You have seen articles about texting and the HIPAA issues related to sending text messages that may contain patient information (PHI). You have also seen articles that discussed the need to capture any and all text messages sent to/from patients and make sure they are made part of the patient record. But now there is another potential risk associated with text messages where Emojis can change the meaning of the message that is sent.
I had the opportunity to read an article from the American Bar Association about the use of Emojis as evidence in courts. The article brought up a number of very interesting potential issues related to Emojis.
The first is not every system uses the same set of emojis. When you send ? (a smiley face) the face may appear different on the screen of the person who receives the emoji. And the emoji can change over time.
The smiley-face emoji looked more like a grimace in Apple’s early iOS 6, 8 and 9, and might give the person receiving it the impression that the sender is ready to fight. The emoji become more like a wide grin in iOS 10 and 11. ?
Different services use different emojis for the astonished face — the one with the mouth and eyes in a wide OOOH! ? On one service, the face looked more angry than surprised, and on another, with the eyes as X’s, it looked like the symbol for a dead man.
When you send a text with an emoji, the emoji that you send may not be the emoji the receiver sees. This could potentially completely change the perceived meaning of the message you send.
Especially in professional communications between you and other doctors, and between you and your patients, it is probably wise to avoid the use of emojis.
Even more importantly the ABA article discusses the use of text messages and Emojis as evidence. The text messages you send may end up part of a malpractice action. And if the message the patient receives does not have the same meaning as the message you send due to the emojis this can result is a more difficult defense.
To read the original article at the American Bar Association visit
https://www.americanbar.org/news/abanews/publications/youraba/2021/0913/emojis-and-the-law/
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