Social Media Impact on Healthcare
The enormous impact social media has in promoting organizations has translated over to the healthcare industry. Medical professionals and healthcare managers have come to realize how powerful the utilization of social media could be in attracting new patients and providing accurate information to individuals. In fact, some of the biggest players within the healthcare sector are utilizing social media on a regular basis: they’re tweeting and blogging about everything from a fast-spreading virus to advice on how to lose weight. Currently in the United States, 216 hospitals use some form of social media: 83 hospitals have a Facebook page and 132 have twitter accounts.
One of the best examples of a renowned hospital demonstrating effective social media skills is the Mayo Clinic. Word of mouth used to be the one of their biggest driving forces used to build their brand, yet now the Mayo Clinic has built a virtual word of mouth machine. What they offer:[1]
- Podcasts
- Social Media Center
Along with Mayo Clinic, several healthcare industry professionals ranging from government officials, insurance companies and pharmaceutical companies are taking an active hand in social networking. In the United States, Cancer centers such as MD Anderson are developing communities to understand how their patients view their care experiences. Government agencies including the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the CDC are using social networks to engage the public during product recalls and in H1N1 flu pandemic preparations. Almost all the top pharmaceutical companies, biotech firms and medical device manufacturers have some social network presence some are partnering with 3rd party social networks such as PatientsLikeMe and Sermo to communicate and collaborate.
Besides industry professionals using social media to create awareness, patient online communities have been formed to discuss symptoms, treatments and cures for diseases. Some 60 million consumers are using these new forms of media to interact and share their health experiences online to better serve themselves and future viewers. Online forums where people voluntarily share data about their sickness, environmental conditions, sources of infection, preventive measures and other factors continue to grow, and there are now several dedicated social media websites for healthcare.
One such website with extensive popularity is the social networking site: PatientsLikeMe that host over 65,000 members. This website has created online communities for those suffering similar diseases to discuss their conditions and act as a support system, much like social networks do in real life. People have the opportunity to learn from others and have interactive dialogue with those in the same position as them.
According to a report released by the Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and California Healthcare Foundation, 61 per cent of adults look online for health information. Of those, 59 per cent have done at least one of the following activities:
-Read someone else’s commentary or experience about health or medical issues on an online news group, website or blog
-Consulted rankings or reviews online of doctors or other providers
-Consulted rankings or reviews online of hospitals or other medical facilities
-Signed up to receive updates about health or medical issues, Listened to a podcast about medical or health issues
These resources allow an internet user to holistically understand a health topic, using the internet as a communications tool, not simply as a medium just to receive information.
It is essential that health care providers using social media convey the most accurate and unbiased information to allow patients to make the best decisions for their health. Reports released earlier this year claim that online patient queries impact their on their own health. Of the information released from the report, patients claimed the following about online queries:
-60% said it affected a decision about how to treat an illness or condition
-56% said it changed their overall approach to maintaining their health or the health of someone they care for
-53% said it led them to ask a doctor new questions, or to get a second opinion
-49% said it changed the way they thought about their diet, exercise or stress management -38% said it affected their decision to see a doctor and 38% said it changed the way they cope with a chronic condition or manage pain.
Even though the idea of involving key healthcare industry players into the realm of healthcare has serious potential benefits, there are certain risks to providing consumers complete freedom over their health. Certain hurdles of combining social media and healthcare are: Consumers might feel so empowered with the healthcare knowledge they have read about on the internet that they choose to not comply with their doctor’s orders. Since the internet is so broadly unregulated, anybody has the capability to provide health-related information causing the web to be prevalent with misinformation—which might lend itself to consumer trust issues if key health care industry groups are thought to be “manipulating” the free flow of information. Also, since patients might not have the most accurate information, it could cause them to engage in activities they see as beneficial but might actually produce a negative effect on their health.
The future of the role of social media in healthcare is likely to just continue escalating. The providers that were sceptical of engage in social networking or connecting to patients online are beginning to realize all the benefits of this two-way communication. Patients are going to continue empowering themselves and learning about preventive measures to control the onset of diseases or different remedies to treat it. Online communities are going to flourish through social communities, and specific disease related support.
Hospitals are moving from experimenting with networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, to strategic use of social media to enhance brand loyalty and recruit new patients. There will be an increase in physicians and other health care providers utilizing social media, which will have the potential of progressing medical research and having more accurate health information infiltrate the web.
However, to have a successful implementation of social media in healthcare—there needs to be emphasis on transparency and accurate information. Customers being empowered, enabled and engaged will no longer tolerate being manipulated by strategic marketing moves. Patients will be demanding for the truth and expecting healthcare to come clean with the real facts. This will allow them to be more conscious about their wellness and make better, more informed decisions about their health
[1] http://www.ehrbloggers.com/2010/09/social-medias-impact-on-healthcare.html
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