This is the first ever Pers J RP podcast episode, and the first part of a two part series on using healthcare social media without violating patient privacy or getting fired. If you want to read more about healthcare social media, check out “Healthcare social media and you!“ published on 13 Feb 2012. The second part of this series was published on 15 Sep 2014.

A podcast episode! I didn’t think I’d ever make one of those. Feel free to leave a comment or send me an email if you have any suggestions on how I could make future podcast episodes better. I’m still trying to figure out the best way to eliminate breathing sounds from the audio. If I heard breathing sounds I’d try to eliminate them by deleting the audio, but that doesn’t work in every place (particularly if I took a breath at the end of a sentence, because the gap between the two sentences would get too small). You’d be surprised at how often a person needs to breath during a 14 minute interval: The normal respiration rate for an adult is 12-16 breaths/min, so there are about 200 breaths to account for.
If you enjoyed listening to this podcast, please subscribe to email updates so you never miss a post or podcast episode. For now, I’ll be working on getting these podcast episodes put onto iTunes and Stitcher radio, and preparing the next podcast episode.
Podcast script for “Social media and healthcare privacy laws: 10 tips to avoid a PHIA violation or getting fired (part 1 of 2)”
Hello! My name is Ryan Persaud, and you’re listening to the first ever Pers J RP podcast. In today’s episode, I’ll give you 10 tips for using social media without invoking the wrath of the healthcare privacy police or your employer. If you’re already tired of listening to my voice, then head on over to Pers J RP to read the script for this podcast. This is information that you need to know if you’re involved with healthcare, you use social media, and you’ve got a pulse.
In order to keep these podcast episodes short and sweet, I’m actually going to split this up into a 2 part series. Today I’m going to give 5 tips, and then two weeks from today I’ll release the next 5 tips. The reason for this is that I’m going to keep a biweekly release schedule, so hopefully that will be enough time for me to produce some content, prepare a script, and then actually produce the podcast and publish it for you to listen to.
Warning: This is not legal advice! Nothing can replace your professional judgement or, if you’re in a bit of a spot, a good lawyer.
Healthcare privacy laws vary from province to province, and country to country. Here in Manitoba, our healthcare privacy law is the Personal Health Information Act, or PHIA. The equivalent law in the United States would be the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA. Additionally, every profession has its own Code of Ethics (or equivalent), and every employer has their own health privacy policies. These tips make sense for my situation. Make sure that you understand your’s before delving into social media.
Basics
1. Nothing you share online is private
This may sound obvious, but it can be easy to lull yourself into thinking that there are private spaces on the Internet for sharing information with friends. Once you post a status, like a photo, or even send an instant message or email, you’re no longer in control of the information you’ve sent. If someone else can see it, they can take a screenshot or copy and paste it.