Social Networking and Patient Privacy

Last month, to forestall any unintended threat to patient privacy, NEBH made the decision to temporarily suspend access to social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter from Hospital computers. Our decision led to a fair amount of discussion on local blogs and even publicity in newspapers and on television. Managing social networking sites is a challenge for many organizations, and as a privacy professional, I have struggled to find a balance between protecting our patients and permitting legitimate contact on these sites, which are commonly used for employee recruitment, marketing, etc.

Although patient privacy was not breached, we came to realize that staff could benefit from additional training. It is easy to be lulled into a false sense of security because a username and password is used to access Facebook, but privacy settings must be configured in order to control who has access to the information. Many of our employees were unaware that an offhanded comment that might be made on Facebook, in an environment of “friends and family only,” could be e-mailed to hundreds of people.

Even a remark about “Aunt Doris” or an unnamed “difficult” patient can be damaging and potentially breach privacy when made by an employee who is self-identified as being a Hospital employee. We are currently developing a training program to ensure that our staff understands the ramifications of their use of social networking sites.

As health care providers, we are afforded the privilege of working with patients to address some of the most intimate challenges of their lives. The trust that is bestowed upon us and the responsibility that we bear cannot be taken lightly. It is paramount that we adopt a common set of standards that protect our patients and their right to privacy. Over the next several months, we’ll be working to establish guidelines, education and monitoring tools to help us ensure that use of these sites is done responsibly and with the protection of patient privacy at the forefront.

Why should you care about patient safety data?

More information about health care is available to the public than ever before, particularly in Massachusetts. If you are a patient or think you may need surgery, it can be difficult to sift out what is important in making your decisions. In this space, I hope to help you to discover what truly matters.

As Vice President for Health Care Quality and Patient Safety, I pay attention to a wide range of quality data that can be daunting to patients. It includes hospital performance on important care standards published by the Joint Commission, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid and Leapfrog, to name a few. In addition, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and the Massachusetts Health Care Quality and Cost Council have published data on serious incidents like infections and wrong-site surgeries. They also publish the cost of procedures at different facilities. As if this information is not enough, hospital are now also providing their own data. One would be hard pressed to find a hospital or academic medical center that does not publish some type of performance measures on their website. To see ours, visit www.nebh.org/home/about-us/quality/default.aspx.

That’s a lot of information! Unfortunately, research has demonstrated that despite all this available information, consumers are more likely to make decisions based on affordability and physician reputation than actual performance of the physician or facility.

It is important that prospective patients take the time to understand what data is available and what measures they should consider in choosing a health care provider and/or hospital. Clinical data helps prospective patients understand not only what types of complications may occur as the result of hospitalization but also what can be done to prevent the complications. This data helps patients make better choices regarding their care.

The purpose of this blog is to give you important information about patient safety and health care quality in general and specifically at our Hospital. We’ll also discuss ways patients and families can become more active in ensuring successful treatment outcomes and avoiding unnecessary complications.

I look forward to communicating with you on a regular basis about health care topics and sharing my perspective as well as informing you about what we do in our pursuit of excellence in patient safety. In addition, I would like to know more about what is important to you. When you or a loved one are hospitalized, what concerns you? I will compile the responses into a top-ten list that I will post over the next several months. Thank you for your interest and for contributing to a safer and healthier tomorrow for all of us!