Running Head: WE CAN, BUT DARE WE?
We Can, But Dare We? Nurses and Social Media
Student Name
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR360 Information Systems in Healthcare
Professor Diaz
Date Submitted
, 2
WE CAN, BUT DARE WE? NURSES AND SOCIAL MEDIA
We Can, But Dare We? Nurses and Social Media
As a child that was born in the early 1990’s I can remember cellphones were used in
everyday life, but everyone did not have one. My Father had a cell phone, but my mother did not
have one in my early childhood. Now, it is almost ridiculous if the entire family doesn’t have a
cellphone. Today, children that go to school to adult businessmen and health care workers all
have cellphones to communicate instantly with each other. But what’s different from my
childhood is that cellphones are significantly more advanced. In modern times, we can take
pictures in 4k resolution or film an entire movie in HD with simply our cellphones! For example,
cellphones can be used to take pictures of patients in the hospital despite HIPPA laws. Cellphone
technology has its advantages, but it also has many disadvantages that can break the client’s right
to privacy in the hospital.
HIPPA is a law that was passed in the United States that provides privacy of data and
tools for security to protect medical information (Your Rights Under HIPAA, 2017). In other
words, HIPPA is a federal law that provides clients rights to their health information and also sets
limits on who is able to access your medical records. As a result, having a personal cellphone in
the hospital setting as a nurse may introduce many unnecessary problems. For instance, many
nurses today use social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Under HIPPA law, healthcare
workers are not allowed to copy and retain and any identifiable patient information and this
would include photos and videos. If a nurse or other healthcare worker decides to take pictures of
the client without their permission, they may be violating HIPPA. Furthermore, in an article by
Nettrour, Burch, and Bal it states, “consents for medical treatment and billing routinely obtained
by hospitals and offices generally address the acquisition, sharing, and recording of identifiable
PHI for patient; this will include clinical photographs that are used for medical treatment”
We Can, But Dare We? Nurses and Social Media
Student Name
Chamberlain College of Nursing
NR360 Information Systems in Healthcare
Professor Diaz
Date Submitted
, 2
WE CAN, BUT DARE WE? NURSES AND SOCIAL MEDIA
We Can, But Dare We? Nurses and Social Media
As a child that was born in the early 1990’s I can remember cellphones were used in
everyday life, but everyone did not have one. My Father had a cell phone, but my mother did not
have one in my early childhood. Now, it is almost ridiculous if the entire family doesn’t have a
cellphone. Today, children that go to school to adult businessmen and health care workers all
have cellphones to communicate instantly with each other. But what’s different from my
childhood is that cellphones are significantly more advanced. In modern times, we can take
pictures in 4k resolution or film an entire movie in HD with simply our cellphones! For example,
cellphones can be used to take pictures of patients in the hospital despite HIPPA laws. Cellphone
technology has its advantages, but it also has many disadvantages that can break the client’s right
to privacy in the hospital.
HIPPA is a law that was passed in the United States that provides privacy of data and
tools for security to protect medical information (Your Rights Under HIPAA, 2017). In other
words, HIPPA is a federal law that provides clients rights to their health information and also sets
limits on who is able to access your medical records. As a result, having a personal cellphone in
the hospital setting as a nurse may introduce many unnecessary problems. For instance, many
nurses today use social media such as Facebook and Instagram. Under HIPPA law, healthcare
workers are not allowed to copy and retain and any identifiable patient information and this
would include photos and videos. If a nurse or other healthcare worker decides to take pictures of
the client without their permission, they may be violating HIPPA. Furthermore, in an article by
Nettrour, Burch, and Bal it states, “consents for medical treatment and billing routinely obtained
by hospitals and offices generally address the acquisition, sharing, and recording of identifiable
PHI for patient; this will include clinical photographs that are used for medical treatment”
