E-PROFESSIONALISM AND ETHICS GOVERNANCE IN SOCIAL MEDIA FOR MALAYSIAN DENTAL PRACTITIONERS: A DOCUMENT REVIEW

Received 2024-02-19; Accepted 2024-03-26; Published 2024-03-27

Abstract

Background: A subset of professionalism called "e-professionalism" is defined as the application of traditional professionalism ideas to online activities. The concept of e-professionalism is nested in the ethics of healthcare. Dentists, as professionals, must adhere to the principle of ethics while using social media.

Objectives: To explore the Acts, regulations, Code of Conduct, or guidelines available pertaining to social media usage among dentists in Malaysia.

Methods: A review of relevant legislation, regulations, Codes of conduct, and guidelines for the use of social media in dentistry was conducted using the READ (Ready, Extract, Analyse, Distill) approach.

Results: There were twenty-five (25) documents directly or indirectly related to the Dental Act 2018 under the Oral Health Division, Ministry of Health Malaysia website. Only eight (8) documents were found directly or indirectly pertaining to social media usage among dental practitioners in Malaysia. Currently, there are no specific document guidelines on social media usage for both private and public dental practitioners in Malaysia. All related documents on guidelines were general and not directly related to social media use and needed to be read in conjunction with other directives and guidelines by the Ministry of Health. A comprehensive guideline on social media usage was available but only for the MOH staff, including public dental practitioners.

Conclusion: In order to advance toward good ethical behaviour in dentistry, it is necessary to offer the dental profession conducive guidelines in social media usage.