Social media offers healthcare practices a vehicle to attract patients and potential employees, but also presents risk to healthcare providers.
This essential book will give you peace of mind by flagging areas of risk – and then provide guidance and templates to address the risk.
Michael J. Sacopulos and Susan Gay
Electronic medical records, websites, cellphones, email, and social media have created tricky new legal problems for healthcare practices. The digital world, namely social media, offers healthcare practices a vehicle to attract patients and potential employees but also presents risk to healthcare providers. This book will give practices the knowledge and tools to reduce liabilities and provide a “roadmap” to that world.
Although physicians, practice managers, administrators, and risk managers of practices and health systems know these issues are important, there is a dizzying array of issues (and interpretation) on the Web. Staff member have difficulty in identifying areas of potential risk, lack of a strategy to address electronic risks, and lack of tools to address electronic risks.
This essential book will give you peace of mind by flagging areas of risk – and then provide guidance and templates to address the risk.
Find out what’s important, and what’s not, in this easy-to-use guide. Selected topics include:
- No more guessing: a Social Media Policy for Your Employees
- Reviewing the social media profiles of employment candidates? We'll give you state by state guidelines.
- Train Your Employees on Cyber Security Basics
- Don't Let Your Website Turn Into a Law Suit
- The only Mobile Device Policy you'll need
- How you can be hacked through your website, “Contact Us” feature.
- “I know the perfect guy for you. He put together the website for our church.” How to select a website designer
- The skinny on SSL Certificates and why you need one
- Who Owns the Content in our website?
- Patient photos on your site
- Astroturfing – Fake Reviews, Real Consequences
- Are generic HIPAA training models enough?
- Focus on the Biggest Cyber Risks First – we'll give you the roadmap
- BONUS! Templates for your mobile device policy, social media policy, business associate agreement, photo and video release, plus others!
Table of Contents
Section I - Introduction: Patients, Physicians, and Social Media: The State of the State- Social Media and the Hiring Process
- Social Media Use and Policies in the Healthcare Practice
- Cybersecurity
- Your Practice Website
- Online Reviews and Ratings
- Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and Federal Antidiscrimination Laws
- State Laws on Social Media Policy in the Hiring Context
- Best Practice Advice for Using Social Media When Hiring
- Best Practices for Employers When Conducting Online Social Media Searches
- Social Media Policies for Employees: The Illusion of Control
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1. Liability.com: Don't Let Your Website Turn Into a Law Suit
- How to Minimize Risk and Improve Compliance
- Hacking is Not Limited to Networks
- Cents and Sensibility
- Where Oh Where Can I Find a Good Web Developer?
- Conduct a Risk Assessment with Vendors
- Contract Terms
- The Business Associate Agreement (BAA)
- Disclosures, Consents, and Terms...Oh My
- Website Content and the Role of the Federation of State Medical Boards
- Site Security, HIPAA Compliance, and You
- Specialty Vendors Requesting Access to Your Website
- Accessibility for All
- Risk Assessment Questions for Web Developers
- Liability.com Checklist
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2. Licensing Boards: Ethical Duties in the Cyber World
- HIPAA Considerations and Best Practices to Avoid Breaches
- Case Studies: Misguided Mistakes and Egregious Errors
- Overview of the Federation of State Medical Boards’ Model Guidelines for the Appropriate Use of Social Media and Social Networking in Medical Practice
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3. Practical Cybersecurity for Physicians: How to Develop Policies, Procedures, and Effective Training
- Why Preparedness is Worth the Effort
- Focus on the Biggest Risks First
- Develop/Update Policies
- Security Policy
- Social Media Policy
- Mobile Device Policy
- Written Procedures Are a Must
- Design an Effective Training Program
- Ongoing Training and Monitoring are Critical
- Patient Satisfaction is a Vital Metric
- Taking Charge of Your Online Presence
- Embracing Online Ratings
- Monitor Yes. Respond? Maybe, Maybe Not
- Economics of Good Reviews
- Correlation with Clinical Outcomes
- Patient Satisfaction Tips
- Business Associate Agreement
- Pop-Up Notice on Website Prior to a Patient Communicating with Your Office
- Terms of Use for Your Website
- Healthcare Practice Security Policy
- Photograph and Video Release
- Social Media Policy for the Healthcare Practice
- Mobile Device Policy
- Data and Electronic Sanitation and Disposal Policy
Michael J Sacopulos is the CEO of Medical Risk Institute (MRI). Medical Risk Institute provides proactive counsel to the healthcare community to identify where liability risks originate, and to reduce or removed these risks. He was selected as the 2016 “Lawyer of the Year” in the practice area of Medical Malpractice Law for Indiana Award for MGMA. Michael has written for Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Bloomberg and many publications for the medical profession. He is a frequent national speaker. He attended Harvard College, London School of Economics and Indiana University/Purdue University School of Law.
Susan Gay is a medical publisher and content strategist with over 25-years experience in medical publishing leadership. She is also the co-author, along with Kevin Pho, MD, of Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices published by Greenbranch Publishing.
