Legal and Ethical Review Physicians' Personal Branding on Social Media from A Patient Safety Perspective

Abstract

The development of information technology has driven the phenomenon of personal branding of doctors on social media. Doctors utilize digital platforms to introduce themselves, provide health education, and expand their audience reach. While this phenomenon supports the public's right to accurate health information, it also poses legal risks in the form of disinformation, violations of patient privacy, and potential reductions in patient safety. This study aims to analyze Indonesia's positive legal framework governing personal branding activities of doctors on social media and examine legal measures that can be taken to maintain patient safety. The research method used is a normative legal research method with a statutory and conceptual approach. Primary legal materials include the 1945 Constitution, Law Number 17 of 2023 concerning Health, Law Number 11 of 2008 concerning Information and Electronic Transactions in conjunction with Law Number 19 of 2016, and the Personal Data Protection Law of 2022. Secondary legal materials include literature, journals, and expert opinions on health law, cyber law, and consumer protection. The analysis was conducted qualitatively by interpreting applicable norms and relating them to the practice of personal branding of doctors on social media. The research findings indicate that although there are no specific regulations regarding physician personal branding on social media, the principles of Indonesian positive law already provide a normative basis for assessing such activities. Physicians' right to express themselves is guaranteed by the constitution but is limited by legal obligations to ensure patient safety, information accuracy, and personal data protection. This study recommends the establishment of integrative and responsive national technical regulations, a coordinated inter-agency oversight mechanism, and increased legal and digital literacy for medical personnel. Thus, the phenomenon of physician personal branding on social media can be directed as a positive instrument to improve public health literacy while protecting patient safety.

The regulation of physician personal branding on social media is essentially subject to the provisions of laws and regulations in the fields of health and information technology. Law No. 17 of 2023 concerning Health emphasizes that all medical personnel, including doctors, are obliged to uphold professional ethics, maintain the quality of health services, and protect the public from misleading practices. This means that personal branding carried out by doctors on social media must remain within the boundaries of professionalism, must not give rise to misleading information, and must not lead to excessive promotion that contradicts the medical code of ethics. The latest ITE Law provides a stricter legal framework for social media activities. Law No. 1 of 2024 concerning the second amendment to the ITE Law stipulates that everyone, including doctors, is prohibited from disseminating information that is misleading, violates morality, or harms others through electronic media. Therefore, physician personal branding on social media must ensure that the content disseminated does not conflict with these legal provisions, whether related to patient data protection, the right to privacy, or the prohibition on disseminating false information. The integration of these two legal regimes demonstrates that physician personal branding on social media is permissible as long as it is conducted ethically, professionally, and legally. Personal branding should be directed at providing health education to the public, increasing public trust in the medical profession, and supporting the transparency of health information. Therefore, the legal regulation regarding physician personal branding on social media emphasizes a balance between physicians' rights to express themselves and innovate in utilizing technology, with the obligation to maintain professionalism and compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Therefore, the combination of articles from the 2023 Health Law (Articles 184 & 408) and the 2024 Electronic Information and Transactions Law (ITE Law) (Articles 27, 28, and 40) provides a clear legal basis that physician personal branding on social media is permissible as long as it is ethical, informative, and does not violate regulations.

A doctor's right to build a personal brand on social media is recognized as part of freedom of expression and professional development, but it is not absolute. Law No. 17 of 2023 concerning Health, specifically Article 184 paragraph (1), emphasizes that every medical professional is obliged to uphold professional ethics, maintain the quality of service, and protect patients from potential harm. Therefore, legal measures that can be taken include placing personal branding within the corridor of medical ethics and health regulations, so that branding remains educational and informative without compromising patient safety. Law No. 1 of 2024 concerning ITE provides a legal basis for physician behavior in the digital realm. Article 28 paragraph (1) prohibits the dissemination of false information that could harm consumers in electronic transactions, while Article 40 authorizes the government to remove violating content. This means that legal measures that can be taken include the implementation of digital supervision by the government and professional organizations to ensure that doctors' personal branding does not contain misleading medical claims, does not violate patient privacy, and does not harm the public. This is through state supervision based on the Health Law and the ITE Law, which regulates the protection of patients and the public from misleading practices on social media. With complementary ethical and legal mechanisms, doctors' rights to build their personal brands remain protected, while patient safety is assured. Therefore, the ideal legal effort is to harmonize health regulations and digital regulations, allowing doctors' personal branding to develop healthily and benefit public health literacy without compromising patient safety.