Social Media Policy

University of Maryland School of Dentistry

Social Media Policy

POLICY STATEMENT

It shall be the policy of University of Maryland School of Dentistry that all information regarding individually identifiable health information is maintained as confidential information. Patient care information is the property of the patient; University of Maryland School of Dentistry is the steward or caretaker of that information and owner of the medium of storage. It shall be the policy of University of Maryland School of Dentistry to support and adhere to the rights and responsibilities of patients as specified in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA), Public Law 104-191.

POLICY PURPOSE

The purpose of this policy is to protect University of Maryland School of Dentistry patient privacy from inappropriate disclosure of protected health information regarding care of individual and collective patients. The University of Maryland School of Dentistry defines social media as online communication channels allowing and encouraging collaboration, interaction, and content sharing. These guidelines describe how University of Maryland School of Dentistry makes use of social media. This policy covers all existing and future social networking platforms. Because of the evolving nature of social media platforms, these guidelines do not attempt to name every current and emerging platform. This policy applies to all University of Maryland School of Dentistry personnel.

POLICY STANDARDS

Every University of Maryland School of Dentistry member shall be responsible for respecting the privacy rights of our patients.
It shall be the policy to prohibit posting of any content regarding individually identifiable health information, including patient images, on any social platform.
It shall be the policy to ensure patient privacy is of utmost concern.As a guest posting content to University of Maryland School of Dentistry online sites e.g. Facebook, you agree that you will not:
- Violate any local, state, or federal laws and regulations regarding any content that you send or receive e.g. Patient photos
- Transmit any patient data by uploading, posting, or emailing that is unlawful, threatening, abusive, profane, defamatory, harassing, or is an invasion of another’s privacy
- Store patient confidential information
University of Maryland School of Dentistry reserves the right to monitor, prohibit, delete, block or restrict access to any University of Maryland online platform.
It shall be identified on the platform that you are speaking for yourself and not on behalf of University of Maryland School of Dentistry.
It shall be the responsibility of all faculty, staff, and students to report any violations of this policy to Kent Buckingham, HIPAA Officer, at kbuckingham@umaryland.edu

and/or Christine Livesay, Compliance Manager, clivesay@umaryland.edu

DEFINITIONS

HIPAA Privacy Rule: The rule establishes national standards to protect personal health information. This rule applies to health care providers, health plans, and health care clearinghouses that conduct certain health care transactions electronically. The rule requires appropriate safeguards to protect the privacy of personal health information and sets limits and conditions on the uses and disclosure that may be made of such information without patient authorization. This also gives patients’ rights over their health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records, and to request corrections.

Inappropriate Dissemination: Seeking access to and/or disclosing confidential information, regardless of intent, in verbal, written or electronic form:

To individuals not involved in the care, treatment or clinical operations of
the patient; or
To individuals who have not been authorized by the patient to access the information.
Patient Information: All information, data and/or or knowledge relating to the care of the University of Maryland School of Dentistry sites and Health Centers’ patients, including but not limited to:
The medical record, including data recorded on paper, on microfilm, or in a
computer data base; or
Pictorial, graphic, or multimedia representations (e.g. photographs, x-ray films
ECG tracings, videotape); or
Tissue specimens obtained for histological examination; or
Administrative data, such as the data included in the University of Maryland
School of Dentistry clinic management system; or
Business or Financial Records