Administrative Ethics: A Case Study Social media, such as Facebook and Twitter, have professional uses. However, there is increasing concern over misuse of social media. In The New York Times article “When Med Students Post Patient Pictures” Cohen (2011) describes a situation in which a medical student posts a comical picture of a patient with rebar in his abdomen. The student uploads the picture to Facebook with the caption “a 5-foot-9 Hispanic male walks into a bar” (para. 1). Additionally, the article states that battlefield humor is a common response by many medical professionals, but this does not diminish the doctor-patient privilege of confidentiality. Even though no identifiable patient information is on display, Cohen (2011) indicates that “the chances of that happening increase as the injuries depicted grow more grotesque and less commonplace” (para. 2). Although one can easily surmise the medical student’s actions are both illegal and unethical, his or her actions have further-reaching implications.
Facts
Legality Like Cohen, Hernandez (2011) agrees “the weirder and more specific the facts, the greater the chances are of identifying who’s involved” (para. 3), and the poster violates the AMA Code of Medical Ethics “which these future physicians ought to emulate” (para. 5). The American Medical Association (AMA) has many Opinions in its Code of Ethics in regard to the protection of patient privacy. However, there are three Opinions that exemplify the need for patient confidentiality. First, Opinion 5.045—Filming Patients in Health Care Setting clearly states “filming patients without consent is a violation of the patient’s privacy” (AMA, 2013, para. 3). In the above article, it is safe to assume the patient gave no consent for the posting of the picture. Second, Opinion 5.05—Confidentiality describes how the patient should be free to