Healthcare and Social Media: Complying with HIPAA and Avoiding Fines
June 1, 2013
On HIPPOmsg, the article Be Careful with Social Media and HIPAA Information Security seeks to warn healthcare professionals about the pitfalls of social media. HIPAA or Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act requires stringent measures to protect the privacy of patients health information. Many doctors have professional pages, but even these are not the appropriate forum to give medial advice. The article explains why,
“With millions of people using social media day in and day out to communicate, there will no doubt be a time when a patient tries to ask for medical advice. Don’t give it!! Direct your patients to make an appointment. This allows you to see first-hand the situation and will take any speculation out of the equation. Also, social media is notorious for a lack of HIPAA security. Avoid sharing personal information to avoid HIPAA violations and fines or worse.”
The article also warns young doctors and med students to beware of sharing inappropriate “materials” that might damage their reputation and affect their career path later down the road. HIPPOmsg is offered as a secure way to text/email on a mobile device. But even with a professional page and a secure method of sharing information, doctors are not immune to wrongheaded behavior on their personal pages. At ArnoldIT you can learn about your digital footprint and how to minimize the risks associated with social media.
Chelsea Kerwin, June 01, 2013
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