Why Your Practice Can’t Afford DIY Social Media: The Hidden Cost of Compliance Violations
Meet Dr. Katharine Roxanne Grawe- known to her 825,000 TikTok followers as “Dr. Roxy.” She was a board-certified plastic surgeon with a thriving practice in Powell, Ohio. She livestreamed surgeries, answered viewer questions mid-procedure, and her videos earned 14.6 million likes. Until July 2023, when the Ohio Medical Board permanently revoked her license.
Not suspended. Not fined. Permanently revoked.
Three patients suffered serious complications requiring additional medical care. At least eleven more came forward with concerns. The Board found she had prioritized social media engagement over patient safety, violated patient privacy standards, and departed from minimal standards of care. Dr. Grawe had been warned twice- once in 2018, again in 2021- but the social media fame proved too intoxicating.
She lost everything. Her license. Her practice. Her career.
And she’s not an isolated case. According to the HIPAA Journal, healthcare privacy violations carry penalties ranging from $137 to $2.067 million per incident. In Australia, AHPRA breaches can result in fines up to $1.1 million for corporate entities. One misplaced patient identifier, one unverified claim, one non-compliant testimonial- that’s all it takes.
The Problem with In-House Social Media Management
Your reception team is exceptional at what they do. But do they know the difference between permitted educational content and prohibited therapeutic claims under FTC? Can they identify when a patient comment crosses into testimonial territory that requires specific disclosures? Do they understand FDA regulations for controlled substances, or the strict photo consent requirements for medical imagery?
Do they know when they’re about to hit “post” on something that could end your career?
The reality is stark: regulatory compliance in healthcare marketing isn’t intuitive. It’s a specialized skill set that most practices simply don’t have in-house- and the learning curve is measured in license suspensions and board hearings.
Why a Trusted Social Media Manager Changes Everything
A specialized healthcare social media manager doesn’t just post pretty pictures. They’re your compliance safety net, your brand guardian, and your strategic growth partner. Here’s what that looks like in practice:
The ContentClicks Five-Stage Compliance Workflow (here) ensures every piece of content moves through:
- Strategic planning aligned with HIPAA guidelines
- Content creation with built-in compliance checks
- Legal review for regulatory adherence
- Approval workflow with documented sign-offs
- Post-publication monitoring for comment management, including proactively removing or disabling comments that could be seen as unverified testimonials
This isn’t just process for process’s sake. It’s your protection against the catastrophic scenarios that keep practice owners up at night. The Dr. Roxy scenario. The career-ending mistake. The board investigation.
Our Compliance First Guarantee means we take responsibility for the compliance of content we create and publish. We don’t just promise to be careful- we put our professional integrity behind every post, every caption, every patient interaction.
What You Actually Get (Beyond Peace of Mind)
When you partner with a compliance-specialized agency like ContentClicks, you’re not just offloading risk- you’re unlocking growth:
- Strategic content calendars that balance engagement, informed patient choice and education
- Crisis management protocols for when patients post sensitive information
- Platform-specific expertise across Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and TikTok
- Performance tracking that measures what matters (patient inquiries, not just likes)
- Geo-targeted campaigns that respect jurisdictional differences in HIPAA vs international regulations
Most importantly? You get your time back. Time to focus on patient care instead of second-guessing every social media post. Time to build your practice instead of worrying about board investigations.
The Bottom Line
Dr. Roxy thought she could manage both- surgery and social media stardom. The Ohio Medical Board disagreed. Eleven patients paid the price. And a promising surgical career ended at a hearing table.
Social media isn’t optional for healthcare practices anymore- it’s where your future patients are researching their options right now. But playing in this space without specialized expertise isn’t brave; it’s playing Russian roulette with your medical license.
The question isn’t whether you can afford a trusted social media manager. It’s whether you can afford to be the next cautionary tale.
Ready to Protect Your Practice While Growing Your Presence?
Book a complimentary audit with our Co-Founder Ivan. We’ll review your current social media practices, identify compliance vulnerabilities, and show you exactly how we can take this burden off your shoulders- so you can focus on what you do best: providing exceptional patient care.
Click here to skip the queue and book directly in Ivan’s calendar.
And read more about Dr. Roxy here.
