CMS Issues Guidance on Audio/Video Recordings of Residents
CMS has issued S&C letter 16-33 that highlights the unauthorized photographs and videos of nursing home residents taken by staff and their subsequent posting on social media networks. In a number of recent cases, these photographs and videos show residents in a compromised position and constitute resident abuse under federal nursing home regulations.
The S&C letter states that each resident must be provided individualized care with dignity and respect. During the delivery of personal care and services, staff must remove residents from public view and provide clothing or draping to prevent unnecessary exposure of body parts. Taking unauthorized photographs or recordings of residents in any state of dress or undress using any type of equipment (e.g., cameras, smart phones, and other electronic devices) and/or keeping or distributing them through multimedia messages or on social media networks is a violation of a resident’s right to privacy and confidentiality.
Nursing homes should provide training on abuse prevention and develop policies that safeguard residents from abuse. Each nursing home must provide training on abuse prohibition policies for all staff who provide care and services to residents, including prohibiting staff from using any type of equipment (e.g., cameras, smart phones, and other electronic devices) to take, keep, or distribute photographs and recordings of residents that are demeaning or humiliating.
Additionally, when employees see or are aware of situations where material has been posted to social media or sent through multimedia messages, it is their obligation to report these incidents so that they may be fully investigated. The nursing home management must ensure that all staff are aware of reporting responsibilities, including how to identify possible abuse and how to report any allegations of abuse. Any time that the nursing home receives an allegation of abuse, including those involving the posting of an unauthorized photograph or recording of a resident on social media, the facility must not only report the alleged violation to the Administrator and other officials, but must also initiate an immediate investigation and prevent further potential abuse. Examples of steps that the facility may put in place immediately to prevent further potential abuse include, but are not limited to, staffing changes, increased supervision, protection from retaliation, and follow-up counseling for the resident(s).
Starting in September 2016, surveyors will, at each standard survey, request and review nursing home policies and procedures related to prohibiting nursing home staff from taking or using photographs or recordings in any manner that would demean or humiliate a resident(s). Survey teams will begin this review for all standard surveys effective immediately and implement this policy until each nursing home has been surveyed for the inclusion and implementation of such policies.
Contact: Elliott Frost, efrost@leadingageny.org, 518-867-8832