Running Head: SOCIAL MEDIA AND HEALTHCARE
Social Media and Healthcare- Why Policies Need to be Implemented
Emma Larson, RN, BSN
Liberty University School of Nursing
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SOCIAL MEDIA AND HEALTH CARE
Abstract
With social media playing such a large role in gathering information and learning about
people in this day in age, it can cause trouble for health care workers if they do not use their
social media accounts wisely. This paper will discuss the effects of social media towards
healthcare through hospital policy and evidence-based articles. We will also go over the
importance of the hospital policy on the health care workers when it comes to social media.
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I. Social Media’s Impact on Healthcare
In the modern-day world of social media, people are able to get information
faster than ever before. There are many benefits to social media in the healthcare world,
but there are still challenges that lie with it. Laura T. Hausman (2017), goes over how
social media has influenced today’s healthcare. With the overwhelming majority of
people having smartphones and using smart applications on them, people are now
getting health apps to help them understand their own or another person’s health and
health management (p.2189-2190). Another benefit to social media is the easy access to
this information, whether it is from the internet, Facebook or Instagram pages, and even
health apps. Patients and employees can get the information they need to know literally
in the palm of their hands.
Even though there are many positives towards social media, there are still
challenges, both currently and what lies ahead. Ramona Nelson and Nancy Staggers
(2018) explain the disadvantages of social media not just for the patients and the
healthcare workers, but also the image it displays on the job. Social media has a way to
make employees look unprofessional at the workplace, according to patients and
healthcare providers. Also, people can make mistakes so easily and not realize the errors
of their ways until it costs them their job such as patient confidentiality or something
against hospital policy. If used wisely, social media is a great application for people, but if
not, it could possibly ruin a person’s life.
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II. Tenet Health Social Media Policy
Tenet Health is one of the largest healthcare corporations in the United States,
with over 550 hospitals part of their corporation and 58 hospitals in just Southern
California. The protocols used regarding human resource departments are the same in
all of them. The policy for social media for Tenet Health is under policy number
HR.ERW.20, stating “…we respect our employees’ use of social media to the extent it
does not interfere with our work, or does not create potential harm to others, including
patients and their families, Tenet colleagues, and other individuals that we interact with
at Tenet” (Tenet Health, 2018, p.1-2).
With this policy, it helps protect HIPAA, the Health Insurance Portability and
Accountability Act, where we keep specific information about patients and staff
confidential to the public. Not only does it protect their privacy, but it can also keep the
reputation of the facility intact until further investigations happen. If employees did not
adhere to this policy, then the employee could lose their job at that facility, and it can be
a difficult task to get a job at a different hospital.
III. Why Tenet Health’s Policy Works
Tenet Health’s policy, in my opinion, teaches employees to use their social media
wisely. Not only does this focus on protecting the patient and the hospital, it also
protects you. Unfortunately, the use of social media for health can cause red flags in
ethics and legalities due to HIPAA and hospital policy if not used wisely by the patients
and the staff (Hors-Fraile, et al, 2016, p.50). With these policies, it helps staff members
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be more mindful about what they say to the public to protect themselves, the patients,
and the hospital.
There are many employees, from personal experience of working in other jobs
other than health care, that have lost their jobs due to poor conduct of themselves on
social media. It is so important to portray yourself in a positive and professional manner
through social media because for employers, they use social media as a way to predict
how you would be in the workplace. The saying “a picture is worth a thousand words” is
very accurate to how job recruiters and employers see us on social media and if they see
something they do not like or will make the hospital look unreputable.
Social media, today, has a tendency to show the best of people for the sake of
maintaining a positive and professional image to other people and employers. Even
though they have this professional image, not all employees will act professional in the
workplace, which is another disadvantage to social media. The saying “do not judge a
book by its cover” is also something to keep in mind when looking to employ someone.
In addition to that, people can just as easily lie about their experiences in social media,
which could lead to a poor hire and an unqualified employee. With hospitals, the use of
background checks on patients helps the recruiters and human resources department
verify this information, which is pertinent to do on all employees.
Overall, the goal for all hospitals is to treat the patients, the employees, and the
facility with respect, whether it is in person, online or social media. That is the ultimate
reason why we, as healthcare employees, must uphold a higher standard than any other
place of work.
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References
Atique, S., Mayer, M. A., Denecke, K., Merolli, M., Househ, M., & Hors-Fraile, S. (2016). The
Unintended Consequences of Social Media in Healthcare: New Problems and New
Solutions. Yearbook of Medical Informatics, 25(01), 47–52. doi: 10.15265/iy-2016-009
Employee Use of Social Media. (2018, November 30). Retrieved from
https://www.tenethealth.com/docs/default-source/general-policies/hr-erw-20-employee-
use-of-social-media.pdf?sfvrsn=5ea420b7_2
Housman, L. T. (2017). “I’m Home(screen)!”: Social Media in Health Care Has Arrived. Clinical
Therapeutics, 39(11), 2189–2195. doi: 10.1016/j.clinthera.2017.10.007
Nelson, R., & Staggers, N. (2018). Health informatics: an interprofessional approach (2nd ed.).
Philadelphia, PA: Elsevier Health Sciences.
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