Page 32 - Part 1 Navigating Electronic Media in a Healthcare Setting

SVMIC Navigating Electronic Media in a Healthcare Setting

CASE STUDY

An elderly patient who had a fever of 104.6F went to the ER with

her husband and a neighbor. After triage, the patient was placed
in a room, but the physician did not see her right away. After

several hours, the neighbor went to the nursing station where

there were six staff members using their cell phones. One staff
member told the neighbor, "We're talking to doctors about

patients," but the neighbor went back and told the patient and

her husband that the staff members were checking Facebook on
their phones. Several hours after that, the patient's husband went

to the nursing station where he saw a nurse reading a book on
an electronic tablet. A physician finally admitted the patient 14

hours after she arrived. The patient waited another four hours for
a nurse to administer the antibiotic ordered by the physician. The

patient later died of complications from sepsis. The husband

sued for medical malpractice, incensed that the staff had ignored
his wife. During a deposition, the neighbor testified about her

conversation with the ER nurses. Based on this testimony, the

husband's attorney requested that the hospital produce the cell
phone records of all staff involved. The records revealed that

none of the staff's cell phone usage was work-related at all. This
finding bolstered the plaintiff's argument that physicians and staff

had not timely diagnosed or treated the plaintiff.

Moreover, social media can be a distraction. Many jobs in the

healthcare field have significant down time even during
procedures – anesthesiologists and perfusionists, to name a

couple. Often, these providers access their social media and the

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