Social Media And Its Effects On The Private And Working Lives Of Health Care Professionals

Social media rules our world today and provides instant resources that keep us informed and connected. Advancement in technology has provided multiple resources and valuable information that is literally available at one’s fingertips. The availability of information is endless and provides for fast, more effective learning within the nursing and medical world. There is mass skepticism and question within the nursing environment regarding the use of technology, whether it is via cell phone use, computer, laptop, or internet usage. There is a serious concern regarding HIPAA laws, patient privacy acts, and the legalities tied to an individual’s rights while under medical care.

Social media is now a key communication platform. It is an effective, easy to use, and easily accessible form of communication to those who have the necessary device but on the hand it has negative effects on privacy and confidentiality when patient information is released to other people in the communication group but the benefits outweighs the demerits (Punjani, N. S., Bhanji, S. M., & Meghani, S. T. 2015). We cannot wish away social media platforms, but we need to be more cautious so as not to leap the negative implications. Good post Carol.

According to Steven Waldern, director of the American Academy of Family Physicians Center for Health IT, social media has taken a toll on the healthcare industry. Patients are now interacting with patients that are going through a social media site, Patients like me. This site is used to improve the patient’s outcome, connect patients with one another, and enable research. This website has secure portals to ensure that patient information is kept personal or with only healthcare providers. (Hartford, 2012)

We Can But Dare We: A Look into the Use of Social Media in Healthcare

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

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,

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.

Facebook embraces the networking capabilities of the Internet by allowing individuals to connect with others through sharing of personal or professional information and interests. Professional sites can be set up by groups, organizations, and businesses. They can be completely separate from an individual’s personal Facebook page. Instead of ‘friends,’ a professional or organizational Facebook page has ‘fans’ or users who ‘like’ the page. This is an important distinction in the use of social media by healthcare professionals concerned with privacy or boundary issues. Twitter is considered a micro-blogging platform which means entries are limited to 140 characters. Twitter is the fastest growing social media platform because of its versatility and ability to quickly hyperlink to external sources of information. Again, individuals can have both a personal and a professional or organizational Twitter account. Both Facebook and Twitter are free applications, as are most social media tools, enabling a larger sector of the general public to be able to access these

The use of social media is widespread and ever increasing, at the beginning of the 3rd quarter of 2016 there is 1.79 billion active Facebook users and 2.34 billion social media users across all platforms (Statista, 2016). This trend can also be seen in healthcare professionals and will increase as younger practioners join the workforce. A survey in 2011 by the Medical Protection society found that 36% of doctors used Facebook on a daily basis and that 100% of medical students have Facebook accounts with Ofcom reporting that 80 % of adults in the UK has some sort of social medial account.

McNab, C. (2009). What social media offers to health professionals and citizens. Bulletin of the World Health Organization. Retrieved from http://Bulletin of the World Health Organization

The dynamics of technology have seen the introduction of various forms of social media into the professional world. Social media has become a platform of communication, sharing of information and learning hence the need for health professionals to be knowledgeable on using appropriately. The social media policy governing health professionals defines social media as:

Sometimes, a health worker does not give importance to the patient because the interest of social media. Health worker keeps on using social media websites while discussing the problem of a problem. The usage of social media websites for private purposes through working hours at emergency health services can have a negative impact on well-being and work performance of employees.

In addition, the nurses can participate profitably in the medical discussions regardless of the time zones and geographic locations. Like the people in other professions, a professional online presence is a must for the nursing. However, the nurses need to proceed cautiously with an eye over the content they upload and consider the potential negative consequences of the participation in the social media ("White Paper: A Nurse’s Guide to the Use of Social Media",

Furthermore, social media keeps nurses updated to recent medical advances and current outbreaks occurring in the world today. Nurses have an advantage in terms of being aware of this knowledge that is shared on social media. This makes it very useful for linking added knowledge, for example, concerning a health consumer’s symptoms to a recent outbreak that is occurring. Barry and Hardiker (2012) cites, using social media in the health care community nurses can update one another of first hand news medically related. Especially for nurses located in the rural and remote communities, isolated from one on one interactions with fellow health care professionals, social media connects nurses with each other (Rutledge et al., 2011).

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).