Advanced Search

Home Health & Hospice Week

Risk Management:

Preempt the Perils of Online Social Media Forums

Published on Wed Jun 09, 2010

Prohibit your staff from making this No. 1 privacy mistake. Online social forums provide a great networking tool, but they're also rife with potential privacy and public relations snafus. You can, however, sidestep the pitfalls and make social media work for, rather than against, your organization. Start by realizing the potential for major problems. "Facebook and similar social forums can be a very dangerous world" in terms of privacy, warns Jim Sheldon-Dean, principal and director of compliance services for Lewis Creek Systems in Charlotte, Vt. "Never assume that anything that [is posted on a social media forum] is going to be private." Develop A Policy And Procedure To Cover The Privacy Bases You should formulate a policy addressing the dos and don'ts for using online media, including what staff can and cannot say in that forum -- "and under what circumstances," says Sheldon-Dean. Must do: The policy should prohibit staff from [...]
You’ve reached your limit of free articles. Already a subscriber? Log in.
Not a subscriber? Subscribe today to continue reading this article. Plus, you’ll get:
  • Simple explanations of current healthcare regulations and payer programs
  • Real-world reporting scenarios solved by our expert coders
  • Industry news, such as MAC and RAC activities, the OIG Work Plan, and CERT reports
  • Instant access to every article ever published in your eNewsletter
  • 6 annual AAPC-approved CEUs*
  • The latest updates for CPT®, ICD-10-CM, HCPCS Level II, NCCI edits, modifiers, compliance, technology, practice management, and more
*CEUs available with select eNewsletters.

Other Articles in this issue of

Home Health & Hospice Week

View All