North Dakota Hospital AssociationSocial Media Policy

PURPOSEThese guidelines describe how the North Dakota Hospital Association (NDHA) makes use of social media. For thepurpose of this document, the term “social media” shall refer to a website or platform that allows the creationand exchange of user-generated content. Examples include, but are not limited to, the following: Facebook,LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. NDHA recognizes the value of online social media sites as a vitalprofessional resource.

NDHA’s mission is to advance the health status of persons served by the membership. NDHA leads, representsand serves hospitals, health systems and other related organizations that are accountable to the community andcommitted to health improvement.

Therefore, NDHA uses social media to build relationships with the health care field, the media, and the public aspart of our efforts to fulfill that mission. Our use of social media enables NDHA to dialogue with and educate ourvarious audiences about health care issues and trends as they affect hospitals and health systems, and to ensurethat the perspectives and needs of the health care field are clearly articulated and understood. It is with thesepurposes in mind that NDHA has adopted these guidelines for social media use.

NDHA’s guidelines for social media use will continually evolve as association needs for, uses of and experiencewith social media evolves.

RESPONSIBLE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON BEHALF OF THE ASSOCIATION IS CRITICAL TO OUR SUCCESSNDHA’s use of social media is closely tied to its mission of advocacy on behalf of the health care field and,consequently, it is critical that NDHA’s use of social media properly reflect the association’s public policy viewsand positions. Therefore, NDHA’s use of social media shall be under the general direction of the Director ofEducational Services. Such action by the Director of Educational Services also may include, as appropriate,sanctioning the use of social media by individual departments, divisions and/or subsidiaries of NDHA to theextent that the communication by the department, division and/or subsidiary is not inconsistent with theassociation’s public policy views and positions. Before an employee starts a social media initiative or project, heor she must submit the proposal to the Director of Educational Services.

Notwithstanding the special role of Director of Educational Services outlined above, all NDHA staff have a role inensuring that social media is used responsibly on behalf of the association. All employees are encouraged to callto the attention of the Director of Educational Services and/or responsible NDHA authorities any issues,concerns or problems that might interfere with the association’s responsible use of social media. Bringing theissue to the attention of the association immediately will enable NDHA to work toward an appropriate andtimely resolution of the issue, concern or problem.

NDHA’s use of social media reflects our official positions and views on public policy issues directly affecting ourmembers. Consequently, the association wants to make it as easy as possible for others to be able to distinguishNDHA-endorsed and/or adopted official positions disclosed through social media from any personal positionsand views of individual employees. We also don't want to burden employees or in any way minimize their rightsto freely express themselves whether it is the right to free speech under the First Amendment, rights underfederal labor laws like the National Labor Relations Act or any other applicable legal right. Therefore, toguarantee full exercise of employees’ rights while simultaneously ensuring that others can distinguish officialassociation social media disclosures from an employee’s personal ones, we expect that only those authorized to

speak on behalf of NDHA in an official capacity do so via social media channels without including a disclaimer.We also expect that all employees will continue to comply with other posted NDHA policies. Employees who arenot authorized to speak on behalf of NDHA in an official capacity may share their opinions or thoughts about ourcompany and company-related topics via social media channels as long as they include some appropriatedisclaimer clearly acknowledging that their personal opinions do not reflect the policies, views and/or opinionsof the association itself. In addition, employees who identify themselves as an NDHA employee on a socialmedia platform should include a disclaimer. Such disclaimers do not necessarily need to be included directly inthe particular social media disclosure itself. However, disclaimers should be stated prominently and clearly once– preferably in the biography or about field – on the profile page of the social media account holder. Examplesof appropriate social media disclaimers include:

I work for NDHA [or particular work unit, department, division of NDHA], but the opinions [or views]expressed here are solely my personal opinions [or views].

I am not speaking as the official spokesperson of NDHA but my personal opinion is . . .

SOCIAL MEDIA IS ABOUT DIALOGUE WITH MEMBERS, MEDIA AND THE PUBLICNDHA uses social media to create a dialogue about issues that affect the health care field and the associationwelcomes as part of that dialogue anyone with any interest in issues affecting the health care field. However, wereserve the right to take appropriate actions against dialogue participants who fail to observe our guidelinesrespecting the proper use of our social media sites as outlined below.

SOCIAL MEDIA IS ABOUT CIVIL DISCOURSE NDHA accepts responsibility for the content it posts on its social media sites and will not impersonate, misleador purposely obscure the association’s identity when using social media. Social media is about enhancing theassociation’s credibility and reputation. NDHA also expects participants in dialogue on our social media sites torefrain from impersonating, misleading or purposely obscuring their identities.

NDHA protects its own intellectual property and respects the intellectual property of others. We will notintentionally use copyrighted material without permission or use others’ company or business name, logo orother trademark-protected materials in a manner that may mislead or confuse others with regard to thecompany’s brand or business affiliation. NDHA also expects that participants in dialogue on our social mediasites to display the same respect for the intellectual property of NDHA and others. We will respond to clear andcomplete notices of alleged copyright or trademark infringement.

NDHA recognizes the importance of maintaining the confidentiality of an individual’s personal and medicaldata and we will not include, reference or reveal such personal data in dialogue on our social media sites. Weexpect participants in the dialogue on our social media sites to similarly respect confidentiality and to refrainfrom including, referring to or revealing individuals’ personal or medical data.

NDHA accepts differences and differing opinions about health care issues affecting the hospital field and westrive to maintain a courteous, polite and professional dialogue about these issues even when we might disagreewith opinions expressed by others. NDHA expects that participants in dialogue on the association’s social mediasites also will accept differences and differing opinions by responding in a respectful way when they disagree orhave a difference of opinion.

NDHA does not use social media to bully, intimidate or threaten others and we expect participants indialogues on the association’s social media sites to refrain from bullying, intimidation and threatening harm or

violence to anyone, including threats directed to the association or any of its staff.

NDHA does not use social media to defame the reputation of others and we will not tolerate the use of theassociation’s social media sites by any dialogue participants in order to defame the reputation of theassociation, any individuals or groups of individuals, or any organization or business entity.

NDHA does not publish or post profanity or obscene or pornographic communication on its social media sites.We do not tolerate the use of profanity or posting obscene or pornographic images by any participants in thedialogue on the association’s social media sites, whether in a user profile or background or in a response,comment, or message posting or response.

NDHA intends that social media serve as an effective communications tool for the association and will refrainfrom spamming and other abusive uses of the social media technology/capability. We expect that participants indialogue on the association’s social media sites will properly use the technology/capabilities as an effectivecommunications tool and will not engage in spam or other misuse of communications technologies/capabilities.

NDHA WILL TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION TO CURB UNCIVIL SOCIAL MEDIA DIALOGUENDHA does not tolerate social media dialogue that does not conform to reasonable standards of civility outlinedabove. NDHA, therefore, will take appropriate steps to ensure that dialogue on the association’s social mediasites conform to such behavioral standards. Such steps may include blocking any user and ending anycommunication with the blocked user or involving proper law enforcement authorities, including when theassociation feels that an actual violent threats have been made.

VIOLATIONSThe inappropriate use of social media by employees that conflicts with NDHA’s mission and values, violatesadministrative policies and/or compromises the privacy and security of confidential patient health, informationprotected by state or federal identity theft laws or proprietary business information shall be subject tocorrective action, up to and including termination. In addition, breach of confidential patient health informationmay also be subject to legal proceedings and/or criminal charges.

December 28, 2015

Hypertension Summit

Join the North Dakota Department of Health on March 17, 2016, at theHypertension Summit. Registration is FREE! Education credits will be available.

Please contact Mylynn Dumlao at mdumlao@nd.gov or 701.328.3337 if you have any questions or needassistance with the registration process.

Coming Together to Detect, Connectand Control Hypertension

Location and TimeHoliday Inn of Fargo

3803 13th Avenue South Fargo, ND 58102

12:30 PM - 5:30 PM

Target AudiencePhysicians, nurses,

dietitians, pharmacists,and other health care

professionals

Presenters

MD, MBA, MPH, Vice President of Health Affairs and Dean of Medicine Health Sciences, UNDDr. Joshua Wynne

Hypertension SummitComing Together toDetect, Connect &Control Hypertension

March 17, 2016

St. Patrick's day!

Save the Date - March 17, 2016

Funding for this conference was made possible (in part) by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The views expressed in written conference materials or publications and byspeakers and moderators do not necessarily reflect the official policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial practices, ororganizations imply endorsements by the U.S. Government.

The summit will provide an overview of hypertension in North Dakota anddiscuss the importance of prevention and control. Presenters will educateattendees on various topics related to hypertension, including statistics, guidelines for managing hypertension, education and team-based care,risk factors, and current prevention efforts occurring in North Dakota.Attendees will gain team building skills and have the opportunity tonetwork.

Don't forget to wear green forTo register please click here to register: https://2016hypertensionsummit.eventbrite.com

Dr. Sumit TiwariMD, Medical Director of Essentia Health West Congestive Heart Failure Program Fargo, ND

Melanie CarvellPT, Director of Sanford Women's Health Center Bismarck, ND

Monday, February 8, 20162:00 – 3:00 p.m. CT1:00 – 2:00 p.m. MT

Registration Instructions:1. Locate the event you wish to

register for2. Click on Register3. Enter the required information4. Click Submit

Once approved, you will receive aconfirmation email with themeeting information and theregistration ID that will be used tolog into the WebEx portion of themeeting. Please note, this emailmay go to your spam or junk folder.It will come from the email addressmessenger@webex.com

PQRS – CAH Virtual Office Hour

In response to many requests, the National Coordinating Center(NCC) has partnered with the CMS PQRS Team for a virtual officehour to address your PQRS-CAH questions.

The PQRS team will develop a presentation regarding PQRS andCAH providing scenarios to help illustrate who is eligible for PQRS.This is your opportunity to ask your burning questions.

Please submit your questions to the QIN NCC by Friday, January29 via the Submit link/button below:

Questions?Contact Patti Kritzberger, RHIT, CHPS, Great Plains QualityInnovation Network HIT/Quality Improvement Specialist via emailat patti.kritzberger@area-a.hcqis.org or call 701.500.7216.

Quality Health Associates of ND | 3520 N Broadway | Minot,ND 58703

This material was prepared by the Great Plains Quality Innovation Network, the Medicare QualityImprovement Organization for Kansas, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota, under contract with theCenters for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and HumanServices. The contents presented do not necessarily reflect CMS policy. 11SOW-GPQIN-NE-D1-29/0116