Our small panel discusses whether Health Care can really use social networking to its fullest. Health Care is not known for being an early adopter and is often very shy of new technologies. Given that confidentiality is highly expected and rules like HIPPA cause confusion as to what is allowed, it is no surprise that many medical facilities have steered clear of social networking.
But are these facilities missing out? Today’s patients are becoming more and more knowledgeable and involved in their care. In fact as the “Medical Home” model of care starts to grow in momentum throughout the country, the social networks of the Internet may have to become an ingrained part of clinical care.
Hello
I am a family doctor and universty lecturer in the UK. Obvioulsy I am coming from a different perspective on the topics you raise. My practice does not have to struggle to remain viable or attract new young patients. We hope that we concentrate our efforts where need is greatest but our greatest problem is still making sure that those who most need healthcare, and have most to gain, access our services and can make use of them.
I do not email or social network with patients. Patients do have the option of phoning me to update on how they are getting on with medication or hospital appointments etc. This could be done electronically, but speaking on the phone has some advantages. It is in the present , and I can better judge how happy the patient is with management. Yes, twitter is synchronous but 140 characters is not enough for a medical consultation.
Next, when patients have a new problem they can speak to me by telephone. For non-urgent problems I can arrange follow-up if necessary. For other possibly urgent problems it can be very difficult to assess with out seeing the patinet face-to-face. Spending a lot of time trying to work out whether someone who thinks they have a pneumonia, but actually have a viral illness, over the phone is counter-productive. Neither the patient nor myself is likely to be happy without seeing me.
But before speaking to me the patient might access resources such as those provided by NHS direct, or WebMD in US, which may help them judge whether they have a condition that is likely to warrant medical attention. This is entirely satisfactory. It encourages patients to become empowered in managing their own condition, whether self-limiting, or chronic. I can see little additional benefit in that information being provided by the patient’s own nurse, doctor or hospital. Instead that it will take up extra time and resource to facilitate that electronic response which could have been spent in other ways.
In a competitive health care system I can see that these social networking services for patients may be seen as additional brownie points for individual providers which will help them attract customers. But I don’t think they will actually lead to improved patient care.
I look forward to seeing the responses of others.