Doctors’ plight: Think before you #DeleteFacebook
Providers worry about breaches that threaten patient privacy
Delete Facebook is easier said than done. This especially applies to medical professionals and their interactions with patients. As one doctor said with a sigh, “We might be in deeper than we think.”
Dr. Remo-tito Aguilar laid out the physicians’ predicament. An orthopedic surgeon, he is chief of clinics at General Santos Medical Center and Medical Specialist II Orthopedics at the Southern Philippines Medical Center in Davao City.
Aguilar told the Facebook data breach tale and how it affects healthcare providers:
“Mark Zuckerberg & Co. built Facebook to fill its users’ need for socializing, online. We all knew, however, that Facebook was also created to harvest data in the first place. This is in the fine print of Facebook’s terms of use you’ve agreed to when you started using Facebook.
“Although the company publicly admitted using data for their own regulated and targeted advertising algorithm alone, it may have ‘unknowingly’ provided ‘limited data’ to third-party companies through the various apps. Zuckerberg apologized for the ‘break of trust’ given to them by their users because of this. What those ‘third-party entities’ do — or did — with these data remains a mystery to the public.
“In healthcare, privacy breaches are not only considered scandalous but are also considered ‘deadly’ as it may cost lives.”
In light of this, Aguilar asked a group of healthcare providers, “Why would you or would you not deactivate your Facebook account?”
Family ties
The answers differed a bit, but there was an underlying message: Tempting as it might be to delete Facebook, it’s a strong — sometimes only — connection to friends and family.
“I haven’t deactivated my account because my best friend lives in Japan, and Facebook is how we communicate for free,” said Shereese Maynard, a healthcare strategist in Maryland. “I also leave my profile there for clients and potential clients. That said, I’ve never been a fan of the platform.”
Dr. Stephanie Miaco, a psychiatrist from Dumaguete City, the Philippines, advocates for mental health. She said she does “deactivate once in a while for some peace and quiet,” but her family communicates via Facebook group posts.
She added, “We might be in deeper than we think, sadly.”
Dr. Iris Thiele Isip Tan is an internist-endocrinologist, clinical associate professor at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine and chief of the Medical Informatics Unit at the University of the Philippines College of Medicine. She is also in a quandary.
“I shared an article about how to quit Facebook on Facebook, but haven’t quite done it yet,” said Tan, who has been on the platform many years. “I’m waiting to see what ‘the Zuck’ will do.
“I have my Facebook page, which is connected to my personal account. So, I can’t delete,” she said. “I have Facebook Messenger requests spilling over from my Facebook page where messaging is off. I just ignore them.”
Widespread affliction
Facebook’s grasp isn’t limited to doctors.
“My husband finally opened a Facebook account about a year and a half ago just for his high-school reunion,” Tan said. “He said he would quit after the reunion, but he hasn’t.”
The internist isn’t standing idly by, however.
“You can download your Facebook data including pictures,” Tan said. “I just requested mine.”
She is adamant about not answering Facebook Messenger questions from patients.
“If you answer even once, then they get the idea they can do it again,” Tan said. “When asked at clinic why I don’t answer, I say it’s my policy. It’s a patient-safety issue, too.”
Occupational health expert Dr. Gia Baquiran Sison also fights Facebook’s two-way grip.
“It’s difficult for me to deactivate my Facebook since it has highly helped me in my advocacies and another page for health information,” she said.
Privacy protection
An even bigger question to consider is what kind of data are you willing to give away on Facebook or social media in general?
Ideally, you don’t give out your address, travel plans, birth date and mother’s maiden name on Facebook. Realistically, your friends and family know all that already and can spill the beans any time. Your security is as strong as your most blabbermouth acquaintance.
“I’d be willing to post photos of huge family and friend gatherings, or conventions I attended,” Miaco said. “There are random photos about Dumaguete City or food at some restaurants I eat at. But never photos or info about my significant other, where I currently am or going.
“I never accept people on Facebook unless I’ve met them in person, or if we really were friends,” she said.
Piecing together
Tan knows that small bits of information can create a bigger picture.
“Those little things they can connect — like giving a finger and they get the whole arm,” she said. “But we never read the fine print.”
Maynard holds tight to her personal information while having both eyes open.
“I give nothing at all, but as a user of Facebook for some time, data mining was a foregone conclusion,” she said. “It’s how they make their money. It’s naive to think platforms aren’t sharing your data.
“It does give one pause when we think about — if we had a choice — what data we would be willing to give,” Maynard said. “Because if no choice, then delete Facebook.”
Her suspicions allow Facebook no quarter.
“In my humble opinion, all sharing should be permission-based, but brands like Facebook are sneaky and savvy,” Maynard said. “They find a way and exploit it. The savvy consumer recognizes this and is cautious when sharing.”
Then came the hard question: What are your parameters for absolutely stopping Facebook use?
Search for alternatives
If Facebook goes away, then there’s no choice but to find elsewhere to stay connected with friends and family. That’s generally the bottom-line reason to stay connected.
“When I think about that, it means another social network who may also be doing what Facebook has done,” Tan said. “So, where does it change? There’s enough negativity that we don’t need another portal for it.”
Sison seemed most willing to pull the plug.
“If personal harassment is already happening, any malicious threat and I’m outta here,” she said. “For me, social media equates to social responsibility. Think before you ink. That’ll get you through.”
Miaco, however, was resigned to her fate.
“The most I can do is deactivate Facebook from time to time, but it has become an appendage that is hard to quit,” she said. “The only thing that’ll make me quit entirely is probably when Facebook runs out of space, and that seems like never.”
Aguilar drew the obvious conclusion: “Unless it dies or individual accounts are hacked, no one plans to absolutely stop using Facebook.”
He added a somber caution.
“Use Facebook responsibly,” he said. “Be aware that personal data you’re giving away could endanger yours as well as the lives of others.”
About The Author
Jim Katzaman is a manager at Largo Financial Services and worked in public affairs for the Air Force and federal government. You can connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
