Question

Develop a social media policy for staff working at a community health center.

-The policy needs to define what is social media

-What are acceptable postings, and what constitutes a violation of the policy.

-The policy needs to be detailed and clear.

-Finally, it should outline how to handle employees who violate the policy.

Answer 1

Social media:The term generally refers to Internet-based tools that allow individuals and communities to gather and communicate; to share information, ideas, personal messages, images.

Social media sites provide a variety of features that serve different purposes for the individual user. They may include blogs, social networks, video- and photo-sharing sites, wikis, or a myriad of other media, which can be grouped by purpose, serving functions such as..

• Social networking (Facebook, MySpace, Google Plus, Twitter)

• Professional networking (LinkedIn)

• Media sharing (YouTube, Flickr)

• Content production (blogs [Tumblr, Blogger] and microblogs [Twitter])

• Knowledge/information aggregation (Wikipedia)

• ACCEPTABLE POSTINGS

• Social networking community that offers text and images that are compliant with the health care which allows point-of-care information.

• The resources on this site include a comprehensive library, discussion groups

• Some limitations and barriers will be present if they want to share patient health stories using social media.

• The use of social media tools to enhance clinical understanding of communication.

• Use privacy settings to protect personal information and content as far as possible.

• The content should be laccurate and appropriate

• Unacceptable postings:

• The posting of unprofessional content that can reflect unfavourably on community.

• should not discuss patients’ illnesses, medical conditions, or personal information online without the patients’ permission.

• it is mportant to think carefully before posting any information. If unsure about the content of your post.

• Legal cases

• IN A NUT SHELL

• credibility

  • Share only information from credible sources.

  • Refute any inaccurate information you encounter

  Legal concerns

  • Remember that the content you author may bediscoverable.

  • Comply with federal and state privacy laws.

  • Respect copyright laws Licensing concerns

  • Know professional licensure requirements for your state networking practices

  • Do not contact patients with requests to join your network.

  • Direct patients who want to join your personal network to a more secure means of communication or to your professional site.

  Patient care

  • Avoid providing specific medical advice to nonpatients.

  • Make appropriate disclosures and disclaimers regardingthe accuracy, timeliness, and privacy of electroniccommunications

  Patient privacy

  • Avoid writing about specific patients.

  • Make sure you are in compliance with state and federal privacy laws.

  • Obtain patient consent when required.

  • Protect patient information through-identification.‖

  • Use a respectful tone when discussing patients

• Personal privacy

  • Use the most secure privacy settings available.

  • Keep personal and professional profiles separate

  Professional ethics

  • Disclose any in-kind or financial compensation received.

  • Do not make false or misleading claims

  Self-identification

  • Identify yourself on professional sites.

  • Make sure that your credentials are correctly stated.

• HANDLING OF EMOLOYEES WHO VIOLATE THE POLICY.

• start with a warning

• Disciplinary action will be taken against an employee.

• An opportunity to provide an explanation..