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Smartphones and Social Media Use in Healthcare

Technological tools such as cell phones and social media have proved vital for healthcare professionals (HCPs) when used in the improvement or enhancement of professional networking and education, patient care and education, organizational promotion, and public health programs. However, according to Ventola (2014), when social media tools such as social networking sites, blogs and media-sharing sites are not used in accordance with the existing privacy laws and ethical practices, they can result in breaches of privacy and confidentiality, distribution of unauthorized information, and violation of person-professional boundaries among other things (Denecke et al., 2015). Legal issues in the form of litigations may also arise to individual HCPs or the organizations that they work for. As such, before using smartphones in healthcare, HCPs should consider the ethical, professional, and legal issues involved. This paper provides a discussion of the legal and regulatory issues as they relate to the use of smartphones and social media in healthcare. Additionally, one scenario will be identified from the four provided and recommendations made as to what should be the best way to correct the issue. Finally, the advantages and disadvantages of the use of smartphones and social media in healthcare will be provided.

HIPAA, Legal, and Regulatory Discussion

Patient confidentiality and data privacy laws in healthcare are governed by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) and other state privacy laws. The pieces of legislation govern the permitted use as well as disclosure of patient information by entities (Koch, 2016). Based on the HIPAA Security Rule, organizations are supposed to take a variety of administrative, technological, and physical security procedures to ensure the integrity, confidentiality, and availability of protected health information (PHI). Additionally, it is only the minimum health information which is necessary to conduct business should be used or shared (HHS.gov, n.d.). The HIPAA privacy rule seeks to protect all individually identifiable health information which is held or transmitted by an entity or its associates in any form of media.

The HITECH Act requires entities and their business associates to abide by the privacy-breach notification requirements. However, those who fail to abide by the provision of the HITECH Act are susceptible to various penalties. For instance, Section 13410(d) prescribes the civil as well as criminal penalties which are imposed for violations of patient confidentiality and privacy (HHS.gov, n.d.). Such penalties are pegged on the nature of the violation and the resultant harm from the violation. Despite the two legislations not specifically mentioning cellphones and social media, the privacy laws can be breached via the posting of patient information, making comments, and posting photos and videos concerning patients to a social networking site (Koch, 2016). An important note is, however, that the legislation does not restrict the distribution of “de-identified” information. To ensure compliance with the HIPAA Privacy Rule, patient information posted on social media should not have any revealing personal information or references.

Scenario Ending and Recommendations

In the selected scenario 4 ending, an investigation was started in the workplace due to a HIPAA violation. Additionally, a legal action is being taken against the hospital as some photos were sold to the Gossip Gazette. The hospital should have taken various measures to ensure that issues of privacy of patient information are ensured. One of the recommended actions which should have been taken is putting in place written policies as well as procedures in relation to breach notification (Denecke et al., 2015). Additionally, it should have trained the employees on the policies and procedures so that they understand and appreciate how they should safeguard patient information from breaches (Ventola, 2014). Moreover, the hospital should have developed and applied appropriate sanctions against those members of the workforce who fail to comply with the policies and procedures related to breach notification.

What could be done to correct or mitigate the problems arising from the scenario is the hospital being guided by the HIPAA Breach Notification Rule. In specific, this rule requires entities to notify the individuals affected by the breach but also the HHS and the media. The notification should be provided without any unreasonable delay after the organization has discovered the breach (Denecke et al., 2015). Since the information has already been provided to the Gossip Gazette, then it means the notification of breach should be provided to the Gazette so as to stop further publication of the information. It is recommended that the business associate, in this case, the person who took the photos and shared with a friend, notifies the concerned entity (hospital) of the breach. The organization should then notify the celebrity whose photos were leaked. Additionally, according to Ventola (2014), in the individual notification, the hospital should provide a description of the types of information involved in the breach and the steps that the celebrity should take to protect himself from potential harm. Additionally, information should be provided on what the entity is doing in the quest to investigate the breach and mitigate the harm and prevent any further breaches.

Advantages and Disadvantages

            The use of smartphones and social media in healthcare presents various advantages and disadvantages. One of the advantages is that it results in the improvement and enhancement of patient care. In specific, technology in the form of smartphones and social media results in improved patient outcomes and streamlined healthcare operations (Ventola, 2014). The second advantage is that the two tools ensure quicker and effective sharing of information to debate various health care policy and practice issues. Moreover, smartphones and social media are key to the promotion of healthy behaviors, engagement with the public, and the provision of education to patients’ caregivers and professionals.

Despite the various advantages of social media and smartphones, one of the disadvantages of the two tools is that they can lead to the dissemination of information which lacks quality and reliability. The second limitation of social media and cell phones is that they can lead to the damage of professional image especially when unprofessional content is posted which unfavorably reflects the healthcare practitioners and their affiliated institutions (Ventola, 2014). The third and most important disadvantage of social media and cell phones’ use in healthcare is that they can lead to potential repercussions such as legal actions in the event of a breach of patient confidentiality (Smailhodzic et al., 2016). The infractions arising from the use of the tools can lead to entities being liable under HIPAA and other state privacy laws.

The appropriate use of technology in the form of social media and smartphones should be based on various professional and ethical principles. Organizations should ensure that they create and implement guidelines for the ethical use of social media. In these guidelines, according to Ventola (2014), they should emphasize the importance of maintaining patient confidentiality and cognition of privacy settings. Additionally, in the use of technology, healthcare workers and organizations should maintain appropriate patient-physician boundaries and act with collegiality (Smailhodzic et al., 2016). Moreover, they should declare any existing conflicts of interest and maintain professional profiles which are separate from their personal ones. Denecke et al. (2015) advise that those using social media in healthcare should ensure that the information they provide is accurate and truthful and avoid anonymity. Following such ethical and professional guidelines will ensure the appropriate use of technology and thus avoid the disadvantages associated with the use of social media and cellphones.

In conclusion, although social media has proved vital in the provision of better patient outcomes and streamlining of hospital operations, healthcare practitioners should observe various ethical and professional principles in their use of technology. They should be guided by the existing legislations such as HIPAA and HITECH, which underscore the importance of avoiding the breach of protected patient information. In scenario 4 ending, the hospital should have ensured that it had policies and guidelines on notification of breaches. Additionally, it should have educated its workers on the provisions of the HIPAA and the relevant state privacy laws. However, to ensure that the effects of the situation are mitigated, the organization should notify the celebrity whose photos have been leaked and the Gossip Gazette. Reflecting on these aspects, it is vital for healthcare organizations to ensure that they have policy guidelines on the use of social media and ensure that they educate their workers on the provision of the relevant legal frameworks. A responsible use of social media by workers will ensure that any adverse effects of using technology are avoided.