The Role of Social Media in the Healthcare Industry

We can all agree that social media has become a part of everyday, mainstream life. As with many new technologies, some industries are slower to adapt than others. In this case, the healthcare industry has been a little on the slow side of social media adaptation.

However, a recent report found that,

"In a survey of more than a thousand consumers, more than two-fifths of individuals said social media did affect their choice of a provider or organization. Forty-five percent said it would affect their decision to get a second opinion; 34 percent said it would influence their decision about taking a certain medication and 32 percent said it would affect their choice of a health insurance plan."

These findings are not implying that social media is the deciding factor for choosing a healthcare providor, but they do provide very valuable information. 

The most important of this information can be summed up in a quote from Farris Timimi, medical director for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media:

"Our patients are there. Our moral obligation is to meet them where they're at and give them the information they need so they can seek recovery," Timimi said. "This is not marketing; this is the right thing to do."

Healthcare and Technology: Live-Tweeting a Surgery

We’ve written a few posts about technological advancements in healthcare, but none so far about live-tweeting during surgery. That’s right…you read that correctly. 

Doctors at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital made their mark in social media history when they live-tweeted during an open heart surgery. This is the first time such a thing has been done!

According to Mashable,

“Dr. Michael Macris performed a double-coronary artery bypass on a 57-year-old patient. Meanwhile, colleague Dr. Paresh Patel provided 140-character updates throughout the procedure, and answered questions submitted by followers of the hospital’s @houstonhospital Twitter account. Dr. Macris also wore a video camera attached to his head. Dr. Patel snapped additional photos, and posted some of the pictures and videos to Twitter. The procedure lasted two and a half hours, and the patient made it through fine.”

This story has been popular online, much more so than the hospital and staff expected. This is another powerful example of the role social media plays in providing a connection between people and information!

Physicians In No Hurry for IT Improvements

Over the past few months, we’ve come across multiple reports describing just how slow health care physicians seem to be when it comes to IT upgrades.

A recent study by the DeloitteCenter for Health Solutions found that 20% of doctors provide online scheduling and test results for their patients and just 6% are using social media to communicate with them.

The report validates the fact that there are two views on the issue:

1. Some physicians (but not the majority) are accepting the value of and adapting information technology to improve quality and patient experience.
2. A large number of physicians are stalled by the costs associated with IT improvements and the potential for change to disrupt their daily practice.

Deloitte’s Greenspun says he believes “physicians will more readily adopt IT over the next two years as pressures mount to demonstrate value around evidence-based care, improved outcomes and reduced complications.”

How do you feel about the slow integration of IT upgrades? Wouldn’t the inconvenience of improving IT be offset by the increased quality and communication that patients would receive? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!