Permitted Use of Social Media by Health Care Practitioners
Social media is being used today by health care practitioners mostly for marketing and research purposes, to establish professional contacts, or to communicate with providers and share information. While social media is extremely helpful for a variety of purposes in multiple domains, there are many legal issues that may arise that limit the permitted use of social media by health care practitioners.
According to the HIPPA Privacy Rule, all patient specific information requires permission along with a signed release before sharing the information on social media. In addition, physicians should avoid using social media for direct patient care and contact, especially since that information may not be stored in an encrypted manner, may be accessible to others, and may be controlled by a third party. Common privacy mistakes or overlooked breaches of confidentiality include a health care practitioner posting patient information without authorization (e.g. a nurse describes a day at the facility), a provider posts or sending unauthorized photo or video, a patient posts something and a provider or employee responds.
There are many laws in place to counteract these social media-related privacy mistakes. These are outlined by HIPAA, Licensing Regulations, State Privacy Laws, and Common Law Privacy Torts. In general, healthcare professionals cannot directly address patients through social media outlets as it violates the privacy and confidentiality regulations outlined by HIPPA. However, there is a certain amount of flexibility regarding social media use between health care practitioners and patients, such as using unencrypted email for communication purposes. Ways to avoid HIPPA violations could be to distribute clear social networking policies to employees and especially to ensure de-identification of information or patient consent before posting on social media.
Social media is permitted in circumstances that do not transgress these privacy laws, and there are a variety of ways that healthcare managers are utilizing social media to enhance their services and provide patients with accurate medical information.
For instance, social media is intended to provide individuals the ability to access information quickly and to communicate with others about general information and news regarding outbreaks or health hazards. Healthcare practitioners can also utilize social media to evaluate their competitors and get insight into overall patient satisfaction, as well as to train medical personnel. A more controversial use of social media has been providing live updates during procedures to fellow doctors, medical students, or simply curious individuals.
Especially relevant during the coronavirus pandemic, social media is especially useful to communicate in times of crisis. The use of social media has increased during this time to provide minute-by-minute information to consumers, allowing organizations like the Red Cross and the Centers for Disease Control to pass along information or communicate with new outlets.
While health care providers’ use of social media must be restricted to prevent accidental privacy breaches, social media is widely permitted for use for patient engagement and education. This leniency allows social media to provide health care practitioners with tools to share information, to debate health care policy and practice issues, to promote health behaviors, to engage with the public, and to educate and interact with patients, caregivers, students, and colleagues.
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