Potential Ethical and Legal Liabilities Related to Social Media Usage in Healthcare Setting

Potential Ethical and Legal Liabilities Related to Social Media Usage in Healthcare Setting

Potential Ethical and Legal Liabilities Related to Social Media Usage in Healthcare Setting
Information security is essential to the management of the liability for the privacy and
security risks. Law enforcement affects the healthcare delivery and protection of privacy for

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE MODERN IMPACT OF INFORMATICS
patient's information. Any bridge of privacy protection act can result in lawsuits by the plaintiffs
in the civil court. Any occurrence in an organization might cost the financial penalty for
restitution or compensation for the damages. The healthcare organizations hold their employees
responsible for protecting personal health record and information. The employees must sign the
agreement and are made aware of the repercussions of violating these rules during the hiring
process to protect patient information by observing HIPAA rules and regulations. Adequate
information is provided to any individual entering the patient care environment to remind them
of the policy and procedures put towards the protection of health information. Any employee,
family members of the patients and volunteers must sign these agreements and adhere to the
regulations it states to protect the private information of patients.
The use of personal devices and social media around patients or during patient care is
prohibited and violations are punishable with disciplinary action, termination of employment or
civil lawsuits in the court. Posting, uploading or emailing personal information on personal
devices are considered violations. Healthcare organizations reserve the right to monitor and
investigate any suspicions of violations and any information send or received through the
websites, emails, etc (DeCamp M., 2015). For example, posting pictures and health information
on Facebook or Twitter is considered a violation. The consequences can result in employment
termination with an order to remove the uploaded information immediately. Legal and ethical
deliberations related to online and social networking are included in employee handbooks and so
tracking the social media usage is possible for employees that violate the rules (Mckee, 2013).
Ethical guidelines require employees and healthcare organizations to be acquainted of
privacy settings; to uphold protected provider-patient restrictions; provide precise and
straightforward information, and to act collegiality. That means that information received is

SOCIAL MEDIA AND THE MODERN IMPACT OF INFORMATICS
transmitted to the providers and professionals involved in the care or treatment of that particular
patient. Any other access by any professional not involved in patient care is a violation of private
information.