Using social media to promote your business can be an excellent way to grow your practice. But have you thought about how HIPAA plays into your social media strategy? Twitter, for instance, can be used, but with certain restrictions.
In the traditional sense, Twitter is not HIPAA compliant. Why? Twitter does not sign business associate agreements (BAAs) with users.
Twitter’s Terms of Service state: “You are responsible for your use of the Services and for any Content you provide, including compliance with applicable laws, rules, and regulations. You should only provide Content that you are comfortable sharing with others.”
Signed BAAs are a crucial part of HIPAA as they ensure that the business associate (in this case, Twitter) protects the privacy and security of patient information following HIPAA standards.
That doesn’t mean you can’t use Twitter to promote your healthcare practice. It means you cannot share protected health information (PHI) or upload patient lists on Twitter.
Twitter for Healthcare Professionals
HIPAA and Twitter don’t mix. So, how can you use Twitter to promote your practice without