Community Guidelines

Never share information that could identify a real patient — directly or indirectly. This includes names, dates of birth, geographic details smaller than a state, unique diagnoses or case combinations, and any other HIPAA protected health information (PHI).

When discussing clinical cases or scenarios, change all identifying details. If you're unsure whether a detail is identifying, leave it out. The educational value of a case never outweighs a patient's right to privacy.

Posts containing suspected PHI will be removed immediately without notice. Repeated violations will result in a permanent ban.

Treat everyone with the respect you would extend to a colleague in a professional setting. Disagreement is welcome — personal attacks, harassment, and intimidation are not.

Credential badges are self-reported and exist to add context to discussions, not to establish hierarchy. A question from a nursing student deserves the same respectful engagement as a comment from a CMIO.

Do not misrepresent your credentials, experience, or affiliation. Impersonation of healthcare institutions or regulatory bodies is grounds for immediate removal.

Encouraged: Clinical workflow discussions, EHR implementation experiences, informatics challenges, healthcare IT career advice, de-identified case discussions for educational purposes, and questions from clinicians transitioning to health IT roles.

Not permitted: Spam or promotional content, misinformation or content that contradicts established clinical evidence without appropriate context, content that promotes harm, off-topic discussions unrelated to clinical practice or healthcare technology, and any content that violates patient privacy (see above).

This is not a general medical advice forum. Nothing shared here constitutes medical advice, and no post should be acted upon without consulting appropriate clinical judgment and institutional protocols.

We take a graduated approach to enforcement based on severity and pattern of behavior:

• Content removal — individual posts or threads removed for rule violations without necessarily affecting the account.
• Account warning — a direct message explaining the violation and what would constitute grounds for a ban.
• Temporary ban — account access suspended for a defined period for repeated or serious violations.
• Permanent ban — account permanently disabled for severe violations (PHI exposure, harassment, impersonation) or patterns of repeated violations.

PHI exposure, harassment, and impersonation are grounds for immediate permanent banning without prior warning.

If you see content that violates these guidelines, use the Report button on any post or thread. Reports are reviewed by the site administrator.

For matters that require direct contact, reach out via the contact information in the site footer.