Why Your Patient may Be Stalking You

[chatcat]

In a recent discussion with a colleague, we discussed how the internet has greatly changed our ability to maintain our privacy. I think those of us in medicine are especially at

risk for violation of our private data through clinician data bases offered through state Medical Boards.

 

I've been particularly mindful of my on-line privacy through social networking sites after a patient found me on-line and then proceeded to bombard me with requests to

become his friend.

Of course,such a request is much easier to decline on line than in person when this patient is sitting on the exam table persisting in joining your on-line network.

The fact that I had a patient stalking me hit home when this same patient sent a personal note of thanks for my professional services to my residence ~ a line was crossed and it was very unsettling.

My solution to this issue was a very frank discussion with this patient about boundaries that are mandated by our professional standards and how I personally found such actions very invasive to my privacy. I held this discussion with a witness present and provided detailed documentation.

 

FYI: Even if you don't have have a stalker (that you are aware of) be mindful of how much personal information you have out there.

 

To protect privacy in general and to discourage potential stalkers, physicians usually do not release their home address, cell phone numbers, and other personal information. That's more difficult in the Internet age, where search engines can reveal more information than you realize.

 

It isn't hard for a patient to find out where you live, what you paid for your house, what political contributions you made, or who your spouse is, without your even knowing about it.

 

Social media, such as Facebook and LinkedIn, create situations in which patients may seek to "friend" you or establish a relationship. "With Facebook, we put personal information in a context that encourages interaction," said Dr. Appelbaum. "That's fine for our friends but not for our patients. Doctors should use privacy controls so that friends can see your page but patients can't."

 

Why Your Patient May Be Stalking You

[rev ronin]

Rule #1: Always have a PO Box. Use it as your "home address" on anything you can. My PO box also has a corresponding street address

Rule #2: Always have an unlisted home phone number. Never give that number out to anyone who will put that into any electronic database--not even your church's membership directory.

 

The rules for electronic media vary a bit, because Facebook itself is hardly constant itself. I never let anyone who isn't at least a friend of a friend message or attempt to friend me. If anyone else wants to, they can email my publicly displayed Facebook email and contact me that way. Needless to say, I don't let "friends of friends" see much about me, either.

 

Mind you, my old job occasionally involved getting people arrested, so I'm pretty comfortable with my level of paranoia. One thing you need to do, however, is educate your loved ones/family members about your level of boundaries. If they aren't on board, your measures will not be effective, and they will be a source of stress within your family relationships.

[Hemegroup]

Stalk me, I couldn't care less. I can understand the concern about the thank you note to your address, I doubt that was done without some *tee hee* get-off from the individual and I think you handled it well. I'd probably send a reply note to their home address and have it delivered by the police (or maybe my pit-bull with her muzzle hanging at her side). Honestly, I give my cell to certain patients, as does my Doc. On call, as it were. Not all patients, but a few who we feel need the contact availability. As for Facebook, if it was someone I wanted to know, I'd accept, if it wasn't I wouldn't. Anyone can contact me on Facebook, it doesn't matter to me ... it's up to me if I want to communicate back, but I wouldn't want to limit my own personal radius to friends of friends. But that's me. We're all different, different lives, different circumstances. I've actually had a literal stalker before, so I can understand. It can be quite unsettling, especially if you think there might be some propensity for danger.

[chatcat]

Honestly, I give my cell to certain patients, as does my Doc. On call, as it were. Not all patients, but a few who we feel need the contact availability.

 

I also frequently give patients my cell phone # especially over the weekend if they have an ongoing condition that isn't resolved. I see this as part of the continuum of

professional care although don't have an "on call" arrangement for all patient for after hour calls.

I've actually had a literal stalker before, so I can understand. It can be quite unsettling, especially if you think there might be some propensity for danger

 

This is what was so unsettling about this entire incident~ I never would have expected this patient to be the type that would resort to stalking....but that is the scary part ,

isn't it? You just never know what motivates some people with this sort of behavior...and as the article points out, those of us in medicine seem to be the targets of this behavior much more frequently than I would have imagined.