North Texas Dentistry Volume 5 Issue 2 | Page 24

rules & regulations 9 Social Media and HIPAA TIPS to Stay Compliant By Brian A. Colao, Eric L. White and Jennifer R. Tauzel Even though Facebook began barely over a decade ago, it and other forms of social media have become tremendously popular. In fact, social media has become a favored tool of communication for personal, business and professional use. We now see the general public using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs and their competitors or successors to obtain their news, receive recommendations, maintain their relationships and drive their business. Medical professionals who wish to gain broader access to patients and the general public are looking for ways to utilize these tools for everything from marketing to patient education. However, in the medical context, these tools are often misused and subject employers to liability for violation of HIPAA data privacy and security regulations. 24 NORTH TEXAS DENTISTRY | www.northtexasdentistry.com