It provides opportunity to deliver health messages to a large group of audience but it can be challenging for the professionals. The anonymity nature of online media, allows individuals to participate and be more involved without fearing embarrassment, then again the convenience of it makes the boundaries between professional and personal less apparent. It is crucial for OHP to maintain the same standard of professionalism online as if they are having a direct contact with the patient. Because the relationship between professionals and patient is not equal; anything the professional says brings authority. Applying personal values in a professional setting may constitute an abuse of position. OHP have constantly be aware of this fiduciary relationship as misuse of this media could have serious …show more content…
The lack of control over the content can be problematic as privacy of both clinician and patient may be breached. Although individual has own control of the information they choose to publish and receive; the lack of ethical guideline and regulation on what it appears to be acceptable create an unsafe environment and information could be misused. The health messages addressed online can be misinterpreted differently to what it intended to achieve. This is due to each individual has their own opinion and express differently. The information provided has to be up-to-date and based on current research. OHP has to maintain objective when addressing negative feedback to prevent bias and unnecessary conflict. The code provided by Health and Disability Commissioner (2012) should be used as a guideline to deliver appropriate standard of services. Once information is gathered online, OHP has to be cautious of the distribution of patient 's detail to protect his/her confidentiality. OHP also need to have a secure privacy setting to eliminate possible exploitation of online media (Ahmed, Sullivan, Schneiders, Anderson, Paton & McCrory,