The Texas Medical Board (TMB) is the state agency responsible for overseeing the licensing and disciplinary proceedings of various medical professionals, including physicians. The Texas Board of Nursing (BON) oversees all licensed nurses. These agencies investigate complaints against the medical professionals whom they license and take any necessary disciplinary action. You will benefit from representation by counsel if you are facing a disciplinary complaint against your medical license. Your Texas medical professional license defense attorneys are here to help you devise the best strategy to defend yourself in any disciplinary proceedings that you may face.
Social Media Usage and Medical Professionals
Unlike some licensing agencies, the TMB has not issued any rules, policies, or official statements addressing social media issues for the medical professionals it licenses and oversees. However, as social media usage is an integral part of advertising and communication with patients and prospective patients, medical professionals must take care not to violate applicable rules and laws that govern their profession.
Social Media and Advertising
Some of the rules applicable to medical professionals likely implicate social media usage. For example, 22 Tex. Admin. Code § 190.8(2) prohibits “unprofessional and dishonorable conduct that is likely to deceive, defraud, or injure the public within the meaning of the Texas Medical Practice Act” (“the Act”). The definition of “unprofessional and dishonorable conduct” includes “using false, misleading, or deceptive advertising.” As a result, any advertisements on social media are subject to this prohibition, and failure to comply with the rules governing advertisements in social media posts can lead to disciplinary action. The TMB enforces the Act, but the Texas Attorney General also enforces the rules of the Health Professions Council, which also apply to advertising by medical professionals.
Social Media and Patient Confidentiality
Other rules that impact social media posts relate to patient confidentiality. As per 22 Tex. Admin. Code §190.8(2)(N), failing to maintain patient confidentiality also constitutes “unprofessional and dishonorable conduct.” Tex. Occ. Code §159.002 also defines the physician’s duties concerning patient confidentiality. Therefore, violating patient confidentiality rules through social media posts can lead to disciplinary action by the TMB. Furthermore, federal and state laws, such as the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), a federal law, and the Texas Medical Records Privacy Act (TMRPA), both protect patients’ protected health information (PHI). Violation of patient confidentiality through social media posts can also lead to violations of HIPAA and/or TMRPA, which may result in other sanctions by the appropriate regulatory bodies.
Aside from patient confidentiality concerns, posts about specific patients may also violate the Act’s prohibition against behaving in an abusive or assaultive manner toward a patient or the patient’s family or representatives that interferes with patient care or could reasonably be expected to impact the quality of care rendered to a patient adversely. Another potential rule that social media posts may violate is the prohibition against behaving in a disruptive manner toward licensees, hospital personnel, other medical personnel, patients, family members, or others that interferes with patient care or could reasonably be expected to impact the quality of care rendered to a patient.
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Social media is all too often a platform for complaints about others, including those encountered in a professional workplace. To avoid violating TMB rules, medical professionals should refrain from complaining or recounting grievances about patients, their families, or colleagues on social media posts. Doing so can constitute “unprofessional and dishonorable conduct” within the meaning of the Act.
Nurses have more guidance on social media usage and its implications for patient confidentiality in the form of BON Position Statement 15.29 – Professional Boundaries Including Use of Social Media by Nurses.
As with other medical professionals, nurses should refrain from engaging in any social media usage that identifies patients or otherwise threatens to violate patient confidentiality and privacy or divulge protected health information (PHI). Medical professionals, including nurses, have a legal and ethical obligation to always maintain patient privacy and confidentiality and failure to do so may result in disciplinary action.
Social Media and Maintaining Professional Boundaries
Position Statement 15.29 also addresses how social media usage potentially violates professional boundaries between nurses and their patients. BON Rule 217.1(29) defines professional boundaries as “the appropriate limits which should be established by the nurse in the nurse/client relationship due to the nurse’s power and the patient’s vulnerability.” Maintaining professional boundaries promotes the client’s “dignity, independence, and best interests.” It keeps nurses from becoming “inappropriately involved in the client’s personal relationships” and/or “the obtainment of the nurse’s personal gain at the client’s expense.”
A violation of professional boundaries by a nurse can lead to disciplinary action by the Board of Nursing (BON), as it constitutes unprofessional conduct in violation of the Texas Nursing Practice Act (NPA). Violation of professional boundaries can easily occur through interactions between nurses and patients on social media platforms, as these interactions may lead to inappropriate financial, emotional, or physical relationships.
Is maintaining privacy settings on social media posts sufficient to ensure compliance with applicable privacy laws and rules that govern medical professionals?
No. Creating social media posts that potentially identify patients violates applicable patient confidentiality and privacy rules, regardless of privacy settings. Divulging any patient information, even to family members, close friends, or colleagues, can violate HIPAA, TMRPA, the NPA, or the Medical Practice Act.
Do medical professionals have a duty to report violations of patient privacy or confidentiality that occur as a result of social media usage to their licensing board?
Yes. BON Rules 217.11(1)(E) and (K) specifically require nurses to report any identified breach of confidentiality or privacy promptly.
Can medical professionals communicate with their patients via social media?
While electronic communication between medical professionals and patients is a fundamental type of communication in today’s world, social media platforms are not the preferred mode of communication. Instead, medical professionals should typically use only secure communication platforms to communicate with their patients.
Get the Advice You Need About Your Medical Professional License
When you face a disciplinary complaint concerning your medical professional license, whether you are a doctor, nurse, or other professional, you risk significant sanctions. Don’t try to handle such a critical situation on your own. The medical professional license defense lawyers at Bertolino LLP can examine your circumstances and help you determine the most effective means of protecting your license. Contact us today at (512) 980-3751 or visit our website for more information.
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