Guiding practice: explanatory guidance consultation

We are consulting on nine short pieces of draft explanatory guidance. The guidance expands on the principles set out in the revised, shorter draft of Good Medical Practice that we consulted on earlier this year.

You can choose whether to read and comment on all of the guidance, or just those sections of particular interest.

New guidance

• Social media for doctors sets out how to make sure you are using social media channels like Facebook and Twitter appropriately. The guidance reflects the changed circumstances in which doctors will need to apply the principles laid out in our Confidentiality guidance [link], and gives examples of appropriate and inappropriate use.  
• A new guidance statement on Delegation and referral updates the advice currently in Good Medical Practice which we’ve taken out of the core guidance in response to the request from doctors for GMP to be more concise.   Taking up and ending appointments gives more detailed guidance on how doctors should respond to offers of employment, making sure patient care isn’t compromised.  

Revisions of existing guidance

• Personal beliefs addresses under what circumstances it might be appropriate for a doctor to talk about their own personal beliefs and what is expected of a doctor who has a conscientious objection to providing a specific treatment or procedure.  
• Maintaining boundaries focuses on professional boundaries between a doctor and patient, reporting inappropriate behaviour about a colleague and the role of a chaperone during intimate examinations.  
• Financial and commercial arrangements and conflicts of interest looks at how a doctor should approach commissioning services, incentives and accepting gifts in their practice to ensure any dealings do not affect the way they treat, refer or prescribe for patients.  
• Ending your professional relationship with a patient sets out when this is appropriate and how doctors should handle these situations.  
• Acting as a witness in legal proceedings explains what’s expected of a doctor if they’re called upon to act as a witness of fact or as an expert witness.   Reporting criminal and regulatory proceedings within and outside the UK expands on advice in GMP about the requirements of a doctor to report any criminal and regulatory history.  

How to get involved

The consultation is open until 13 June 2012.  

You can read all the guidance, and comment on them using a writeable PDF, on our consultation web pages.