The Annals of Internal Medicine, from the American College of Physicians and the Federation of State Medical Boards, updated the guidelines previously published by the American Medical Association on how to avoid getting into trouble when using these methods of communicating with patients. The guidelines note that doctors should not “friend” patients on Facebook, should text them only with “extreme caution,” and should use email only with those who understand the privacy risks.
The report details the risks of such communications, such as texts or emails being seen by others than the intended recipients or physicians ending up giving online medical advice to people that they do not know.
Nor should doctors post personal matters on public forums that could damage their professional reputations, such as party videos or vacation pictures. Rather, they should maintain separate professional and personal online personas and use privacy settings to maintain boundaries.
David Fleming, a University of Missouri internist that leads an ethics committee for the physicians’ group, says, “Think twice before you hit the send button and before you use any means of communication other than talking to patients behind closed doors.
Good advice! Although benefits exist in using such communications, one must consider the risks, including committing a HIPAA violation that could result in a seven-figure civil money penalty. Make sure that you have performed a thorough risk analysis, that you have necessary and appropriate policies and procedures in place based on your risk analysis, and that your workforce members comply with those policies and procedures. If you need templates, see my sample policies and procedures on our HIPAA Documents Resource Center CD, 5th edition, and in our Premium Member section of this Veterans Press website.
Some of the information in this post is based on an article by Kim Painter, “Doctors Urged to Pause Before They Post, Text, Email,” USA Today, Friday, April 12, 2013, News, 5A.
