or supervision. “Because then you can go to the regulator and say, you don’t have to do anything because I’ve already done it.”

You should also contact your MDO.

More information:

David Gardner | Social Media in Health: Perils and Pitfalls course

AMA NSW | Social media: Resources for doctors in training

AHPRA | Social media: How to meet your obligations under the National Law