When it comes to today's healthcare environment, cyber security breaches are an ongoing concern for providers and their practices. From phishing emails to ransomware attacks, healthcare organizations are frequent targets due to the high value of patient data and the complexity of medical systems.

Nearly everyone texts to communicate. It’s quick, easy, and convenient. However, texting with patients carries professional, legal, and ethical risks, including:

1. Privacy and HIPAA compliance. Standard texting is not secure. Messages can be intercepted, viewed on shared devices, or accidentally sent to the wrong number. Therefore, any patient’s personal health information sent via text risks a HIPAA violation and possible fines.

Professional boundaries are the ethical, legal, and relational limits that define the interactions between healthcare professionals and their patients. They protect the therapeutic relationship by ensuring that it remains focused on the patient’s health, safety, and well-being. Maintaining these boundaries is crucial for fostering trust, preserving professional integrity, and avoiding conflicts of interest.

Patients recording, either audio or video, their encounters with healthcare providers has become increasingly common. While healthcare providers may be alarmed when a patient asks to record their visit, it is not necessarily a bad thing. Recording patient encounters has both risks and benefits.

Workplace violence in healthcare settings is on the rise, putting providers at risk physically, emotionally, and legally. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than workers in other industries. For chiropractors, this presents not only a safety concern, but a risk management priority. Implementing strong de-escalation techniques can protect staff, improve patient care, and reduce liability.

The Growing Threat of Workplace Violence in Healthcare
Healthcare environments are particularly vulnerable to aggression and violence. Contributing factors may include:

In the United States alone, approximately 8.6 million sports-related injuries are reported each year. All types of sports have a potential for injury, whether from the trauma of contact with other players or from overuse or misuse of a body part. By far, the most common injuries are sprains and strains.

As a doctor, you use your knowledge, experience, and medical judgment to determine the best course of treatment for your patient. However, adult patients with decision-making capacity have the right to choose or refuse to follow your treatment plan.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for men, women, and people of most racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Traditional treatment for cardiovascular disease often involves dietary and lifestyle changes, medication, or invasive procedures.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is generally defined as computer systems that can perform complex tasks that previously only a human could do, such as reasoning, decision-making, or problem-solving. AI is rapidly being integrated into our world, including healthcare. Proponents of the use of AI in healthcare believe it has the potential to make healthcare more efficient, less expensive, more accessible, and safer for patients. 

AI Software for Medical Documentation
One of the more common uses of AI in physician offices is software for medical record documentation. This AI software is being marketed as a tool to make documentation more accurate and less burdensome. AI medical documentation tools work by using advanced algorithms and machine learning techniques to analyze and interpret large amounts of data related to healthcare, including patient records, lab results, and clinical notes. A key component of these tools is natural language processing (NLP), which allows the AI to understand and generate human-like language.

A patient suffers cardiac arrest while waiting in the exam room. An elderly visitor falls in the waiting room, is complaining of leg pain and is unable to get up. A diabetic staff member passes out from hypoglycemia. These are just a few examples of unexpected medical emergencies that could happen in a medical office.