Six tips for your employee cell phone policy
A smartphone can be a distraction to staff members and also a potential HIPAA violation waiting to happen. Here are tips to avoid that at your practice.
Do you tend to keep your cell phone in your pocket (when it’s not in your hand) throughout the workday? Do your employees do the same? And how often do you see them texting or tapping away when they’re supposed to be working?
Here are some points to consider when rethinking your employee cell phone policy”
Maybe you’re trying to solve a current employee issue, or maybe your team is already responsible. Perhaps you want phones kept off employees’ persons except during breaks - or perhaps you’re aware that parents on your staff need their phones nearby to stay in contact with kids home alone. Some small practices have no break room for cell phone usage. Others always have one clinical room open.
While each office is different, popular provisions include the following:
- Cell phone use in front of patients, at the front desk, or in patient areas is not acceptable.
- Cell phones may only be used in the break room / outside the practice / in a designated area.
- Cell phones may not be used on the clock, except during designated breaks.
What about photos or recordings, whether of patients, employees, or records/working areas? You will likely need a separate policy covering these topics.
Federal, state, and local laws are updated frequently and are nearly impossible to keep up with on your own. To ensure you’re in line with all laws and best practices that apply to you, have an employment law or human resources expert create and periodically review your policies. DON’T borrow a policy from a friend’s practice or download one online. It will likely have legal pitfalls you’re not aware of.
You may attract unwanted attention from the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) if your policies impede employees’ protected rights to organize or better their working conditions through their own or the company’s communication resources. Some states also limit what you can require of (or forbid) your employees during breaks.
Is every employee’s HIPAA training up to date, so that they fully understand their responsibility NOT to share patient information or photos (even cute or funny ones!) via cell phones, on social media, and/or online? All employees should be re-trained yearly!
Camera usage and social media are obvious ones. Also, consider whether Protected Health Information is ever accessed in any way on a mobile device, via email, browser, or software portal? What about tablets and laptops? Are any employees using company-provided phones or devices? If you answered yes to any of those questions, then you need additional policies, which must be professionally written and HIPAA-compliant.
Not all violations are created equal: An unauthorized patient photo is not in the same league with a quick text to check on mom’s surgery. Allow yourself the firmness to terminate immediately when needed, but the flexibility to coach when warranted. Some situations may generate additional questions or responsibilities. What if an OSHA violation is photographed, even if cameras usage isn’t allowed in clinical areas? In this type of grey area, balance your desire to protect your practice's reputation (say, by deleting the photo) with a very careful understanding of the employee's rights and your obligations to correct the problem. Consult an expert whenever things get tricky.
Regardless of whether our cell phones are recognizable in another 10 or 15 years (imagine the iPhone 25!), personal technology is here to stay, and so is employers’ ever-increasing burden for proactive compliance with employment laws and safety/security regulations. Keeping our employee policies up to date is a necessity, not an option - especially in healthcare.