Topic: Social Media Laws, Policies, and Ethics

Hospitals and healthcare clinics have entered a new stage in the media game.

With over 80% of hospitals using social media to communicate health information to patients, it's no wonder that public relations and marketing teams have had to think creatively to deal with patient reviews and messages.

According to HIPPA laws, an individual has the right to protected information regarding their health information and well-being.

Here is an example of HIPPA laws being violated on social media:

In an incident with particularly harsh repercussions, a student nurse moved by her three-year-old chemotherapy patient’s bravery took a photo of the boy and posted it on her Facebook page. Even though she had privacy settings in place, another nurse not among that student nurse’s Facebook friends came across the post and photo. This nurse informed the hospital. This HIPAA violation got the student nurse expelled from the nursing program and the nursing program bounced off of that hospital’s list of accepted schools from which to draw student nurses. Even when motivated by the best intentions, HIPAA violations can result in severe consequences.

Here are a guidelines or tips to keep in mind when dealing with HIPPA laws and social media:

• Never post a picture of a patient on a hospital page without permission
• When filming for social media uses, be sure that all participants sign a release form giving the hospital written permission to use his or her face or story. 
• Do not ask patients to take polls or fill out questionnaires online that could be traced back to them 
• Train employees on company policies
• If, as medicare professionals, you have private social media accounts, be careful not to "friend" patients and clients. 
•  If there is a security breach, report it immediately to appropriate managers. 
• A good rule of thumb is, if you wouldn't discuss it in the elevator, don't discuss online. 
• If speaking of a condition, don't say "I saw a patient that had xyz" instead say "Children with xyz usually..." to not link ANY patient information back to the post
• Don't mix professional and personal lives. Use a different account for the medical profile. 
• Last but not least, don't offer advice in comments, messages, or wall posts - meaning, don't practice medicine online, whether anonymous or not. 

Social media for hospitals is a great tool to use, as long as it is used effectively. 

Sources:
https://www.ncsbn.org/NCSBN_SocialMedia.pdf
https://www.hhs.gov/web/social-media/policies/
http://www.healthcarecompliancepros.com/blog/posting-with-caution-the-dos-and-donts-of-social-media-and-hipaa-compliance-2/https://www.law360.com/articles/743560/a-checklist-for-avoiding-hipaa-violations-on-social-media