Risk management and legal issues with the use of social media in the healthcare setting

Social media have infiltrated all of our lives, both personally and professionally. Most of us could never have envisioned the impact that social media have had on us, particularly in the healthcare arena. Who would have thought even five years ago that a discussion on the ASHRM exchange would involve the use of Twitter in the operating room or that a physician would be reprimanded by a state medical board and have her privileges revoked due to posting information online about a trauma patient? In the coming years, social media use will only increase, causing concern for risk managers across the continuum. Furthermore, although case law and statutory regulations addressing the use of social media are minimal today, it is anticipated that we will see legal challenges to this evolving medium in the future.