Social Media Archives

Can You Post That?: The Secret to HIPAA Compliant Marketing

April 30, 2024 Gaurav Modi Comments Off

April 30, 2024 Going viral in healthcare has a much more serious meaning than in marketing. Marketing in healthcare is essential. You want more people to know about your practice. Like everything, the internet has revolutionized how patients look for a healthcare provider. The internet is most people’s first introduction to your practice, with 75% of prospective patients first searching online for a healthcare provider. Marketing and healthcare might seem like oil and water, especially when you throw HIPAA in the mix, but we promise you can do both, just with some rules. Ready to take your patient engagement to the next level? Here are some tips and tricks when it comes to marketing your practice and being HIPAA compliant. Tracking Tips One of the most common forms of marketing is online tracking tools. Have you ever searched for something online and seen an ad on another website? For example, while falling down the rabbit hole of watching cat videos, you go to another site. Suddenly, BAM! Cat toy ads on every other site. While we aren’t complaining about seeing more cute cats, this isn’t a coincidence. It’s just tracking tools at play. Almost every site you visit is trackable, with 90% of sites online having at least one tracking script installed. Online tracking tools have been in recent healthcare compliance news, with the OCR releasing new HIPAA-compliant guidance. Online tracking tiptoes into non-compliant territory, but installing software on suitable sites can be beneficial. First, when working with a marketing company and installing this tracking software, ensure a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) is signed. A BAA outlines the responsibilities of each party, in this case, your practice and a marketing company, when handling Protected Health Information (PHI). These agreements ensure that both parties are on the same page, are liable, and know the importance of protecting patient data. First, HIPAA does not apply to unauthenticated public sites like your practice’s homepage. Once patients are logging in, that’s when HIPAA comes into play. The information tracked must be the minimum necessary, and overall, can’t relate to the past, present, or future health, health care, or payment for health care. Following the proper protocols helps avoid fines and keeps your practice running smoothly. Back in January, the NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital was fined $300,000 due to improper tracking practices. Social Media Guru We’re not expecting you to become TikTok famous, but social media can be helpful in your practice. 74% of people online use social media, and nearly half have used it to learn more about a doctor or health professional for their care. A social media page can be like a welcoming front door for patients. So, if you’re using it, make sure it’s HIPAA-compliant and shines a light on your fantastic practice! When posting on social media, ensure PHI or patients who still need to sign a media consent form are visible. While we know you might be excited about a patient’s new smile before and after braces, without consent, you might not be so happy with the fines. In Abyde’s software, we feature a media consent form, helping to keep your practice complaint. Raving Reviews Now, we’ve all read Google reviews. Whether it be the new Mexican restaurant up the street or your new general practitioner, we rely on others’ experiences when making a decision. Over 70% of patients trust Google reviews when searching for a new healthcare provider. When responding to reviews, it’s essential to follow the simple rule: less is more. You can reply to reviews; make sure that identifiable information about a patient isn’t shared. For instance, even if it’s a lovely review, sharing a patient’s treatment online is unnecessary. It’s essential to keep your cool when responding to these messages. If it is a negative review, take it offline! Offer secure forms of contact for a patient, addressing their needs in a HIPAA-compliant manner. We’ve seen the repercussions of a Google review HIPAA violation. Manasa Health Center LLC was fined $30,000 for sharing PHI online in response to negative reviews. Even if the negative reviews were hurtful, we’re safe to say it probably wasn’t worth that much! What’s Next? We all know social media can be a game-changer for your practice, boosting patient numbers and engagement. But with great power comes great responsibility. That’s where Abyde swoops in – streamlining compliance for your practice. Abyde simplifies compliance, and with features like the intuitive Security Risk Analysis, you’ll have all the tips and tools you need to ensure you’re compliant. So, get back to posting (safely)! To learn more about compliance for your practice, schedule an educational consultation with one of our experts today!

Best Practices, HIPAA

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

February 15, 2024 Gaurav Modi Comments Off

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 Double Check Before Posting Have Media Consent Forms Signed 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.

Fines, HIPAA

New Jersey Doctor Fined $30k for Breaching HIPAA in Responses to Negative Google Reviews

June 5, 2023 Gaurav Modi Comments Off

June 5, 2023 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) launched an investigation into Manasa Health Center LLC’s (Mansa) compliance with the The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) Privacy Rule and notified them about it on November 18, 2020. Manasa is a psychiatric practice based in Kendall Park, New Jersey. As a covered entity under HIPAA, Manasa is required to comply with these rules. The investigation uncovered certain conduct, referred to as “Covered Conduct,” which includes the illegal disclosure of four patients’ protected health information (PHI) in response to negative reviews on Google. Additionally, Manasa was found to have failed to implement policies and procedures regarding PHI that comply with the standards and requirements of the Privacy and Breach Notification Rules. Manasa has agreed to pay HHS a resolution amount of $30,000. The payment will be made on the effective date of the agreement, following written instructions provided by HHS. Manasa has also committed to complying with a Corrective Action Plan (CAP) that serves as a roadmap for Manasa to rectify its non-HIPAA-compliant practices. The CAP put in place includes implementation of compliance policies and procedures, employee trainings, breach notifications, reports. Abyde’s HIPAA Compliance Software Solution can help healthcare providers effortlessly assess risks, implement necessary policies and procedures, and receive continuous support to maintain compliance with HIPAA regulations. If you have staff that has a bad case of keyboard-itis, make sure they are trained on what NOT to type out on the internet! By utilizing Abyde, healthcare providers can rest assured that they are meeting the requirements of the Privacy, Security, and Breach Notification Rules. This proactive approach to compliance helps them avoid the potential consequences of non-compliance, such as costly settlements like the one experienced by Manasa Health Center.

Best Practices, HIPAA

HIPAA vs Online Reviews: A Primetime Matchup

March 18, 2021 Gaurav Modi Comments Off

March 18, 2021 Let’s face it, social media and the internet tend to call the plays when it comes to our decision-making. Whether you’re shopping for a new car or just deciding between tacos or pizza for dinner, seeing a one-star review pop up under your Google search is a total red flag. So, when 95% of patients say that online reviews are reliable and over 70% say that reviews have influence over their choice of physician – being on the receiving end of a bad review can feel like a total cheap shot. There’s really no such thing as pleasing everyone – and as a practice owner, having to deal with some unhappy patients just kind of comes with the territory. Even all-star’s get the occasional “boo” from the crowd and seeing a patient post “100% would NOT recommend!!” about your practice can be a hard hit to recover from. As much as we all want to come to our own defense, choosing to fight back does a lot more damage than just taking the ‘L’ in the online face-off with a patient. Just take it from the dental practice who was slammed with a $10,000 fine for including sensitive patient information in their response to a Yelp review. You might be thinking if someone submits a review about my practice aren’t they already admitting that they’re a patient themselves? Though you aren’t totally wrong, HIPAA law is in place to protect patients’ privacy – and a patient submitting a review is NOT authorization for you to go and release their sensitive information when responding. So, while there might not be a winning playbook for how to keep your patients happy, there are some guidelines for how to best handle online reviews: Since there’s no one-size-fits-all response for any and every online review, your practice may receive some feedback that seems a bit out-of-left-field, and knowing how to handle it might be tricky. So to give you some sideline practice, let’s pretend you just received this negative review: “I had to wait over an hour to be seen and the doctor was rude and rushed through my appointment. Overall it was a terrible experience and I will not be back.”– Negative Nancy A bad response for your practice would be: “We’re sorry you had a bad experience during your appointment, however, our records show that you were late to your appointment which therefore caused a delay in your wait time.” A HIPAA-compliantresponse would be: “Our practice’s scheduling policy allows for adequate time with the doctor in order to keep our appointments running on time. However, due to emergency situations, it is possible for us to run behind schedule occasionally. We appreciate your feedback and are committed to providing the best patient care; you’re always welcome to contact our office if you would like to discuss further.” It’s pretty easy to see why response #1 would probably end up on Sportscenter’s Not Top 10 Plays of the Week – but unfortunately, we are seeing more and more real-life examples of practice comments similar to this one. With patient complaint numbers on the rise and proposed regulation updates centered around improving patient rights, the Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has definitely made it clear that they’ll be bringing their “A” game on HIPAA enforcement. Online reviews (both good and bad) should be handled with extreme care not only to protect your practice’s reputation amongst prospective patients but also to avoid any flags thrown by the OCR. So, while we hope that you won’t have to go head-to-head with a one-star Google review anytime soon, following HIPAA best-practices when and if you do will be the ultimate game-changer.

HIPAA Compliant Marketing for Healthcare Practices

Best Practices, HIPAA

HIPAA Compliant Digital Marketing for Healthcare Practices

July 8, 2020 Gaurav Modi Comments Off

July 8, 2020 Nowadays, you can shop online for anything – from chopsticks that double as LED lightsabers to a wig for your dog (seriously, we’re not kidding), and shopping online for a healthcare provider is no different. The internet plays a key role in a healthcare consumer’s decision making, in fact, according to a study released by the Pew Internet & American Life Project, “80 percent of Internet users, or about 93 million Americans, have searched for a health-related topic online.” Let’s face it, we use the internet for basically anything and everything nowadays especially as we continue to adapt in today’s COVID-19 world, which is why it’s important for your practice to understand what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to HIPAA compliance and online marketing. Using online marketing as a tool can be extremely beneficial for practices. Most medical practices have a website and many use social media and email marketing as tools to reach potential patients – ensuring you are utilizing these platforms in a HIPAA compliant manner is imperative to marketing in the right ways while still ensuring the privacy of your patients and security of your practice. Whether it be for your practice website, social media page, or advertisement – if you would like to use any type of patient information there are some strict guidelines to follow: Your Practice Website Having a HIPAA compliant website for your practice enables patients to search for information regarding the services that you provide, and ultimately drive new patients to you. The following are some key tips to follow when creating and maintaining the website for your practice: Email Marketing If choosing to use email marketing to engage with patients there are some key safeguards you must take to ensure you’re protecting your patients’ information and aren’t setting yourself up for a HIPAA violation: Social Media Nowadays social media platforms play a large role in consumers’ decision making. Having a strong social media presence can be a great asset to your practice, but in order to use social media to your advantage, you should follow these guidelines: Where marketing regulations get tricky is patient reviews or comments on digital platforms. While patients are able to post a review or comment about your practice, you cannot respond in any capacity that ties the patient to your practice. A dental practice in Texas was faced with a $10,000 fine along with a 2-year corrective action plan after they responded to a patients’ Yelp review. The practice had responded to multiple reviews the investigation found, disclosing patient information including names, medical diagnoses, and more and was only hit with a small fine due to their immediate cooperation with the Office for Civil Rights. On top of ensuring that you’re meeting all the criteria for a safeguarded online presence, you should also create a well-documented strategy that clearly outlines what’s permitted and what isn’t for your staff. This should cover the necessary policies and procedures for marketing to patient’s whether it is done online, over the phone, or in person.

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