A guide was issued by the Australian Medical Association (AMA), which outlines a range of safety measures which should be taken by the medical trainees and doctors when online to protect medical careers and patient confidentiality.

As the number of the people who are logging on the social networking sites is rising, the Australian Medical Association has felt the need to issue a guide to its members to protect the medical careers.

They said that the guide has been issued to avoid awkward situations and uphold the professional standards of its members. Micheal Bonning who the chair of the AMA Council of Doctors-in-Training (AMACDT) said, that due to their online behavior many doctors had to face disciplinary action recently.

He further said that the guide provide comprehensive information and examples of the danger which is involved like defamation which can affect the doctors due to the misuse of the networking sites. Micheal Bonning has helped the AMA to develop these guidelines.

A general warning was issued to doctors for disclosing confidential medical information of any patient on any social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter by the NSW Medical Board in September. `