The Usage of Cell Phones and Social Media in Healthcare In the past decade, we have seen smart phones and social media increasingly taking over our daily lives and becoming the “norm”. Our phones have become part of our daily use and are currently used as an alarm clock, obtaining updates on sporting events and news, weather updates, video chat and posting updates on any social media. Although phones have been providing exceptional ways for providers to keep in touch with one another it has also opened up possible risks as far as patient’s privacy being breached. Therefore, causing legal and ethical problems between healthcare providers and patients. In this paper, I will discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of phones in …show more content…
As you can see this can sometimes become a tempting matter when a famous or well know individual is being treated. In the scenario provided the nurse not only broke patients’ rights, she also broke the moral and professional obligation to protect the patient’s privacy. It can be exciting and gratifying to be able to assist in the care of someone you admire as an artist but your duty, respect, and trust to protect the patient’s privacy should never be breached. Although she posted the picture on her day off it does not make it acceptable to post n social media. Moreover, the nurse took actions that can potentially jeopardize her position as a nurse, her integrity to the patient and her employer raise many questions. I would like to discuss some advantages that the cell phone provides. First, it has become a faster way among colleagues and staff to communicate and get a hold of each other. Second, the applications it offers has brought many benefits to the provider as well as the patient. Lastly, cell phones provide convenience while on the go. These are just some examples of positive things cells phones are positively used for. I’ll now go into deeper details on how this can usage can be beneficial. The first advantage that will be discussed is communication. Cells phones have improved communication between health care providers and their colleagues.
Even Though some people wouldn't agree. Having a cell phone saves lives. A girl from hot springs was stolen and taken to an ally. She had her phone with her so she called the police to come get here. These guys were arrested as well. See cell phones are a good cause. Everyday people are making improvements to the cell phone as well. Iphone four to iphone 8? How is that possible? Chemistry is how. Cell phones have saved many lives around the world and continue to do so.
In today 's modern world, there is a great buzz around the latest and greatest in technology. One such massively important gadget, is the cellular telephone. In the last decade or so, cell phones have gotten smaller and smaller, as well as larger in popularity. It is difficult to go anywhere without seeing a person on a cell phone, or using a cell phone in some fashion. Contrary to popular belief, cell phones are not a "god-send" in my opinion, and looking at the facts, the world would be better off without them. As all of the following evidence shows, people would be safer, healthier and perhaps even smarter, without the presence of cell phones.
Mhealth has reached the poorest of communities (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). More than 9 million patients email their physician in 2009 (Digital Health Care, 2010), because patients’ busy lifestyles do not allow time for an office visit for non-emergent health conditions. . In recent years, the expansion of mobile health (mhealth) technologies, including health text messaging, mobile phone applications, remote monitoring, and portable sensors, have changed the way health care is being delivered in the U.S. and globally (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d.). Patients like the convenience of communicating with his or her physician through advanced technology.
165). The HIPAA regulations are set as a protection of Personal Health Information (PHI) and all of its areas of concern, i.e. – name, condition, symptoms, etc… Legally, the nurse is not subjected to any clearly defined healthcare related laws, at the federal level, liable under the Privacy Acts of 1974 which protects any personal identification records or information relating to the patient’s privacy. The nurse takes photographs of the patient’s demographic information from his electronic health record which violates the regulations set forth by the Privacy Acts of 1974 (Privacy Act of 1974, n.d.). In many aspects of this scenario, a major concern lies on the nurse’s ethical, unethical, practice. The American Nurses Association (ANA) delineates in Provision Three of the Code of Ethics for Nurses “The nurse promotes, advocates for, and protects the rights, health, and safety of the patient.” (ANA, 2015). The nurse is in many violations enough to end their career in this situation. The privacy of the patient is a right not a privilege. With the increase usage of social media, this invasion of privacy on the patient could potentially be leaked and could lead to jeopardizing the patient’s safety while in the hospital.
In the world today, smartphones are becoming the “norm”, with basic phones becoming nearly obsolete in recent years. Pairing the overwhelming presence of social media with the rise in usage of smartphones brings to light an entirely new set of problems and challenges regarding patient privacy. According to a 2010 study conducted regarding various boards of nursing, 67% of executive officers surveyed reported receiving complaints about nurses misusing social media (Spector & Kappel,
With social media use becoming prevalent in daily life it is important to ensure the safety and privacy of patients. Healthcare providers, including nurses and student nurses, are required ensure the health information of a patient is kept private and confidential at all times (Daly, Speedy & Jackson, 2014). The case study presented focuses on a student nurse witnessing a fellow student nurse divulging private patient information on Facebook. This is a direct breach of the Privacy Act (1988) and requires immediate action. Discussed further is the professional, legal, and ethical response of the witnessing student nurse. As well as, the legal and
The medical professionals who were supposed to be caring for this dying patient failed to concentrate on his thoughtful care, and instead took a few photos of this gentleman and posted them on Facebook. Several of the staff lost their job and others disciplined for this cruel lack of integrity. In another incident in California at Tri-City Medical Center, nurses discussed patients on Facebook. While no job losses were reported, those involved were reported. Five nurses lost their employment by simply taking digital photos on their phones of a suicidal person and even snapping images of patient x-rays. Several reports have been made of nurse’s curiosity getting them in trouble by looking up records of celebrities. A contract nurse wound up seeking new employment for looking into records on patients not assigned to them at the University Medical Center in Tucson, Arizona, seeking information on those hurt in the shooting that injured congresswoman Giffords. A nursing student examining a placenta – if in the scope of the day’s assignment and thus presumed appropriate, is one thing, but crossed a huge threshold when photographed and posted on Facebook. The consequence was large, kicked out of nursing school and a subsequent lawsuit.
Another drawback of smartphone and social media use in healthcare is the negative repercussions of breach of patient confidentiality. To follow with HIPAA Privacy Rule, clinical vignettes posted via web-based media concerning patients must have all individual perceiving information and any uncovering references removed. This “de-identification” should be possible by changing or disposing of key patient components (e.g., names, insurance or Social Security numbers, date of birth, and photos), by keeping up a vital separation from the portrayal of uncommon therapeutic issues, and by excluding specific time ranges or territories without the patient's consent. In any case, there have been numerous coincidental breaches of HIPAA Privacy Rule involving online networking. A study of medical blogs composed by HCPs found that individual patients were portrayed in 42% of the 271 samples studied. These samples, 17% were found to sufficiently incorporate data for patients to distinguish themselves or their providers, and three included conspicuous photos of the patients (Ventola,
I agree with you that social media plays a big role in our lives. People use Instagram, twitter, snapchat, and Facebook to post pictures or tweets. In the hospital this prohibited. When you take a picture of the patient as Sabina gives the example of the patient with cancer you are being unethical because you aren’t respecting the patient’s privacy thus hurting the patient and nurse relationship. The patient has faith that the nurse is there to help the patient and not cause harm, but by putting them on social media their privacy is being shared with everyone in social media. According to the nursing, “6 tips to avoid problems: remember that standards of professionalism are the same online as in any other circumstance, do not share or post information or photos gained through the nurse-patient relationship, maintain professional boundaries in the use of electronic media. Online contact with patients blurs this boundary, do not make disparaging remarks about patients, employers, or co-workers, even if they are not identified, do not take photos or videos of patients on personal devices, including cell phones, and promptly report a breach of confidentiality or privacy” (www.nursingworld.org).
Nurses never know what their day is going to consist of, from the number of patients, to the amount of medication being administered. Nursing is a critical thinking career that uses rules and regulation to keep it well organized, safe, and in order. Use of technology in healthcare has taken root, and this has its benefits and disadvantages. Smartphones and other similar gadgets have become so common in the society and healthcare is not an exception. Use of these gadgets by healthcare personnel especially nurses has key legal and ethical issues that need careful evaluation. From the scenario, the use of smartphones has several implications on the performance of the nurse who is also on a night shift. The ending of the scenario entails representing the previous experience to social media and posting of photos that compromise the privacy of the patient. In this discussion, the ending of the scenario is discussed based on moral and ethical issues of the case study.
Michael J. Ackerman et al. (2013) describes his experience as well as topics discussed at the meeting of the American Medical Informatics Association that he attends each year. One session titled “Privacy, mHealth, and Social Media,” brought up an important question; can you ethically look up a troubling patient on social media in order to get information that did not add up during your patient interview? (Ackerman, 2013). Resulting from HIPAA only covering providers and not patients, medical information given away on social media by an individual has waved their right to privacy, giving all users access to the information posted (Ackerman, 2013). It is important for social media users to understand that the information they post, as well as store in the personal health record kept on their smart-phone, is accessible to other users and further and unwanted information may also be released or obtained in the case of one losing their phone. Ackerman also states that due to patients now having the ability to send data obtained from m-health devices to their physician and expect an immediate response and interpretation, there are now several guidelines for physicians to follow when using social media (2013).
According to a recent survey of physicians, an estimate of 83% own at least one mobile device and one in four doctors use smartphones and computers in their medical practice (Barrett, 2011). There is a great concern that protected health information (PHI) may be compromised by the use of mobile devices under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA). The HIPAA law is in effect to secure patient medical records are kept confidential and safe. The increase of patients and health care practitioners communicating not only with the patient and other medical professionals using mobile devices raises security issues of protected health information (PHI). The HIPAA Security Rule requires reasonable safeguards to protect
Cellphones…. These devices have helped us humans out very much. They help us if we don’t know what a definition is. They help us call our parents or family members when we need something or we need to tell them something when you’re in a store and they’re at home. The most important thing they do is give us the option to call 911. When you’re in a state of emergency your phone gives you the option
Rather than dwell on how much technology, and cell phones in particular, have destroyed our society and individuals, we should start to look at the benefits of cell phones.
Although the increasing prevalence of social media use has many benefits to nurses in both workplaces and home, it has given rise to some issues regarding patient privacy and confidentiality (Johnstone, 2016). Presented in this essay is a scenario where a