With Facebook making changes in privacy practices and the Federal Trade Commission considering adopting a more aggressive approach in policing online business practices, many business owners are taking action to protect the privacy of their customers as well.

In August, the New York Times posted a piece about the growing trend of bars, nightclubs, and other entertainment venues in adopting policies that prohibit tweeting or taking photos of other groups. “In an era … when shots of you in unflattering jeans become part of your permanent Google search results,” writes Allen Salkin, “there are signs that some are tired of living their lives on the Web.”

Far more unsettling than unflattering jeans are the findings from a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, which discovered that medical students were in violation of doctor-patient confidentiality by tweeting or blogging about patient details.

Of 78 US medical schools studied, over half reported incidents of medical students posting sensitive or unprofessional material online. In some cases, even when patient names were not used, enough information was provided that patients could potentially be identified. One in ten postings was found to be in blatant violation of patient confidentiality. Profanity, discriminatory language, and sexually suggestive material were common.

Few of the schools had policies that dealt with social networking and blogging. Investigators involved in the study are recommending that professional use of social media become part of media school curricula.

Headline image from the New York Times

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Karen Eisenbraun is a freelance writer and marketing specialist based in Kansas City, Missouri. She enjoys yoga, rock climbing, an occasionally jumping out of airplanes.