Discussion - Communicating on Social Networking Sites

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Communicating on Social Networking Sites

You are part of a new graduate nurse cohort completing its residency program at a local acute care hospital. The new graduates often connect via a social networking site in the evening to share what they learned or experienced that particular day. Several of the group participants have discussed specific patient scenarios with the group, and although they do not share the patient’s name, there is enough identifying information that you are concerned that patient confidentiality could be threatened. One nurse today shared a photo of a stage IV sacral decubitus that she took on her cell phone to demonstrate the scope and severity of such a pressure ulcer. No identifying patient information was included with the photo, but you know the photo should never have been taken in the first place, much less shared on the social networking site.

Assignment:

Discuss what you will do. What parameters should be in place to protect patient confidentiality in groups such as these? What safeguards does the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) provide to guide this electronic communication about patients that nurses care for? Use at least two sources from the literature to support your answer.