Doctors should get social, but know the legal hurdles
ORLANDO ― Today’s patients, like our current president, are immersed in social media, so it only makes sense that healthcare organizations should get on board too. But before you do, there are unique compliance hurdles that should be understood.
That was the message sent at HIMSS17 by cardiologist and Fox News contributor Kevin Campbell, MD, and Michael Rutty, a legal subject matter expert from communications archiving company Actiance.
“Physicians have been very slow to adopt social because they're scared of attorneys,” said Rutty. And perhaps that’s with good reason.
According to Rutty, there has been a host of new legal precedents surrounding HIPAA that have held social messaging to the same standards of other healthcare communications. Those include rulings that held social media posts as admissible in court and forbid removing posts and pages, just like other correspondence that providers are required to archive under the law.
Still, that should not discourage adoption, they said.
“You can do social media in a smart, engaging and successful way that has a real impact,” said Campbell. The presenters said there are a few key ways physicians can use social media safely and effectively.
For starters, it can be an effective way to treat patients with recommendations, as long as it is never used to engage in a conversation leveraging the doctor-patient relationship. Speak to the broader audience instead. For example, there are often disease-specific support groups on Twitter that you can participate in.
On the other hand, social media is a perfect platform for timely and credible information to the patient population. The presenters said 75 percent of patients have done some kind of online research before their visits. Here is a chance to make sure they aren’t armed with “fake news.”
Social media is also a great way to clearly highlight a physician’s expertise ―and even availability. The duo said tools like blogs can be a great way to demonstrate your skill set.
“Social media is where our patients, customers and colleagues are, so it is where we need to be in order to best meet their needs,” said Campbell.
This article is part of our ongoing coverage of HIMSS17. Visit Destination HIMSS17 for previews, reporting live from the show floor and after the conference.
