Issue link: https://viewer.e-digitaledition.com/i/619635
Non-employee Disclosures V IRTUA LLY E V ERY HOSPITA L patient and visitor has a smartphone with a camera, so in many cases, it is possible for non-employees to inadvertently or delib- erately transmit pictures of other patients. While facilities may wish to prohibit such photos from being posted on social media sites, they have no legal authority over posts by non-employees, says Daniel Shay, JD, Esq., Associate at Alice G. Gosfi eld & Associates in Philadelphia. Moreover, HIPAA applies only to covered entities, not to patients and visitors. In the case of a celebrity spotted in a waiting room or similar public space, there's little a hospital can do to prevent a visitor from posting a picture of the individual, Shay adds. However, facilities should proactively consider ways to prevent such incidents in private areas such as patients' rooms. Once a photo or other patient information is online, the damage is done, so the focus should be on preventing access to those areas on the front end. "Our focus in the education of health professionals needs to be on guiding students in navigating the practical and ethical challenges presented by social media," says Daniel George, PhD, Assistant Professor in Medical Humanities at Penn State Hershey College of Medicine. "How do you remain mindful of changing privacy settings and make sure you are protecting yourself ? What is your thought process if a patient tries to friend you on Facebook?" As medical and nursing schools graduate the fi rst generation of students who were exposed to social media from childhood, helping those young providers view social media usage in a starkly di• erent light is vital, observers say. "Students who are growing up with socia l media now are not growing up with it in the context of professional lives," says Bradley Crotty, MD, MPH, Instructor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and on sta• at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. "This is something students will need to work through: how they translate their personal social media life and identity into a professional identity." BEST PRACTICES The American College of Physicians (ACP) and the AMA have both issued position papers regarding healthcare professionals' ethical use of social media. In addition to cataloging potential benefi ts and dangers, the recommendations highlight practices that can help administrators, providers and those responsible for creating health organizations' social media policies avoid certain pitfalls. Key recommendations include: + Establish rules for patients' friend requests or requests for medical recommendations, and direct patients to use your preferred method of contact. + Obtain consent before posting any patient information online, even a posed picture or a private, online discussion of a patient's condition with another physician. + Provide employee training on less obvious examples of PHI disclosure and improper social media use. + Never post anything online you wouldn't want next to your name on the front page of a newspaper. + Take advantage of platforms' privacy settings. Some entities may be tempted to create blanket rules against employee use of social media. However, such policies are likely to be ignored. Outright bans may also violate workers' rights: The National Labor Relations Board has ruled, for instance, that employers' social media policies may not prohibit employees from discussing working conditions. CAUTION, NOT AVOIDANCE A little wisdom and discernment can go a long way, Dr. Crotty notes. "Consider every post public and indefi nite," he urges. "Don't avoid social media, but be thoughtful about engagement." ■ " When the instinct is, 'Post first and think later,' you really need to be training people in the training process, not just once they're in the workforce. You need to be training them to think about the legal realities and to get them familiar with the fact you can get in serious trouble if you go posting information you shouldn't be posting." • DANIEL SHAY, JD, ESQ., ASSOCIATE AT ALICE G. GOSFIELD & ASSOCIATES M D N E W S . C O M /// M D N E W S C EN T R A L N E W YO R K ■ 2 016 2 1