You are working at a medium sized multi-specialty practice comprised of three primary care physicians (family and internal medicine), one OB-GYN physician, two pediatricians and two nurse practitioners. The owner physicians have decided that they want to begin utilizing social media to market their practice. You have been asked to serve as part of a team to develop and submit a proposal to the physician owners regarding the benefits and drawbacks/risks (focus on legal/ethical related) for utilizing LinkedIn in the practice.

1.Should the individual physicians have a personal LinkedIn account in addition to the practice's account? Should the physicians be allowed/encouraged to interact with patients who may want to "friend" them?

2.Should the practice and/or individual physicians be allowed/encouraged to post about healthcare topics?

3.What are the drawbacks for a LinkedIn presence?