Introduction
Social media platforms have affected different aspects of health care service provision, data management, and patient-nurse relationships (Aathi, 2014). Consequently, many researchers have written extensive articles about its impact on the sector to provide more insight about how health practitioners could adopt it in their practice (Gunson & Chawngthu, 2012; Patel & Kannampalilil, 2015).
Based on this background, this paper analyzes an article by McNickle (2012) titled, “5 keys to the legal issues of social media in health care” and a video titled, “State of the Industry: Prioritizing health IT innovations,” to investigate the influence of different aspects of technology on the delivery of health care services.
Thoughts on Article
McNickle (2012) argues that the legal ramifications of using social media in the health sector focus on five key legal issues that include privacy, content ownership, intellectual property infringement, unauthorized activities, and regulatory compliance. While the author has highlighted many points surrounding the ramifications of social media use on these pivotal legal issues in the health care industry, her discussions mostly outline a traditional outlook on the legal issues surrounding health care service delivery. Consequently, they do not consider the uniqueness of the issues that social media brings to the delivery of health care services. For example, the author fails to consider the implementation challenges of applying traditional legal policies on modern legal problems emerging from social media use in the health sector.
Enforcement of the policies surrounding these legal issues has mostly depended on the stability of the health care environment (Goodman et al., 2013). For example, in the past, it has been possible for law enforcers to hold health care institutions accountable for infringements on privacy; however, it is more difficult to do so in the social media era where information leaks are common and anonymous posting is prevalent.
McNickle (2012) also fails to acknowledge the fast-paced nature of social media innovations and their effects on the legal framework governing health care service delivery. Indeed, social media continues to change every day and such changes are bound to affect the nature of care delivery in the same fashion. In fact, some of the legal issues highlighted in the paper may seize to matter if social media trends change. Based on the insights highlighted in this paper, we find that the issues highlighted by McNickle (2012) in the article are abstract.
Thoughts on Video
The video under review mostly talks about health care innovations and some important issues surrounding its progress. The panelists talk about the challenges of health care innovation, interoperability issues and stakeholder involvement. Most of the opinions highlighted by the panelists are spot-on because they emphasize the modern and institutional challenges surrounding the adoption of innovations in the health sector (Shortliffe, 2012).
For example, based on my personal experiences, I agree with the views of the panelists who say cultural barriers and “people factors” in the health sector impede the adoption of innovations in the health sector because there is a cultural principle in the health sector that encourages practitioners to use tested methods for treatment and shun new (untested) ones. Their views on the need to involve users and all stakeholders in adopting innovations in the sector are equally compelling.
Conclusion
This paper has highlighted emerging issues in the adoption of technological advancements in the health sector. The assigned article and video have highlighted some of the most pressing matters in the sector to create more awareness about the need to adapt to technological changes in health care service delivery. If health practitioners address some of the issues highlighted in this paper and take cognizance of the main points highlighted in the article, the health sector would be better prepared to manage some of the new challenges of adopting technological advancements in the sector.
References
Aathi, M. K. (2014). Nursing informatics: The emerging field. Asian Journal of Nursing Education and Research, 4(1), 127-130.
Goodman, K. W., Adams, S., Berner, E. S., Embi, P. J., Hslung, R., Hurdle, R.,… Lehmann, C. U. (2013). AMIA’s code of professional and ethical conduct. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 20(1), 141-143.
Gunson, J., & Chawngthu, L. (2012). Health economics and informatics: The gap-fit of current healthcare and parse practice. Nursing Science Quarterly, 25(2), 176-181.
McNickle, M. (2012). 5 Keys To The Legal Issues Of Social Media In Healthcare.
Patel, V. L., & Kannampalilil, T. G. (2015). Cognitive informatics in biomedicine and healthcare. Journal of Biomedical Informatics, 53, 3-14.
Shortliffe, E. H. (2012). The future of biomedical informatics: A perspective from academia. Studies in Health Technology and Informatics, 180, 19-24.