HIPAA Compliant Social Media

Social Media & HIPAA: Compliant Social Media Tips for Your Practice

February 15, 2024

Picture this: you’re a doctor, feeling proud after helping a patient overcome a challenge. You snap a selfie with them, post it on your clinic’s Instagram, and bam! Instant HIPAA violation.

We’ve seen how social media is about more than just staying connected with friends and family. It’s become a powerful tool for reaching new audiences and having meaningful interactions with other users.

If used correctly, social media can be an awesome tool to educate and share the resources your practice provides easily to patients.

However, it is important to use social media wisely and know how crucial it is to protect patient information. Social media can be a slippery slope to HIPAA violations if misused. That’s why we’re here today to share with you the best tips and practices for your social media.

The Less Information, The Better

Under the Privacy Rule, sharing Protected Health Information publicly online is prohibited. This includes the likeness and image of a patient, which cannot be shared without a media consent form.
This affects all communication online, including reviews online.
- When responding to feedback online, the less information, the better. Keep it brief and kind, and be sure to not say anything identifiable!
- For example, thanking someone’s nice comments about your practice is totally acceptable, but going into detail about a specific appointment is a no-go!
If patients turn to social media to ask specific questions about their care, direct them to a secure channel instead. You’ll be able to answer their questions, while also protecting their data. Now, that’s a win-win!

Double Check Before Posting

While this is good practice for all social media posts, it rings especially true in healthcare.
When sharing photos of your practice, make sure no patients are in the frame since, without permission, would be a HIPAA violation.
Additionally, if sharing pictures of your practice, make sure no PHI is accidentally on computer screens, files, etc. in your image.
When answering responses, take a second to reflect if your response is appropriate and HIPAA compliant, especially if it’s in response to a negative review. No review is worth getting your practice in trouble for, and as the saying goes, if you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all.

Have Media Consent Forms Signed

When using a patient’s likeness, image, or testimonial, it is imperative to have them sign a media consent form.
By having this form signed, you can share these in a HIPAA-compliant manner.
Abyde can help you with this, by having a media consent form created for your practice in the software.

While your journey to be famous online might not be as easy as cute cat videos, by prioritizing HIPAA compliance on social media, you can confidently utilize technology to engage with audiences without compromising their privacy.

Social media can be complicated, but compliance doesn’t have to be with Abyde. Abyde offers a thorough security risk analysis that dives into not only social media use but all facets of your practice. Abyde also has interactive training, policies and procedures, forms, and more, for your practice to utilize. To learn more about simplifying compliance for your practice, email us at info@abyde.com and schedule a demo here.

The Price of Neglect: Ransomware Fines Hit Healthcare Practices

November 7, 2024 Penelope Schweitzer No comments yet

November 7, 2024 Healthcare practices felt quite a scare on Halloween, with over half a million dollars in fines levied on medical practices. These practices were fined for not taking the necessary precautions against ransomware breaches. The two practices impacted on this day of significant fines include Plastic Surgery Associates of South Dakota in Sioux Falls (PSASD), a multi-location organization, and the Bryan County Ambulance Authority (BCAA), an Oklahoma emergency medical services provider. PSASD was fined $500,000, and BCAA was fined $90,000. These significant fines are just the precipice of the future of healthcare breaches, with ransomware breaches increasing 264% since 2018. What Happened? Major ransomware attacks unfortunately impacted both of these healthcare providers. For PSASD, a breach was discovered that infected nine workstations and two servers in July 2017. This breach impacted over ten thousand patients, putting their data at risk. The malicious actors utilized trial and error to hack into the organization’s system. The data was unable to be restored. The investigation revealed significant gaps in their compliance program, including a missing Security Risk Analysis, inadequate policies and procedures for data handling and breach reporting, and insufficient training. This $500,000 penalty also includes two years of monitoring by the Office For Civil Rights (OCR). For the BCAA, its ransomware attack began in November 2021, but wasn’t reported until May of the following year. After a breach, depending on the severity, you must notify the OCR within 60 days. Since this breach impacted over 14,000 patients or over 500 people, it is considered a large breach. Similar requirements, such as a Security Risk Analysis, adequate policies, a risk management plan, and other safeguards, were missing as found in this investigation. It’s $90,000 fine includes a Corrective Action Plan as well. Protecting Your Practice from Ransomware Ransomware attacks will continue to affect our healthcare system. Although complete immunity is impossible, there are many precautions you can take to protect your practice. Implementing the right technical safeguards, such as firewalls, antivirus software, and a qualified IT team is crucial. Additionally, you can streamline your HIPAA compliance by using intelligent software solutions that help identify your compliance needs unique to your practice. In the event of an attack, these solutions can also guide you on how to respond effectively. To learn more about these smart solutions, meet with a compliance expert today.

Abyde News, Fines, HIPAA

Expensive Oversight: The Importance of Timely Patient Record Access

October 24, 2024 Penelope Schweitzer No comments yet

October 24, 2024 There has been a flurry of HIPAA fines in the past few weeks, with over half a million dollars levied in the last month. Just one example is Gums Dental Care, LLC, a small dental practice in Maryland that was fined for a Right of Access violation. Right of Access violations, which involve failing to provide medical records in a timely manner, are a common HIPAA mistake. Another violation for this was issued in August. What Happened? A patient requested her medical records from Gums Dental on April 8, 2019. After not receiving them, she issued a complaint to the OCR in May 2019. The OCR contacted Gums Dental Care for technical assistance and believed the case was over. This was just the beginning. This case spanned years, with a second complaint filed in August 2019 and the OCR sending several data requests through letters and calls to Gums Dental. On October 1, 2020, the OCR sent Gums Dental a proposed resolution agreement and corrective action plan. At the end of the month, Dr. Gums wanted to present her case in front of a judge, believing the patient would commit Medicaid fraud with her records. She also said that the complainant didn’t pay a $25 administrative fee to release the medical records through mail. First, patients should always have access to their medical records, regardless of their reasons. Second, the fee would be waived if the patient requested it digitally, not through mail. In December 2020, the OCR issued a Letter of Opportunity to Gums Dental. At the beginning of the next year, Dr. Gums once again justified her refusal to provide the records since she believed her patient would commit a crime with them. She also believed her website wasn’t secure enough to send them digitally. However, Gums Dental didn’t attempt to send the records at all. By the time the Notice of Proposed Determination was sent in March 2022, roughly three years after the first medical record request, Gums Dental faced a Civil Monetary Penalty fine as high as $7,676,692. However, the OCR ultimately levied a $70,000 fine, recognizing the smaller size of the dental practice. How to Protect Your Practice Common HIPAA fines often involve Right of Access violations. At the federal level, practices are required to provide patients with their medical records within 30 days, and some states have an even shorter timeline. Navigating these unique regulations can be challenging, so having an intelligent solution is crucial. Smart software can streamline compliance for your practice by generating policies and procedures tailored to your needs. These solutions also include access to a team of compliance experts who can help answer your questions and ensure that you are interacting with patients in a HIPAA-compliant manner. To learn more about software solutions, with a compliance expert here.

Abyde News, Best Practices, HIPAA

The Dermatologist’s Ultimate Guide to HIPAA Compliance

October 22, 2024 Penelope Schweitzer No comments yet

October 22, 2024 Did you know that a dermatology center was fined over $300,000 for violating HIPAA? HIPAA compliance is not always top of mind when managing your dermatology practice. Administrative tasks can easily take a back seat with a focus on diagnosing and treating skin conditions. Nevertheless, it’s crucial to prioritize HIPAA compliance. Discover what steps you need to take to ensure the safety of your dermatology practice. What’s Protected Health Information? Protected Health Information (PHI) is sensitive data that can personally identify a patient. Examples of PHI include a social security number, birth date, medical records, and even images of skin ailments for dermatologists. These images can contain personally identifiable information, such as tattoos and unique birthmarks. When working with patients, it’s crucial to ensure all images and other forms of PHI are encrypted and protected behind essential safeguards to secure patient information. Social Media 101s When sharing images of your patient’s treatment, such as before-and-after images of acne treatment, it’s important to do so compliantly. While you might think you’re sharing a feel-good story, patient images are considered Protected Health Information (PHI), and sharing them without consent could violate their privacy. You need the patient’s signed media consent form to share these images and patient reviews on social media compliantly. This form ensures that the patient understands and agrees to use their image and treatment details being shared with the public. Improper Disposal The largest dermatology HIPAA fines, totaling over $300,000, were imposed due to improper disposal. Some states have even stricter laws regarding discarding old patient files, which must be retained for at least six years on a federal level. These files also need to be encrypted throughout the creation to disposal process. When getting rid of sensitive information, ensure it is shredded and properly disposed of. Partner with a disposal company specializing in medical paperwork and waste and have a Business Associate Agreement in place. How Software Solutions Can Help Dermatology helps patients feel comfortable in their own skin, both literally and figuratively. Implementing the appropriate safeguards to protect patients’ data is just as important. By utilizing smart software, you can see where your dermatology practice stands and what you need to do to be compliant. To learn how you can protect your dermatology practice, schedule a consultation with an expert.

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