Table of Contents
Living in the 21st century has taught us that the use of smart phones, social media, and technology continues to dominate our population despite one’s age or occupation. In the health care field specifically, mostly all hospitals and outpatient facilities like doctor’s offices have transitioned from the use of paper charts to utilizing electronic health records (EHRs).
With that being said, it is safe to conclude that technology is now an essential factor that providers use on a daily basis to increase the safety and well-being of our patients. This paper’s objective is to illustrate the ethical, legal, and professional aspects of the use of these devices and social media in the medical field and the impact it has among our community.
Research proves that over eighty percent of health care providers utilize social media websites to teach their “followers” about different health promotion as well as risk reduction tips to increase quality of life and prevent development of new conditions (Ventola, 2014). The use of smart phones and social media can especially target the younger generation and they may have a stronger interest to gain further knowledge of different disease processes or cases that health care providers encounter daily. Through the means of technology, information can be shared with the community and encourage them to ask for help at the first onset of a symptom or abnormality.
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HIPAA, Legal, and Regulatory
The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) is a legislation that was signed in 1996 which basically protects a patient’s private information. Private information is anything that can identify a patient which can include name, date of birth, phone number, address, diagnoses, recovery progression, and plans of care (Malvey & Slovensky, 2014).
The only legal way that a patient’s medical records or personal information can be disclosed, is by the patient signing a medical release form (informed consent) to the specific facility that their records will be sent to. HIPAA pushes for health care providers, hospitals, and facilities, to use password protection to access any type of medical records belonging to a patient. Each health care professional who cares for patients and need access to any sort of personal records should have an individualized password which should not be shared with peers at any time.
If a health care provider is to share any information about a patient through technology, it is extremely imperative that the individual remains unidentified at all times; this means that facial features such as eyes, that may hint the identity of the patient should not be revealed.
Our main duty as health care providers and patient advocates is to protect the safety of our patients to the best of our abilities. It is important to understand that this is their life and it must stay as confidential as possible unless it is their decision to allot their experience with others through the use of social media, which of course would also require another signed consent form.
Scenario Ending and Recommendations
In the scenario provided, the nurse in the emergency department room violated HIPAA when she decided to text pictures of her patient to her friend, simply because he was famous and the lead singer of the band who had just been performing. HIPAA clearly prohibits utilizing cell phones for personal use such as sharing pictures with anyone who is not directly involved in the patient’s care unless consented to do so.
The main concern in the scenario was that the patient’s privacy was directly violated. It would be highly recommended to obviously never do that again even if the patient is unresponsive, and immediately report findings of violation of policy to the charge nurse so that they further reprimand whoever that phone belonged to and escalate the issue to higher power as necessary.
The American Medical Association also recommends the same things as stated above and adds that further investigation must be done when it involves HIPAA compliance. Failure to obey this legislation can potentially cause termination and or even have criminal consequences (2015).
Two Advantages the Use of Technology Has In the Health Care Field
People have different opinions on the pros and cons of using smart phones and social media in the health care field. A definite advantage of using technology when caring for patients is to enhance direct communication between the health care providers involved in the patient’s care. For example, the use of technology improves how fast one provider communicates with another and how fast records can be sent and received from one facility to another.
Another advantage of using such devices in the health care field is for educational purposes. These generations have grown up using smart phones and social media from a young age and make it a part of their everyday life. This younger population feels more comfortable utilizing these types of devices as they have been exposed to it for many years whether it is at school or work. Certain profiles on Instagram for example, use that specific social media as a platform to catch the younger generation’s eye to important health information.
Such media is now being viewed in a different and positive way because it connects one to different sources of information and broadens one’s intellect (Dlamini, 2018). Another website that is being positively used by many college students is YouTube because they listen to reinforcement teachings of subjects they are currently reviewing.
Two Disadvantages the Use of Technology Has In the Health Care Field
The number one disadvantage of using technology in health care is of course, the possibility of a HIPAA violation. When being a part of an exciting and attention-grabbing case, it can be difficult to keep it to yourself. Breaking patient confidentiality can bring many unfortunate consequences that can result in the annulment of your professional license. This is when social media is viewed as a negative tool, as too much disclosure can end up in permanent regrettable outcomes (Hao & Gao, 2017).
Being a college student sometimes means relying on the media as a resource for information which may create a problem because a lot of what we come across on the internet is not from credible sources. Have you ever searched for something and been directed to a page where you can edit the content in it? Take Wikipedia for example, many people use this as a source for research and statistics and what they do not know is that anyone can write whatever they wish on it. Countless of articles are written by anonymous authors in which we do not have a clue whether or not they are credible, knowledgeable on the subject, or their educational background (Hao & Gao, 2017).
Conclusion and Reflections
The research conducted provided an insight on the use and effects that technology and social media has in the health care world. Despite the countless advantages it has to offer, we need to consider its disadvantages as well and the effects it has on patient privacy and confidentiality, which is equal to violating HIPAA. HIPAA’s intention is to defend patient’s right to keep their information safe, private, and confidential. As health care professionals, we must abide by these standards and recognize that serious consequences arise from violating this act. Apart from violating HIPAA, it is in our patients’ best interest to make their safety and comfort our priority and be their advocate.
