Nurses be careful about HIPPA and chat boards
Medscape address the issue of nurses, health care professionals and
patients walking a fine line related to HIPPA and chat boards.
They recommend innovative nurses who want to have an online business or chat board or group to post rules related to discussing conditions or illnesses online. Among these rules might include that a nurse
- cannot engage in giving personalized advice
- cannot write about specific participants or their problems
- may answer questions, but the questions will be changed so that the patient’s identity can’t be discerned by a reader
- may answer a question in a generic manner—that is, related to the condition and patients with that condition, but not related necessarily to any specific patient
- should consult legal counsel for exact wording
For all the details read the full article on Medscape Nurses >>>