Trial at the Old Bailey in London - Wikipedia
I just got through reading a well written article by Bryan Vartabedian, a doctor who writes on his blog 33 Charts. Do check it out! Vartabedian speculates about being sued by a patient and having to defend the comments and writings found on one of the many social media outlets he utilizes. As one commenter put it quite well: “In the end, it’s all about what you have said. As physician bloggers, we need to be prepared to defend or elaborate on anything that we post…”
I think I fall somewhere in the middle. I know that things that I write on this blog and twitter can be used against me should I ever be taken to court. I’m not naïve enough to think that they wouldn’t. I do believe that any defense lawyer worth his salt(and the large retainer fee) should be able to shoot down any attacks on my character taken from isolated lines and quotes.
At the same time, I do temper myself somewhat when writing on here and on twitter. I rarely post something right after I’ve written it, preferring to come back to it for a last look-over later that day. This allows me to take a fresh look at my writing after the, sometimes charged, thoughts and emotions that drove the piece have tempered. I think, hope, that this makes me a little more centered and consequentially will give a lot less fodder for a prosecuting lawyer to use.
The original article is found here by the way. To my readers who have a blog and are/will be practicing physicians, has the idea that anything you write can be used against you changed how open you are on your blog? Do you hold back more with this kind of threat in mind? Do you not care very much and instead strive for pure authenticity? I look forward to hearing you views!
Flustered Grad 