Social Media And The Health System

“According to the Measuring the Information Society Report 2014 by the International Telecommunication Union, nearly 3,000 million people use the Internet, which is more than 40% of the world 's population (7,200 million). There are almost as many mobile-cellular subscriptions (6.9 billion) as people on Earth, more than three quarters of them (5.4 billion) in the developing world, and more than half (3.6 billion) in the Asia-Pacific region” (Fernández-Luque & Bau 2015). With the ever-increasing use of technology, it was only a matter of time before it was integrated in the way healthcare functions and communicates. This media is increasingly becoming a tool for supporting

Communication has been permanently changed by social media. A wide conceptual definition of social media, as cited in Ressler & Glazer (2010), is “The online and mobile accessible services that enable individuals to connect, collaborate, and share with others in real time.” Social media has an obvious influence on informal communication style and represents both possibility and liability for healthcare institutions. As cited in Bernhardt, Alber, & Gold (2014), “Social media provide healthcare professionals 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.” It also presents challenges, including risks to information accuracy, organizational reputation, and individual privacy. Social media can be a very helpful in communicating among nurses and other healthcare providers while creating professional connections, and sharing experiences, but guidelines for appropriate use by healthcare providers are essential. Whether or not certain healthcare organization decides to use social media as a communications tool - social media policy still need to be implemented. Policies help establish an organization 's rules and expectations around social media.

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

This paper examines the public perception of nurses and how social media can be both a detriment and a benefit to the career field.

Social Media in Nursing and The Effect it has on Jobs, Facilities and Nursing Students

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

Edie Brous, RN, wrote an article on how the internet, social media and other new technologies have advanced. The use of social media has taken the free speech amendment to another level against those who don’t understand the restrictions. Nurses share ideas that they believed can be helpful when they post things but they must understand the legal risks of misusing. It’s becoming so broad that now different healthcare and professional organizations use it to communicate with their patients. There is a understanding to free speech limitation Brous notes:

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,

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

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.

Ressier, with the University of Massachusetts- Boston College of Nursing and Health Sciences states that, “as we educate a new generation of nurses, use of social media will be an integral component in their ability to practice competently, effectively, and collaboratively with team members, patients, and families.” Times are changing and social media is the fastest growing forum out there. Nurses will need to be able to navigate these apps when the time is right.

As stated by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA, 2014), when using social media, health practitioners should be aware that National codes of ethics and professional conduct apply. The British journal of Nursing (Farrelly, 2014) articulates that as a student nurse and future health professional, I have a responsibility to understand social media and confidentiality in the health care context. To become a successful nurse I will need to build trusting relationships with my patients, which will involve them being confident that their personal information will be protected by myself as a nurse. To achieve this it is essential that I adjust the ways I use social media and become more cautious of what I am posting online. For example, as a student and future RN, it is crucial that I do not discuss patients or post pictures, case studies or sensitive material which may enable patients to be identified. The misuse of social media may also have a negative effect on team-based patient care, for example if it is used as a tool to “cyber bully”

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

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).

Facebook helps people to share one’s information to others through posting and photon on his or her Facebook wall. Dr. Marry Marrow has syntheses her findings about Facebook and wrote, “Social media; staying connected.” She mentions that Facebook can bring happiness when you actively connected to our beloveds. Additionally, Facebook gives opportunities to health care as mean to communicate and to instruct communities (Marrow para 3). Social media like Facebook can enhance