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HIPAA Case Study: Temporary Employee Post Patient Records on Facebook, Hospital Faces Stiff Penalties

Written by Dexcomm | Jun 19, 2012 7:42:39 PM

In 2011 a  temporary employee at a California hospital  posted a picture of someone’s medical record to his Facebook page — and made fun of the patient’s condition.

In the era of Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, health care organizations and their business associates cannot underestimate the importance of training employees and contractors on how to properly handle patient information. Healthcare social media experts recommend showing employees how to exercise good judgment with social media. Read the Full Story

Health care providers who violate HIPAA can face stiff penalties, including fines up to $250,000 and/or imprisonment for up to 10 years for knowingly misusing individually identifiable health information.

Social networks and mobile devices have made it even easier to cause a HIPAA violation. Here are a few tips and techniques to help prevent that from happening:

- Prevent Your Mobile Device from Causing a HIPAA Violation

HIPAA and social media

-  7 Tips to Avoid HIPAA Violations in Social Media

- Mobile Device Policy