A Brief Note On Social Media And Ethics

The use of Facebook between patients and medical professionals can put the patient’s confidentiality at risk and jeopardises the integrity of health system causing the view that they are seen as trustworthy to change. Better Health Victoia states "By law, your medical records and health information must be kept safe and private by all medical and healthcare professionals". Marks colleague and

The objective of this study is to examine the importance of not sharing patient information through social media. According to the work of Adler (2011) many physicians are violating HIPAA and do not know it. Dimick (2010) writes that nurses at the Fargo, ND-based healthcare system in 2008 were using Facebook to "provide unauthorized shift change updates to their co-workers. What once would have been a conversation became an update on their personal Facebook pages. It was a convenient tool, because the nurses had "friended" each other through Facebook and thus could quickly read what each other wrote on their pages. They did not use patient names, but they did post enough specifics about patients so that the incoming nurses could prepare for their shift. The problem was that everyone else "friended" to their Facebook pages could also read the information." (p.1) The use of social media to talk about work "sharing sensitive patient or proprietary business information that same easy use and powerful reach broadcasts guarded information to large numbers of people." (Dimick, 2010, p.1) Release of information that is sensitive over social media can result in great harm to the reputation of an organization, violations of HIPAWA and ultimately result in "breach notifications and hefty fines." (Dimick, 2010, p.2) Dimick writes that Kaiser Permanente published "an organization-wide social media policy that explains appropriate staff

Another way nurses use freedom when it comes to social media and technology “Trust—the hallmark of the nurse-patient relationship” Brous explains about this saying that “nurses should avoid talking about any patients or their situations online…that includes adding their name or other protected information.” By doing this nurses won’t be breaking any rules and they can avoid any mishaps.

“Facebook remains the most popular platform for those using just one social media site—fully 79% of those who use just one site report using Facebook. Most Facebook users are actively engaging with their networks on the site. As opposed to simply reading or viewing content, 65% of Facebook users frequently or sometimes share, post or comment on Facebook” (Duggan, Ellison, Lampe, et al, 2015). As discussed previously, privacy and confidentiality is a right that everyone has no matter what. Therefore, healthcare professional’s privacy and communication cannot be entered and examined however; rules and guidelines have been put into place to manage confidentiality in the healthcare setting. In 2003, these guidelines were manifested and are known as the Privacy Rules, which are controlled by HIPAA. These rules were established to safeguard personal identifiable health data, which include an individual’s date of birth, social security number, address, photographs that may identify the patient, and past and current medical history (U.S Department of Health and Human Services, 2006). HIPAA defines “individually identifiable health information” as information that is a subdivision of health data, including demographic information gathered from an individual and is generated or received by a health care provider, health plan, employer, or health care clearinghouse and connects to the previous, current or future physical or

Employees within healthcare and anyone who has been a mature patient in recent years have been duly informed of the Health Insurance Privacy and Portability Act (HIPPA), but even more people are more intimately familiar with the social networking site Facebook. Prior to researching the legal and ethical boundaries at it pertains to patient confidentiality in nursing school, many of us thought little of the HIPPA concept and how it applies to each of us as individuals. We can announce to the world on Facebook that I have a lump, please go get a mammogram! We can whine on for ages about our children’s medical problems. We make announcements and call for prayers for our spouses and parents who are ill. We share with our friends and family,

Social media has become a world stage for many people to display and share their accomplishments, failures, and even their shenanigans. No one seems to care anymore if their boss, spouse, or conservative grandmother knows how wild that party they attended over the weekend was, or who their romantic fling was with that week. It’s a sad fact and even though most people do it, posting ones every day move can still affect their job and personal relationships.

HIPAA, otherwise known as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was enacted in 1996 which required organizations to devise methods to safeguard transfer and disclosure of personal health information (Shi, 2015). Protected health information (PHI) is any information about a patient’s health status that can be associated to a certain patient. HIPAA being the act that protects the spread of patient confidential information, can be violated on accident more than often. Social media, including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, etc. has millions of users daily and users have the option to post or ‘tweet’ whatever they may want. Easily enough, HIPAA violations can occur through social media and the United States Department

The rapid development of technology throughout modern society has initiated the widespread use of social networking. Social networking plays a positive role in healthcare when educating, communicating, or advertising. However, poor judgments have the power to turn this positive into negative and damage professional reputations. Griffith (2014) stresses the importance of understanding that protected health information is not a matter of open secrets. Whether a lawyer, doctor, nurse, or a secretary, it is important to avoid conditions that may influence the health and security of patients or clients, as well as their own professional reputation (Aylott, 2011). The Purpose of this paper is to explore the appropriate use of cell phones and social networking in healthcare and the importance of understanding the ethical boundaries between professional uses opposed to personal use.

With the advancement of modern technology, social media is increasingly finding use in healthcare delivery and management. Health professionals including doctors, nurses and therapists have adopted social media to communicate with their patients and for health sensitization. Social media can benefit healthcare delivery in a variety of ways including fostering professional connections, patient and community education and promoting communication with patients and families. On the other hand, use of social media in healthcare exposes patients’ data to breaches and leakages creating confidentiality issues. Misuse of patient data results in serious career penalties for negligent medical professionals. Protocols have been established to oversee the use of social medial by health practitioners. The paper seeks to explore the recognized rules that regulate the use of social media, and its risks and benefits. Health professionals should utilize benefits of social media while adhering to confidentiality, privacy, and ethical guidelines for private or professional communications with respect to patient data.

While using social media can be valuable to doctors and nurses, inappropriate use of these tools can be devastating to a health professional career. Here are some examples

Although the times have changed, the important of maintaining patient confidentiality and privacy has not, especially on social media. With social media use becoming increasingly prevalent in daily life, it is important to ensure the safety and privacy of patients. Patient privacy is protected by law, and by the standards set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia; and health care providers, including nurses and student nurses, are required to ensure the health information of a patient is kept private and confidential at all times (Daly, Speedy & Jackson, 2014). Social media does have a place in nursing, with many institutions using it to better communication between nurses, however its use should be carefully monitored and users should be educated appropriately (Spector & Kappel, 2012).

Social media platforms allow us to share our expertise, insight and spirit with the general public. This is a very good thing. However, it is also true that the careless use of social media can pose unnecessary risks to ConocoPhillips’ proprietary and confidential information and our excellent reputation. To minimize risk to our Company and our employees, guidelines have been established to provide us with parameters and clarity on what is and is not acceptable online behavior. In general, when using social media, you should:

The issue of protecting patient information in health care is not a new issue; however, the use of social media in distributing this information is a relatively new problem. The use of social media has posed a lot of ethical challenges to the profession of nursing. Patient’s privacy and confidentiality of information are protected by HIPAA. Using social media in an improper manner could potentially violate HIPAA, and could result in consequences including: being sued, loss of licensure, and termination. Additionally, nurses are held to a higher standard than most and should act on their personal pages as such. Patients frequently search the nurses ' online profiles in order to determine their behaviors outside of the workplace, thus

In the present culture of the United States, social media has had a major impact in American society. It has a profound influence and intertwined itself in almost every aspect of the average American’s life. It ranges from providing updates of location of a person(s), events, and sharing personal moments. Even different industries are utilizing social media as a platform for communication, information, and sales mediums. One industry, the health care field has seen a rise in the utilization of social media. For instance, an emerging population of physicians are using social media apps such as Snap Chat, Facebook, and YouTube to educate, display surgical, and medical procedures while being performed. In contrast, as there are positive aspects of utilizing social media, a negative trait of social media is invading and exposing individual’s privacy. As of recent, a New York licensed nurse had to surrender her nursing license and sentenced to 3 years of probation for “moral unfitness in the practice (Bowerman, 2016).” She took photos with her phone of two unconscious male patient’s genitalia and shared them with coworkers. This has become an increasing issue and as the utilization of social media in healthcare is increasing, many ethical issues are developing. For instance, the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) was passed for the adoption of a national standard for electronic health care transactions and code sets, unique health identifiers,

At the same time, health care organizations find challenges in adopting social media. Hospital and medical practices are risk adverse and generally cautious about new technology trends without clear value. There are questions about whether social media use by hospital employees is a waste of time, or even worse, presents risks of violating HIPAA or leaking proprietary information. Hospital IT departments are concerned about security risks, such as the use of tinyurl.com, which can mask malicious Web sites. Privacy concerns, particularly the vulnerability of social media accounts, are also cited as a reason to avoid social media. (John Sharp 2010).