Ethical Issues Related to Social Media

Ethical Issues Related to Social Media

The use of social media in the healthcare setting can have significant impact on nursing practice. The impacts are common both in individual and organizational levels. The impacts of using social media in the clinical practice are both negative and positive (Jackson, Fraser, & Ash, 2014). The negative impact of using social media in the healthcare are attributed to various ethical issues. The advancement in information technology has increased the use of social media platforms in communication. Nurses are expected to develop professional skills and competencies in nursing informatics to improve their clinical practice. The use of social media has potential benefits to the users. unfortunately, irresponsible use of social media platforms is a fraught with hazards. There have been cases of patients stalking their nurses, providers blogging denigrating descriptions about patients under their care, and nurses disclosing sensitive or confidential and private information about their patients (Jackson et al., 2014). These negative impacts, for example, disclosing of private information is one of the leading factors that is linked with ethical issues when using social media in the clinical practice.