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This article was published in the February 2025 edition of Vetboard Victoria's newsletter. Content was current at the time of publication but there may have been changes since then, as rules, standards and professional and community expectations change over time. Readers are also referred to our Guidelines for appropriate standards of veterinary practice and veterinary facilities.

Peer discussion of cases on social media

Having seen a few recent case discussions on social media, the Board provides some guidance on this topic.

While the Board recognises the value in veterinary practitioners using social media to engage and share experiences with other veterinary practitioners (particularly for rural practitioners), you should exercise great care when discussing a case with peers on social media.

You are responsible for delivering veterinary services to an animal under your care and the exercise of your professional judgement in relation to its treatment. You cannot make a professional diagnostic or treatment decision solely based on peer discussion. Your decisions must be based on all the information available to you including examination of the animal, the animal’s full clinical history (or as much as obtained from the owner and/or recorded in the veterinary medical record),any diagnostics and additional research.

At the same time, you are expected to ‘recognise the limitations of [your] knowledge, skills and resources, consult with colleagues as needed, and identify situations in which referral is warranted’ (AVBC Day One Competency #34), so there will be times when you may need to engage with professional peers to supplement your clinical decision-making.

Points to remember before supplementing the information you have with any discussion with peers, especially on social media, are:
  • The veterinary practitioner-owner-relationship involves you. The animal is under your care, and you will likely not be able to share all the information you have access to on social media for privacy and confidentiality reasons (see discussion and references in the next column).
  • Be professional in your interactions. While social media interactions are often more casual, you are expected to adhere to the behaviours and principles of professional conduct in the Board’s guidelines.
  • Participants in the discussion will have varying experience, biases and, potentially, conflicts of interest.
  • Some peer groups may be more knowledgeable and experienced than others, e.g. an AVA special interest group or ANZCVS chapter on Facebook.
  • Consultation with peers online is not the same as a professional referral to another veterinary practitioner or veterinary specialist. Consider if referral is a more appropriate way to assist with clinical management of your patient.
  • You may not be able to control or moderate who sees your discussion. Even discussions restricted to peer groups may potentially be accessed by members of the public.

Importantly, there are confidentiality and privacy considerations to consider before you disclose and discuss information about a client and/or their animal. You should not disclose information which could lead to a client being identified on social media(even in a closed peer group) unless they give their explicit consent for you to do so.

Keep in mind that even if you think you have de-identified information, it may be possible to identify an animal’s owner if you are known to work in a specific location, if a discussion is on a local Facebook group page or where information from other sources may be collated.

More information

The following information may help you to generally consider privacy and other issues relating to social media (noting that some are from different jurisdictions and sectors): Relevant guidance: