ENTtoday
  • Home
  • COVID-19
  • Practice Focus
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Departments
    • Issue Archive
    • TRIO Best Practices
      • Allergy
      • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
      • Head and Neck
      • Laryngology
      • Otology/Neurotology
      • Pediatric
      • Rhinology
      • Sleep Medicine
    • Career Development
    • Case of the Month
    • Everyday Ethics
    • Health Policy
    • Legal Matters
    • Letter From the Editor
    • Medical Education
    • Online Exclusives
    • Practice Management
    • Resident Focus
    • Rx: Wellness
    • Special Reports
    • Tech Talk
    • Viewpoint
    • What’s Your O.R. Playlist?
  • Literature Reviews
    • Allergy
    • Facial Plastic/Reconstructive
    • Head and Neck
    • Laryngology
    • Otology/Neurotology
    • Pediatric
    • Rhinology
    • Sleep Medicine
  • Events
    • Featured Events
    • TRIO Meetings
  • Contact Us
    • About Us
    • Editorial Board
    • Triological Society
    • Advertising Staff
    • Subscribe
  • Advertise
    • Place an Ad
    • Classifieds
    • Rate Card
  • Search

Social Media-cine: Get your practice on board with an Internet policy

by Steven M. Harris, Esq. • April 27, 2011

  • Tweet
  • Email
Print-Friendly Version
Steven M. Harris, Esq.
Social Media-cine

An increasing number of physicians are venturing onto the web, and, in particular, into social media. Recently, my client Dr. M was advised by a consultant to update his practice’s website, create a Facebook page for his practice and join Twitter. The marketing consultant cautioned Dr. M that there are legal concerns for health care providers associated with the Internet and social media. While social media can be a beneficial marketing tool, it is important for physicians to have in place a specific media policy that addresses the proper ways to use this outreach both in and outside the workplace.

You Might Also Like

  • Social Media Can Enhance a Physician Practice and Patient Care
  • Social Media a Paradox for Healthcare Professionals
  • Mayo Clinic Maximizes Learning Through Social Media
  • Social Media as Health Resource for Otolaryngology Patients
Explore This Issue
May 2011

Your Website

A website is an excellent and relatively inexpensive avenue to use to brand your practice. When potential patients are looking for a physician in a particular specialty and in a specific location, many turn first to Internet search engines. Whether the search uses terms like “ENT and Dallas” or “Dr. Jack Smith, Otolaryngology and Dallas,” you want your website to pop up and be viewed by the searcher. At a minimum, a practice website should include the four W’s:

  • Who (biographical information about the physicians employed by the practice);
  • What (the practice’s specialty);
  • Why (your opportunity to shine, by telling potential patients why they should select your practice); and
  • Where (address, telephone number, e-mail).

Tweeting, Blogging, Posting

The terms “Facebook,” “Twitter” and “blog” are words no longer spoken only by teenagers. These social media outlets offer free ways health care entities and physicians can use to disseminate information and market to a new audience.

Your policy should inform employees of the risks associated with disclosing patient information.

In addition to the concerns described above and in a previous article (see, “Advertise with Caution: State laws restrict how physicians can market themselves,” ENT Today, December 2010), physicians should be aware of HIPAA privacy laws when using social media. Even an inadvertent disclosure of a patient’s protected health information through social media can be problematic. In April 2010, for example, a physician was reprimanded by Rhode Island’s medical board and lost her hospital privileges for writing about her clinical experiences on Facebook, according to a consent order from the board. Even though the physician had no intention of revealing confidential patient information, one of her Facebook posts revealed just enough detail to allow others in the community to identify one of the patients.

Another aspect to consider is that patients often use social media to express their positive and negative views on experiences with a physician. Some of my physician clients have expressed concern that patient blogging websites are among the first few listings on search engine result pages. If the posts describe positive experiences with the physician, then the physician just obtained free publicity. Negative posts can be very disheartening for the physician, however, and could keep a potential patient from becoming an actual patient.

Social Media Policy

In light of the risks associated with social media, it is important for practices to establish a social media policy that must be abided by the practice’s physicians and staff members. Your policy should outline what constitutes acceptable use (if any) of personal social media during office hours.

E-Mail with Caution

This particular type of communication creates liability concerns (e.g., a patient e-mails symptoms to his or her treating physician, who fails to read the e-mail in a timely fashion). E-mail communication is fine if it is directed to an information address such as information@xyzpractice.com. Further, the patient should be instructed on appropriate e-mail responses, such as, “Thank you for your inquiry. Please call our office at (555) 555-555, and we will be happy to discuss this with you.”

For social media use on behalf of the practice, it is imperative that the following three W’s be outlined in the social media policy:

  • Who is permitted to post or tweet material on the social media websites? Is there a person designated as the practice’s poster or tweeter?
  • What material can and should be posted by the party or parties authorized to do so? For example, the policy must identify how the practice will respond to a medical question posted on its Facebook page. From a liability perspective, I do not recommend providing medical advice via social media outlets.
  • Where will the practice be posting? The policy should explicitly state which social media avenues the practice can use and maintain. For example, if the practice decides to maintain a Facebook page but not a MySpace presence, the policy must say so.

Additionally, the policy should inform employees of the risks associated with disclosing patient and other practice-related information like office gossip or reimbursement issues on social media networks, whether the sites are being used personally or on behalf of the practice, and should delineate ways to avoid unlawful disclosures. One way to do so is to require that all material posted on behalf of the practice be approved by a committee rather than a single person. This will help avoid HIPAA violations and inappropriate disclosures. Further, the policy should explain the consequences of noncompliance by employees and emphasize personal responsibility and good judgment.

Now is the time to review your practice’s existing policies and documents. A social media policy can be incorporated into your existing employee handbook, or you may elect to have a freestanding policy.

If you haven’t already been bitten by the social media bug, this is the time to jump on the bandwagon. Your competitors are probably already riding the wave. Be cautious with your social media involvement, and establish a social media policy to avoid inadvertently and unintentionally violating the law.

Steven M. Harris, Esq., is a nationally recognized health care attorney and a member of the law firm McDonald Hopkins, LLC. Steve may be reached at sharris@mcdonaldhopkins.com.

Pages: 1 2 3 | Multi-Page

Filed Under: Legal Matters, Practice Management, Tech Talk Tagged With: patient communication, practice management, social mediaIssue: May 2011

You Might Also Like:

  • Social Media Can Enhance a Physician Practice and Patient Care
  • Social Media a Paradox for Healthcare Professionals
  • Mayo Clinic Maximizes Learning Through Social Media
  • Social Media as Health Resource for Otolaryngology Patients

The Triological SocietyENTtoday is a publication of The Triological Society.

The Laryngoscope
Ensure you have all the latest research at your fingertips; Subscribe to The Laryngoscope today!

Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology
Open access journal in otolaryngology – head and neck surgery is currently accepting submissions.

Classifieds

View the classified ads »

TRIO Best Practices

View the TRIO Best Practices »

Top Articles for Residents

  • Do Training Programs Give Otolaryngology Residents the Necessary Tools to Do Productive Research?
  • Why More MDs, Medical Residents Are Choosing to Pursue Additional Academic Degrees
  • What Physicians Need to Know about Investing Before Hiring a Financial Advisor
  • Tips to Help You Regain Your Sense of Self
  • Should USMLE Step 1 Change from Numeric Score to Pass/Fail?
  • Popular this Week
  • Most Popular
  • Most Recent
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • Experts Delve into Treatment Options for Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Vertigo in the Elderly: What Does It Mean?
    • New Developments in the Management of Eustachian Tube Dysfunction
    • Some Laryngopharyngeal Reflux Resists PPI Treatment
    • Eustachian Tuboplasty: A Potential New Option for Chronic Tube Dysfunction and Patulous Disease
    • The Dramatic Rise in Tongue Tie and Lip Tie Treatment
    • Why Virtual Grand Rounds May Be Here to Stay
    • Otolaryngologist Leverages His Love of Pinball into Second Business
    • These New Imaging Advances May Help to Protect Parathyroids
    • Is the Training and Cost of a Fellowship Worth It? Here’s What Otolaryngologists Say
    • Which Otologic Procedures Poses the Greatest Risk of Aerosol Generation?

Polls

Have you used 3D-printed materials in your otolaryngology practice?

View Results

Loading ... Loading ...
  • Polls Archive
  • Home
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use

Visit: The Triological Society • The Laryngoscope • Laryngoscope Investigative Otolaryngology

Wiley
© 2021 The Triological Society. All Rights Reserved.
ISSN 1559-4939

loading Cancel
Post was not sent - check your email addresses!
Email check failed, please try again
Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email.
This site uses cookies: Find out more.