HIPAA, Legal, & Regulatory

The scenario on the night shift nurse depicts how social media can be misused to cause safety threats to a patient. In the scenario, the nurse violates ethics and nursing professional standards.  The nurse takes the photo of the patient and shares the images on social media using a smartphone. A nurse with professionalism should ensure trust with his/ her patients by maintaining their health data confidential (Journal, 2018). The night nurse scenario shows a violation of HIPAA regulations by violating the patient’s privacy right. Besides, there is no patient’s consent that is seen to allow images to be taken and sent to a particular person.

Health Insurance Portability and accountability act governs the way medical data is accessed stored and transferred. Its primary objective is protecting the patients’ privacy. Subjects that fail to comply with HIPPA regulations suffer hefty fines. HIPPA social media policy must be implemented to avoid the risk of privacy violations. There are existing laws and standards by HIPPA that apply to the use of social media by healthcare organizations, and their employees.one of rules that must be observed in healthcare is that any protected health information should not be disclosed on social media(Journal, 2018). HIPPA rule also prohibits sharing of any text, images or videos that can lead to a patient identification on the social media. The protected health information can only be shared with the patient’s consent and should be in writing. However, social media platforms can be positively used for posting new medical research, health tips, and marketing messages.

Healthcare workers have been allowed to use their smartphones at work in many healthcare groups. There is the HIPPA mobile device policy that ensures health information of a patient is protected in transmission and storage. HIPPA calls for close monitoring of these devices to ensure patients data and information is well protected. HIPPA security rule does not mandate a specific technology solution but requires the healthcare organizations to implement appropriate security measures. Mobile data security risks must be carefully assessed to ensure compliance with HIPPA regulations and avoid penalties (“Mobile Data Security and HIPAA Compliance”, n.d.).ONE of the basic requirements by HIIPPA is risk assessment. To this problem, there are several standard measures such as the use of password controls, antiviruses, anti-malware, firewalls, among others that can be incorporated. Besides in protecting the electronic patient’s data from unauthorized access, HIPPA requires the healthcare organizations to implement technical security measures

Advantages and disadvantages of using smartphones and social media in healthcare

Smartphones and social media have assisted in the education of healthcare workers. Some programs and groups share ideas and researches that have been carried out in the healthcare sector. Besides, they have enabled the easier connection of people and organization across the world. People can interact on social media platforms with healthcare experts. Technology has improved the provision of healthcare services. However, there are disadvantages to the use of smartphones and social media in the healthcare sector. One of the shortcomings is privacy concerns. It is a challenge in protecting the privacy of healthcare information when using technology. There are high penalties that apply as a result of a violation of HIPAA privacy policies. Another disadvantage is that the use of smartphones causes distraction in the workplace, limiting the workers to provide quality care to their patient (Bernhardt, Alber & Gold, 2014). The healthcare workers need to observe professionalism in offering services to the patients.

There are professional and ethical principles that exist to regulate the use of smartphones and social media in the workplace. Healthcare workers, nurses included, are not allowed to expose any information that a patient can be identified with on the social media platform. The patient information should be confidential. Nurses should understand their roles and learn the rights of a patient. By understanding the rights of patients and the repercussion of violating these rights can assist nurses in doing their task with professionalism. Technology has helped this sector but has also affected many patients and nurses life (Peck, 2014). There is a need to understand and practice ethics at work. The professional and ethical principles need to be observed in the healthcare sector

Conclusion

The study on the use of smartphone and social media has various lessons. One of the lessons is that information technology can be beneficial and dangerous, depending on how it has been used. When used for a useful purpose can change an industry and improve the services offered. However, the same use of social media and smartphone can lead to hefty penalties when the patient’s rights are violated. Use of information technology should be encouraged in the health care sector. Social media provides a platform for exchanging health ideas and experiences. Healthcare organization should take the initiative of educating its employees on the advantageous use of technology and make them understand the right of their clients.

 

 

References

Bernhardt, J., Alber, J., & Gold, R. (2014). A Social Media Primer for Professionals. Health Promotion Practice, 15(2), 168-172. doi: 10.1177/1524839913517235

Peck, J. (2014). Social Media in Nursing Education: Responsible Integration for Meaningful Use. Journal Of Nursing Education, 53(3), 164-169. doi: 10.3928/01484834-20140219-03

Mobile Data Security and HIPAA Compliance. Retrieved 17 March 2020, from https://www.hipaajournal.com/mobile-data-security-and-hipaa-compliance/

Journal, H. (2018). HIPAA Social Media Rules. Retrieved 17 March 2020, from https://www.hipaajournal.com/hipaa-social-media/