Social media accounts for nearly a quarter of online time and engagement is growing rapidly, with over 750 million Facebook users and 200 million Twitter accounts. As people conduct more activities online like banking and travel, they expect similar convenience from healthcare. Social media can be used in healthcare for community engagement, peer support, research, education, advocacy, and marketing. While some view social media as just business tools, others see them as integral to the future of healthcare delivery. Physicians have an obligation to participate in online discussions to provide evidence-based and well-reasoned perspectives that can dispel myths.
5. Since its launch in a Harvard dormitory in 2004, Facebook
now counts more than 750 million users worldwide.
People spend 700 billion minutes on Facebook each month.
7. Every day, the world tweets the equivalent of
8,123 copies of Tolstoy’s War and Peace
8.
9. We are living out our lives online.
Managing financial services
online, making travel arrangements
online.
We want and expect the same level of
control and convenience from our
healthcare.
10. • Community engagement
• Peer support
• Research
• Outreach
• Education
• Advocacy
• Marketing
In Healthcare, Social Media Is Being Used In Many Ways
11.
12. Helen Bevan, chief of service transformation at the
NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement.
13.
14. “These are more than
business tools. I see them
as the future of care
delivery.”
15. “I believe physicians and their
organizations have an obligation to
participate in online dialog. Sound
reason, good clinical judgment, and
evidence-based thinking need to be part
of the information stream.”
16. Dispel Myths/Provide Context
Connect with
mainstream
media
Hear what
patients/clients
have to say
Relationship
Building
Making The Case For Participation
Improve
quality of
online
healthcare
information
Marketing
Connect
with Gen Y
17. Experience with
social media can
provide HCPs
with the skills
they need to
connect with
mainstream
media.
Connect With Mainstream Media
18. For HCPs
social media
is a way to
hear what
patients, as
well as other
healthcare
providers
have to say
29. Strategy
Adopt Low-Risk Tools First
Podcasts
Videos
Widgets
Easily
downloadable, and can
be accessed from
partner sites and
posted on your
website.
Make it easy for
people to share
your messages and
become health
advocates.
Facilitate Viral
Information Sharing
31. Social Media Is Not A Passing Fad
The specific platforms may
come and go but the act of
connecting in the digital world
will only grow, become more
pervasive in our lives.
You cannot afford to take a “wait-and-see approach.”
The sooner your organization develops an active
presence, the less distance you will have to make up
later.