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HIPAA and Social Media - Using New Technologies Within the Rules
- How patients would like to use social media in their healthcare
- How providers would like to use social media to deliver health care services and marketing information
- The risks of using Social Media for healthcare purposes
- Using Risk Analysis to determine proper uses of social media in healthcare
- The penalties for non-compliance with HIPAA when using Social Media
- How the HHS HIPAA Audit program might look at social media usage
- The importance of accepting and working with Social Media
- Policies and Procedures for compliant use of Social Media
- The role of training in using Social Media in healthcare
Overview of the webinar
Social Media is a part of the every-day activity for many, and it is essential to carefully consider how it is used in medical offices for everything from marketing and public information, to patient communications.
With the new HIPAA random audit program underway and increases in enforcement actions following breaches, now is the time to ensure your organization is in compliance with the regulations and meeting the communication needs and desires of its providers and patients.
You need the proper privacy protections for health information, and the necessary documented policies and procedures, as well as documentation of any actions taken pursuant to your policies and procedures. Most organizations haven’t updated their privacy and security policies or information security risk analysis to cover social networking. And, of course, you will need to train your staff in all the new policies and procedures.
In order to integrate the use of social networking into patient communications, it is essential to perform the proper steps in an information security compliance process to evaluate and address the risks of using the technology. And there has long been a HIPAA requirement for covered entities to do their best to meet the requests of their patients for particular modes of communication, and using social networking is no exception.
The stakes are high – any improper exposure of PHI may result in an official breach that must be reported to the individual and to the US Department of Health and Human Services. Likewise, complaints by a patient if they are not afforded the access they desire can bring about HHS inquiries and enforcement actions, so it is essential to find the right balance of access and control.
Who should attend?
- Compliance Manager
- HIPAA Privacy Officer
- HIPAA Security Officer
- CEO
- Office Manager
- HR Director
- Privacy Officer
- CIO
- Records Release Manager
- HIM Manager
- Counsel
Why should you attend?
The Internet and social media such as Facebook and Linked-In have changed the way people communicate and have introduced new risks into the process of providing health care services, and HIPAA Covered Entities now face difficult choices as social networking sites become a preferred means of communication for many and run the risk of breaches, rule violations, and fines in the event of mishandling of PHI using these new technologies.
Patients want to be able to communicate with their healthcare providers, and providers want to communicate with their patients, using social networking sites. But communications using social networking sites has some inherent privacy and security risks that may put providers out of compliance.
New technologies present new challenges to health care providers, as there are simultaneously new requirements to share information with patients, and a new enforcement effort to ensure the privacy and security of Protected Health Information (PHI). Meeting both challenges requires careful consideration of all the regulations and technologies, as well as patient preferences and workflow.
The session will discuss the requirements, the risks and the issues of the increasing use of social networking for patient communications, and provide a roadmap for how to use it safely and effectively, to increase the quality of healthcare and patient satisfaction.
Faculty - Mr.Jim Sheldon-Dean
Jim Sheldon-Dean is the founder and director of compliance services at Lewis Creek Systems, LLC, a Vermont-based consulting firm founded in 1982, providing information privacy and security regulatory compliance services to a wide variety of health care entities. He is a frequent speaker regarding HIPAA, including speaking engagements at numerous regional and national healthcare association conferences and conventions and the annual NIST/OCR HIPAA Security Conference. Sheldon-Dean has more than 16 years of experience specializing in HIPAA compliance, more than 34 years of experience in policy analysis and implementation, business process analysis, information systems and software development, and 8 years of experience doing hands-on medical work as a Vermont certified volunteer emergency medical technician. Sheldon-Dean received his B.S. degree, summa cum laude, from the University of Vermont and his master’s degree from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.