Patient communication is essential to medical care, and healthcare workers not only adopted various skills of interacting with people coming to hospitals but also started to adopt the technology. Indeed, electronic communication became the primary method of contacting patients to inform them about the results of diagnostic procedures and for general follow-up (Gandy-Bohr, 2021). Examples of digital interaction tools include emails, text messages, appointment reminders, telemedicine, and patient portals (Gandy-Bohr, 2021). These methods are used in many hospitals, and Cleveland Clinic is no exception. Virtual visits and video chats became the main methods of doctor-patient and nurse-patient interaction at Cleveland Clinic, especially during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. However, it demands protecting patient data privacy from malware attacks.
Before the coronavirus crisis began, people in the Cleveland area preferred to schedule hospital visits rather than online communication with their primary physicians or other specialists. In fact, before the pandemic, only 2% of patient visits were virtual, but when the lockdown measures were administered, 75% of consultations occurred through video calls (Cleveland Clinic, 2020). The telehealth tools physicians and nurses utilize in Cleveland Clinic are online platforms, electronic health records, and various virtual communication apps (Cleveland Clinic, 2020). Undoubtedly, in-person interaction is essential in healthcare since clinicians must perform a physical examination, especially during the primary visit. However, in some cases, if the situation is chronic or follow-up treatment outcomes are needed, calls are convenient both for physicians and patients. Moreover, skin rashes or even some endocrine disorders, a video call can be as productive as a hospital visit. An individual may require to undergo laboratory tests, radiologic examination, or biopsy later; still, one will receive initial guidance about future management. The latter may not always have the time and resources to travel to the hospital at a specific time; hence, virtual interaction seemed to resolve this problem.
Patient privacy should be the priority for any healthcare institution, not only by ethical standards but also according to HIPAA regulations. Specifically, Cleveland Clinic uses security measures to protect digital information from “loss, theft, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction” (Cleveland Clinic, 2019, para. 21). Furthermore, the administration warns patients that if they choose to use the clinic’s services, they give their consent to collect some personal information (Cleveland Clinic, 2019). The latter includes full name, payment methods, address, phone number, email, and medical history (Cleveland Clinic, 2019). This data may be disclosed to third parties in cases of technical problems requiring IT department professional intervention. Additionally, information may be revealed for legal purposes, business transfers, and obtaining specific services (Cleveland Clinic, 2019). At the same time, clients have the full right to request the withdrawal of their personal data from the system at any time by emailing the administration.
In summary, digital communication between healthcare providers and clients had become the primary method of doctor-patient relationships today, especially when the pandemic forced people to limit in-person contact. For example, in Cleveland Clinic, many virtual consultations telemedicine and apps for video calls. This healthcare organization collects some personal information from patients and notifies them that this data may be revealed to third parties in some situations. At the same time, Cleveland Clinic takes measures to protect this data from malware programs as demanded by HIPAA, and individuals can request to remove it from the system at any time.
References
Cleveland Clinic. (2019). Privacy & security. Web.
Cleveland Clinic. (2020). Communication with patients in a new world of virtual visits.Web.
Gandy-Bohr, M. (2021). 5 types of electronic communication in healthcare. Demand Force. Web.