Social media has become a common communication tool for engaging and connecting with others in today’s society, where everyone expects a rapid response to questions, instant-messaging capacity, and free and liberal access to information. In general, this trend towards enriched communication provides opportunities for knowledge building, discovery and innovation, and advancing research in all fields. In health care, the benefits of using social media include the immediate delivery of information, advice, and education, and the ability to create communities of practice for professional development. In these ways, social media use can support health professionals’ ongoing development as well as their clients’ or patients’ participation in the therapeutic alliance.

Risks also exist, however. Risks of using social media include, for example, breaches of privacy; dissemination of unreliable or inaccurate information; damage to professional image; and boundary crossing. The potential for such risks has led to a slower adoption of social media in some sectors of health care compared to other industries, but most health organizations have access to guidelines or policies to help professionals - in both clinical and non-clinical roles - ensure that their use of social media in practice is appropriate.