scholarly journals Phishing in healthcare organisations: threats, mitigation and approaches

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (1) ◽  
pp. e100031 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ward Priestman ◽  
Tony Anstis ◽  
Isabel G Sebire ◽  
Shankar Sridharan ◽  
Neil J Sebire
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Staff Training ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Hospital Employees ◽  
Healthcare Data ◽  
Testing Period ◽  
Mandatory Training ◽  
Public Data ◽  
Information Governance

IntroductionHealthcare data have significant value as a potential target for hackers. Phishing is a method of exploitation for malicious reasons using targeted communications (email/messaging). This study reports on an internal evaluation targeting hospital staff and summarises peer-reviewed literature regarding phishing and healthcare.MethodsAn assessment was performed as part of cybersecurity activity during a designated test period using multiple credential harvesting approaches through staff email. We also searched the medical-related literature to identify relevant phishing-related publications.ResultsDuring the 1-month testing period, the organisation received 858 200 emails: 139 400 (16%) marketing, 18 871 (2%) identified as potential threats. Of 143 million internet transactions, around 5 million (3%) were suspected threats. 468 employee email addresses were identified from public data and targeted through phishing using a range of payloads including attachments and malicious links; however, no credentials were recovered or malicious files downloaded. Several hospital employees were, however, identified on social media profiles, including some tricked into accepting false friend requests.DiscussionHealthcare organisations are increasingly moving to digital systems, but healthcare professionals have limited awareness of threats. Increasing emphasis on ‘cyberhygiene’ and information governance through mandatory training increases understanding of these risks. While no credentials were harvested in this study, since up to 5% of emails/internet traffic are suspicious, the need for robust firewalls, cybersecurity infrastructure, IT policies and, most importantly of all, staff training, is emphasised.ConclusionHospitals receive a significant volume of potentially malicious emails. While many staff appear to be aware of phishing and respond appropriately, ongoing education is required across the spectrum of cybersecurity, with specific emphasis around ‘leakage’ of information on social media.

scholarly journals Content Analysis of Hospital Reviews From Differing Sources: Does Review Source Matter?

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sayeedul Islam ◽  
Sara Mir ◽  
Caroline Defina ◽  
Carolina Silva
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Content Analysis ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Cultural Effects ◽  
Negative Comments ◽  
Computerized Content Analysis ◽  
Pittsburgh Area ◽  
Central Term

Social media has had an impact on how patients find and evaluate medical professionals and their experiences of modern healthcare. Qualitative research in healthcare has increased its focus on social media. The present study examined 497 reviews of hospitals in the Pittsburgh area across three websites: Google, Yelp, and Healthgrades. Using computerized content analysis tools (CATA), we analyzed positive and negative comments to identify key themes. Key themes and words included “doctor,” “hospital,” “staff,” and “time.” These findings highlight the importance of medical staff to patient experience. Results indicated that Yelp had the lowest average rating. CATA also revealed that the central term for Google reviews was “hospital,” for Healthgrades reviews it was “doctor,” and the central term for Yelp reviews was “patient.” These central terms reflect the focus of each website. The present study highlights the importance of healthcare professionals understanding the source of reviews and being cautious about how social media comments are used in decision-making about the practice. Future research should try to expand this approach to other cities and countries to evaluate cross-cultural effects on social media comments.

scholarly journals Patterns of use and perceived value of social media for population health among population health stakeholders: a cross-sectional web-based survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sungwon Yoon ◽  
Sharon Wee ◽  
Vivian S. Y. Lee ◽  
Jing Lin ◽  
Julian Thumboo
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Community Engagement ◽  
Population Health ◽  
Preventive Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Healthy Behaviors ◽  
Time Investment ◽  
Patterns Of Use

Abstract Background Although existing studies have described patterns of social media use in healthcare, most are focused on health professionals in one discipline. Population health requires a multi-disciplinary approach to ensure diversity and to include diverse stakeholders. To date, what is known about using social media in population health is focused on its potential as a communication tool. This study aims to investigate patterns of use and perceived value of social media usage among stakeholders in population health practice, policy, or research. Methods We conducted a web-based survey of delegates attending the Singapore Population Health Conversations and Workshop. We designed a 24-item questionnaire to assess 1) social media use in terms of type of platform and frequency of use; 2) perceptions of social media relevance and impact on population health; and 3) top three areas in population health that would benefit from social media. We used descriptive and logistic regression analyses to assess the relationships between variables. Results Of the 308 survey respondents, 97.7% reported that they use social media in some form. Messaging (96.8%) was the most dominant activity when using social media. Challenges in implementing social media for population health were time investment by health care professionals (56.2%) and patient adoption (52.9%). The top three population health areas that would benefit most from using social media were the promotion of healthy behaviors (60.7%), community engagement (47.7%), and preventive care (40.6%). Older respondents (> = 40 years) were less likely to view social media as useful for the promotion of healthy behaviors (OR = 0.34; 95% CI: 0.19–0.60). Non-social/healthcare professionals were more likely to consider social media to be useful for community engagement (OR = 1.74; 95% CI: 1.10–2.76). For preventive care, older respondents (OR = 0.51; 95% CI: 0.32–0.82) and non-social/healthcare professionals were less likely to view social media as useful (OR = 0.61; 95% CI: 0.38–0.97). Conclusions Our findings suggest that it may be important to select the specific care areas that would benefit most from using social media. The time investment needed by population health professionals should be fully addressed in planning to maximize the application and potential value of social media.

scholarly journals Preserving professional identities, behaviors, and values in digital professionalism using social networking sites; a systematic review

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaista Salman Guraya ◽  
Salman Yousuf Guraya ◽  
Muhamad Saiful Bahri Yusoff
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Social Networking ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Social Networking Sites ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Professional Identities ◽  
Professional Behaviors ◽  
Digital Era ◽  
Use Of Social Media

Abstract Background Despite a rapid rise of use of social media in medical disciplines, uncertainty prevails among healthcare professionals for providing medical content on social media. There are also growing concerns about unprofessional behaviors and blurring of professional identities that are undermining digital professionalism. This review tapped the literature to determine the impact of social media on medical professionalism and how can professional identities and values be maintained in digital era. Methods We searched the databases of PubMed, ProQuest, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, and EBSCO host using (professionalism AND (professionalism OR (professional identity) OR (professional behaviors) OR (professional values) OR (professional ethics))) AND ((social media) AND ((social media) OR (social networking sites) OR Twitter OR Facebook)) AND (health professionals). The research questions were based on sample (health professionals), phenomenon of interest (digital professionalism), design, evaluation and research type. We screened initial yield of titles using pre-determined inclusion and exclusion criteria and selected a group of articles for qualitative analysis. We used the Biblioshiny® software package for the generation of popular concepts as clustered keywords. Results Our search yielded 44 articles with four leading themes; marked rise in the use of social media by healthcare professionals and students, negative impact of social media on digital professionalism, blurring of medical professional values, behaviors, and identity in the digital era, and limited evidence for teaching and assessing digital professionalism. A high occurrence of violation of patient privacy, professional integrity and cyberbullying were identified. Our search revealed a paucity of existing guidelines and policies for digital professionalism that can safeguard healthcare professionals, students and patients. Conclusions Our systematic review reports a significant rise of unprofessional behaviors in social media among healthcare professionals. We could not identify the desired professional behaviors and values essential for digital identity formation. The boundaries between personal and professional practices are mystified in digital professionalism. These findings call for potential educational ramifications to resurrect professional virtues, behaviors and identities of healthcare professionals and students.

Do knowledge about sodium, health status by self-report, and having hypertension predict sodium consumption behaviors among Southern California hospital employees?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lia D’Addario ◽  
Tony Kuo ◽  
Brenda Robles
Keyword(s):  
Health Status ◽  
Salt Intake ◽  
Good Health ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
The United States ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Sodium Reduction ◽  
High Sodium ◽  
Hospital Employees ◽  
Sodium Consumption

Lay Summary A major problem in the United States is the overconsumption of high sodium foods. These foods often put people at higher risk of hypertension, heart disease, and stroke. Recent public health efforts have tackled this problem by making it easier to select/purchase healthier, lower sodium foods in different settings. Hospital employees are one such group that has been the focus of these interventions. Presently, little is known about what explains sodium-related dietary behaviors among hospital employees. To address this gap, we used data from a survey of hospital staff who were exposed to sodium reduction interventions in the workplace to examine how their knowledge, attitudes, and self-reported health status affected their sodium consumption. A key finding was being in “good health” and having the belief that salt intake matters for health predicted decreased sodium consumption among the survey participants. These and other study findings provide context and insights into ways in which further sodium reduction could be achieved among at-risk hospital employees.

scholarly journals Opinion of Healthcare Professionals in the Usage of Social Media for Patient Care in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 13
Author(s):  
Syed Meraj Ahmed ◽  
Faisal Alhumaidi Alruways ◽  
Thamer Fahad Alsallum ◽  
Meshal Munahi Almutairi ◽  
Abdullah Saif Al-Subhi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Saudi Arabia ◽  
Patient Care ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Improve Patient Care ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Validated Questionnaire ◽  
Use Of Social Media

<span lang="EN-US">Use of social media for patient care is the new frontier in the healthcare indus-try. Sharing of information between the clinicians and their patients is now so much easier. In slowly gaining a foothold worldwide it needs a healthy push to make it universally accepta-ble. Study the knowledge, attitude, and practices of healthcare providers on the usage of social media in their clinical practice.</span><span lang="EN-US">A baseline cross – sectional study was conducted among 200 healthcare professionals from March 2015 to September 2015 on their knowledge, attitude, and practices in the use of social media for patient care in Majmaah, Saudi Arabia. A close ended self – administered validated questionnaire was used to gather data which was analyzed by using the SPSS ver. 21.0 software. 55.3% participants used social media for both professional and personal reasons. Some (25.3%) specified using it for patient care while a significant majority (52.9%) opined that it can be successfully used for patient interaction. Nearly 55% agreed that social media should not be banned due to its benefits as an efficient tool for patient communication. </span><span>S</span><span lang="EN-US">ocial media use for pa-tient doctor interaction should be encouraged to improve patient care through effective com-munication.</span>

scholarly journals Using surgical wrapping material for the fabrication of respirator masks

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna H Meijer ◽  
Joric Oude Vrielink
Keyword(s):  
Personal Protective Equipment ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Clinical Staff ◽  
Surgical Instruments ◽  
Protective Equipment ◽  
Bottom Up ◽  
Filter Efficiency

AbstractGiven the current shortage of respirator masks and the resulting lack of personal protective equipment for use by clinical staff, we examined bottom-up solutions that would allow hospitals to fabricate respirator masks that: (i) meet requirements in terms of filtering capacities, (ii) are easy to produce rapidly and locally, and (iii) can be constructed using materials commonly available in hospitals worldwide. We found that Halyard H300 material used for wrapping of surgical instruments and routinely available in hospitals, met these criteria. Specifically, three layers of material achieved a filter efficiency of 94%, 99%, and 100% for 0.3 μm, 0.5 μm, and 3.0 μm particles, respectively; importantly, these values are close to the efficiency provided by FFP2 and N95 masks. After re-sterilization up to 5 times, the filter’s efficiency remains sufficiently high for use as an FFP1 respirator mask. Finally, using only one layer of the material satisfies the criteria for use as a ‘surgical mask’. This material can therefore be used to help protect hospital staff and other healthcare professionals who require access to suitable masks but lack commercially available solutions.

scholarly journals High preanalytical non-compliance and samples rejection rate in clinical biochemistry laboratory are decreased by nurse staff training in phlebotomy and sample handling

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 113-118
Author(s):  
Modibo Coulibaly ◽  
Abdelaye Keita ◽  
Moussa Diawara ◽  
Valentin Sagara ◽  
Brehima Traoré ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Staff Training ◽  
Clinical Biochemistry ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Venous Blood ◽  
Diagnostic Errors ◽  
Hospital Staff ◽  
Clinical Samples ◽  
Sample Handling ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Clinical Biochemistry Laboratory

Background: Preanalytical phase of biomedical analysis remains an important source of diagnostic errors that deserves special attention. This study aims to evaluate the training in phlebotomy and sample handling impact on the preanalytical non-compliances. Material and Methods: we performed a prospective study before and after staff training in phlebotomy and sample handling by systematically recording all clinical samples non-compliances. First, we assessed and describe the non-compliance baseline rate from January to December 2017 in the clinical biochemistry laboratory of Hôpital Sominé DOLO de Mopti. After two sessions of one week staff training in January 2018, we performed the same study from January to December 2018. We compared the proportions of non-compliances between the two assessments. Data were collected on the case report forms, captured in Excel and analyzed by R software for (Mac) OS X version 4.0.3. Pearson Ch2 or Fisher exact tests were used for the comparison of proportions. The statistical significance was set at p < 5%. Results: a total of 27,810 venous blood samples were received during the study period; 48% was for biochemistry, 41% for immuno-serology, 9% for blood cell count and 2% for coagulation tests. There were 3,826 instances of preanalytical non-compliances (13.76%) identified that led to sample rejection. Out of the 11 types of non-compliances investigated, 5 (45.4%) accounted for nearly 91% of the problems: insufficient sample volume (28.9%), hemolyzed samples (20.5%), inappropriate collection time (17.8%), sample clot (12.9%), and inappropriate sample collection tube (10.8%). We observed a significant difference in rates of non-compliance between inpatients and outpatients samples (44.4% vs 7.3%; p < 0.001). The proportion of non-compliance have significatively decreased after the two training sessions of hospital staff in phlebotomy and sample handling 3,826/27,810 (13.8%) vs 3,009/32,476 (9.3%); p < 0.001. Conclusion: we report a significantly higher rate of non-compliance in inpatients. Hospital staff training in phlebotomy and sample handling reduce the proportion of preanalytical non-compliance and thereby improve patient management and safety.

scholarly journals Covid-19, the perfect time to broaden our horizons about social media use in oncology? A survey study with healthcare professionals caring for youth with cancer

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Rost ◽  
Vittoria Espeli ◽  
Marc Ansari ◽  
Nicholas von der Weid ◽  
Bernice Elger ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Media Use ◽  
Healthcare Providers ◽  
Young Patients ◽  
Adolescent And Young Adult ◽  
Survey Study ◽  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Social Media Use ◽  
Health Crisis

Abstract Purpose The study aims to explore the attitudes of Swiss healthcare professionals towards the use of social media in adolescent and young adult oncology and to examine whether the ongoing social restrictions due COVID-19 might have altered these attitudes. Methods This study was cross-sectional in design. The subjects were healthcare providers working in pediatric or adult oncology settings in Switzerland. We performed descriptive and inferential statistical analyses. Results While considered useful, only a small minority of participants actually used social media for professional reasons and considered themselves skillful in using these platforms. Although institutional guidelines were deemed crucial to improve social media use, many respondents seemed unaware of their existence. Only a minority reported an impact of Covid-19 on their attitudes towards the professional implementation of social media. Conclusion The global health crisis creates important challenges for young patients with cancer and their healthcare providers. In times of social restrictions, social media may be promising tools to facilitate health information provision, connectivity and patient care. Virtual mentorship and target social media training interventions might be the best way to improve familiarity with social media and with ethical guidelines for their use.

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