AROUND THE WORLD CHIROPRACTIC
It’s the digital age and social media use is relatively common in the business community. Many DCs are using it not just to market their businesses, but also to communicate and connect with potential patients.
But patients are also using social media, and anything you post, tweet or share could affect you and your practice. For example:
Scenario #1: A DC posted pictures of herself wearing lingerie on a social media website. On the site, she identified herself as a chiropractor and named the chiropractic college she attended. An anonymous complaint alleging inappropriate conduct was filed with the state board.
It’s important to look at everything you do as if you were an incoming patient and ask yourself:
• Is it appropriate to the patient or does it send the wrong message?
• Would the state board find it “unprofessional?”
Once something is posted on social media, it will be available indefinitely. There are companies that can retrieve information that has been removed or deleted from social media and other websites.
Scenario #2: Two DCs were discussing a particularly difficult case involving a patient on the Facebook event page for a chiropractic seminar. The patient’s name and other identifying information was omitted but details of his case were shared openly. A third DC commented that the two could be in violation of HIPAA for discussing the case.
Even the most innocuous disclosure of a patient’s protected health information (PHI) could be in violation of HIPAA, state privacy laws and state chiropractic boards. PHI is defined as:
• Created or received by a doctor.
• Relates to the health or condition of an individual.
• Identifies the individual (or there is reason to believe the information can be used to identify the individual).
• Is transmitted by or maintained in electronic media or transmitted or maintained in another form or medium.
Under HIPAA, a doctor may use and disclose PHI for “treatment, payment or health care operations,” but doing so through social media does not qualify. If a doctor were to use or disclose a patient’s PHI without permission, this would be a violation of HIPAA and likely state law, as well.
Sound Advice in a Social World
Whether personal or professional, social media use as a DC can be somewhat complicated. If you’re not ready to give up your social media presence altogether, here are a few things you can do to make navigating the social world a little bit easier:
• Create and maintain separate practice and personal pages. Also, maintain adequate privacy settings so patients don’t gain access to your personal information.
• Do not initiate or accept “friend” of follow requests from patients. If you receive a friend or follow request from a current patient, it may be a good idea to develop a standard response. For example, tell patients that it’s your policy not to “friend” or follow current or former patients on social networking sites out of respect for the doctor/patient relationship and to safeguard patient confidentiality.
• Develop a social media policy for your practice. Incorporate it into your new patient packet. That way patients will be aware of the policy upfront and won’t be offended by not being “friended” on social media.
• When participating in private group discussions or when commenting on others’ posts, remember that nothing is really “private.” What you post can be captured in a screenshot and shared. Moreover, de-identify any patients by not listing their names or other identifying information. Use a standard that is HIPAA compliant.
• If you must interact with patients via your practice’s social media profile, maintain the utmost professionalism and maintain patient confidentiality.
• Make sure your staff is skilled in monitoring the social media sites for inappropriate commentary and feedback. They should bring any suspicious or concerning activity to your attention as soon as it’s discovered.
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