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

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

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, 2012). Incidentally, social media use in healthcare has garnered many positive results as well. One study found that 67% of doctors use social media for professional use, and of the…………………

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……ept by healthcare providers about their patients, principles were put in place to reduce the risk of breeching patient privacy. The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) set national standards and regulations regarding the protection of patients’ privacy and personal health information (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services [HHS], n.d.). Under The Privacy Rule enacted by HIPAA, protection is governed over all,

‘Individually identifiable health information’ [which] is information, including demographic data, that relates to: the individual’s past, present or future physical or mental health or condition, the provision of health care to the individual, or the past, present, or future payment for the provision of health care to the individual, and that identifies the individual or for which there is a reasonable basis to believe it can be used to identify the individual. (HHS, n.d., p. 2). There are instances outlined in HIPAA that permit a healthcare provider to disclose a patient’s personal health information which include disclosing information to the individual receiving treatment, information for treatment, payment, or healthcare operations, and information for uses and disclosures with opportunity to agree or object, such as in cases in which a patient is incapacitated in the emergency department (HHS, n.d.). Also, disclosure is permitted for incidental use and disclosure and in a limited data set in which all personal identifiers have been removed (HHS, n.d.). Furthermore, personal health information may be disclosed for public interest and benefit activities such as those required by law, those to ensure safety of victims of abuse, information for decedents, information for tissue donation, information for research studies, if there is a serious threat to health or society, and in cases of workers’ compensation (HHS, n.d.). If health information is released in discordance with the rules and regulations set forth by HIPAA, legal action, both civilly and criminally, can be taken against the individu………………………………

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