Recently, I was discussing social media with a physician friend of mine, and I suggested the potential social media has in healthcare. My friend argued that social media was a joke and a passing fad. I know several physicians who would disagree, but I’m curious just how many clinicians and other healthcare professionals share my friend’s sentiments.
Personally, I feel that social media like Facebook, LinkedIn, twitter, and mobile platforms are invaluable for maintaining relationships and gathering information. Social media helps share stories and personalize issues. When information is personalized, it has a much more profound impact on consumers. The ability to connect with people makes social media a great platform for disseminating information, and it's been increasingly used for marketing purposes.
According to the recent Neilson Social Media Report, social networks and blogs account for nearly a quarter of American’s time spent online. And these social networking sites aren’t just kid stuff. You might be surprised to learn that your teenage son or daughter isn’t necessarily the most likely person to be Facebooking on their smart phone. This past year, social networking via mobile apps more than doubled among 55+ year-olds. The 55+ age bracket is driving the growth of social networking through the mobile internet.
What's more, I think that social media hold a great deal of potential in the healthcare industry for empowering patients, giving them the information to take charge of their own care, deciding where they receive care and who is delivering their care. I believe these technological platforms offer a great way to address the asymmetry of information in healthcare.
The emergence of new health IT platforms and the accessibility of information are promoting a consumer-based healthcare market. Moreover, cost constraints are also pushing the industry in the same direction. I think we’ll find that social media is going to make healthcare more transparent, and the new insurance exchanges (much like eHealthInsurance and Health Connector in Massachusetts) are going to allow consumers to make informed decisions about their benefits and care, in general.
Additionally, Google recently announced that they are finally launching a new medical application for android phones. The application will provide technical medical references for medical professionals and med students. The new application is set to debut as early as this week. Google anticipates that the application will save time and aid physicians in making informed, timely decisions in critical situations and avoid diagnostic errors.
In my opinion, social media is also going to promote better informed, patient-centered care, with a renewed emphasis upon customer relationship management (CRM). The sharing of information and applications like Facebook’s “Like box” and Tumblr provide marketers with real-time trend data to guide a targeted marketing strategy. In the same vein, social media is useful from a customer service perspective. Problems can be dealt with quickly and efficiently, online, and in a manner that connects with customers on an individual level. While social media may sound impersonal, I assure you that a tweet, blog, or chat, is far more personal than an automated voice message system. Perhaps social media is just a passing fad, but its current popularity is undeniable, and it is essential that healthcare providers adapt to meet consumers' needs and the demands of today's information-driven market.
The fact that you’re reading this blog implies that you are most likely a proponent of social media already. However, if you have any arguments to the contrary, additional insights, clarifications, or corrections, please post them. Your comments are extremely valuable.
I agree that social media sites can play an important role in healthcare today. My own recent experience as a cancer patient confirmed the positive potential impact of chat rooms devoted to a particular medical issue - a place where patients with the same diagnosis could share stories about their treatments. Even though I thought I was extremely well networked as a physician, it was in the chat room that I found a referral to an expert who helped me make a more up to date decision about therapy. Of course, the downside of these sites is the potential to get incorrect information, but I still think an empowered consumer is better for both the doctor and the patient.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Deborah.
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