HealthTechnica

(Part 2) Can Health Care really put social networking to use?

Posted by  in Tuesday, February 3rd 2009   
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Part 2 of our discussion on social networking in health care.

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8 Responses to “(Part 2) Can Health Care really put social networking to use?”

  1. anne marie cunningham says:
    February 4, 2009 at 1:21 pm

    Hello Jamie
    I really don’t think this is a conversation that I can usefully participate in. As I am sure you are aware, I am a physician in the UK, specifically in Wales. We do not have competition between hospitals or general practices for patients.

    I agree with you that patient support forums are very useful. You say that there is more benefit when a health care professional participates. I haven’t come across that research and would be very grateful if you could link to it here.

    Next, I stated that there have been means for doctors/institutions sharing best practice for many years. But I meant to imply that it has not really been happening! Again, I don’t know what the situation is in the US. If you have professionals sharing now then don’t rush to change things. But if you don’t then there should be consideration of the reasons for the lack of sharing. Concentrating on providing technology to facilitate sharing is unlikely to work without understanding the culture of these organisations or professionals.

    Social media in healthcare/ health 2.0 is starting to mean all things to all people. It would be much better if you could lead a discussion around a specific solution. You might then be able to engage some of the people in the US who will be able to help you solve these problems.

    And by the way, I am not offended! I am just frustrated that this discussion doesn’t really seem to move on.

    But thank you very much for your detailed response.

  2. Jamie Christenson says:
    February 3, 2009 at 10:52 pm

    Hello Dr. Cunningham,
    It is nice to meet you. When you ask “what are they waiting to see?” My response would be several things. First thing would be what can we use this new communication medium for? A lot of facilities want to know if it can be used as a service promotion. Many facilities through out the US are announcing new services via their social network of choice. In our video we had made mention that most institutions use the regular brick and mortar type outlets like newspapers and or a radio/TV ad. While these are effective avenues of approach, they are also very costly. In a recent blogging/social media meeting I was in, the biggest reasons for choosing the facility they did was because of the following: Word of mouth, stories in the media, physician recommendation, advertising, and internet/websites. Utilizing an outlet like social networking websites allows for low cost and high interaction from well patients as well as sick.

    Another thing they want to see is “Can we use this for brand building?” Perception is big in healthcare. If the provider or a facility is perceived as being the leader in their community or region it can only boost ratings (like Press Gainey scores) and public perception. Of course this can have a reverse affect. I can only speak for myself on this one, but I choose the location where I want to be seen first by interaction with the facility and the provider. Secondly I choose by what services they provide and how they are rated publicly and privately. I read what they have posted to websites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. I use all of these to help me as the patient to make the most informed decision I can about who and where I will be treated. A poor review, a story of bad service, poor physician interaction, or medical error is going to make me think twice about choosing that location/provider. Using social networking to address the community by pushing information from the “source” allows a facility to stop rumors or misinformed individuals from making a situation worse.

    Patient support groups are another affective means that facilities like the social networking platform. Individuals dealing with addiction, depression, or cancer, have found social networking therapeutic especially when there is a physician/counselor that can add to the discussion. Insurance companies are starting to take notice too by creating new billing codes for web-based interactions when done through the institutions’ webpage and or proprietary social networking platform. Thus creating a new form of revenue.

    Lastly, it allows the administration to interact with it community. A lot of time is spent interacting with the community by attending social events, local school board meetings, and sitting in on chamber of commerce business discussions. Most healthcare facilities are an intricate part of how the community provides services to it citizens and using social networking gives the hospital administration another tool to use to get the word out.

    My question to you after reading your posts are:

    Why do you automatically dismiss social networking as realistic way to communicate best practices? I realize you mentioned people have been using forums or list serves for years, but why are these two the only legitimate mediums? Isn’t this what were trying to avoid? Healthcare among other industries have the same problem sometime: Refusing to change. I agree some things in healthcare are the way they are because time has shown us that this is the best process/procedure. On the other hand exploring new avenues to access patients and instill a sense of confidence to them about your services and facility that you provide are very valuable tools.

    Secondly you seem to have taken offense at the implication we are blaming medical professionals and institutions. I personally believe that while they are not the root cause, they are VERY influential on what a facility will or will not try. Getting buy in from physician leaders and administration is the only way using these tools will ever become a reality. While I agree with you personal interaction with your patient will never be as effective as interacting with them though a web-based interface, it is still another tool to be used if used in the correct way. Just like calling in to speak with a nurse was thought of as taboo years ago, but now is almost standard practice. So now as time changes regardless of technology a new way to communicate is being developed and embraced.

  3. rilescat says:
    February 3, 2009 at 10:46 pm

    I believe the key here is to close the gap between the patient and the provider. Using systems like Medical Home and social networking it is very possible to decrease the amount of administration between the patient and actual care.

    I think we may create another video to speak specifically towards closing this gap.

  4. Anne Marie Cunningham says:
    February 3, 2009 at 7:43 pm

    I am still unclear about what your actual suggestions for social mnedia in health care are and need you think these are responding too. If as in your last video it is simply a strategy to attract young well patients who already Facebook then we don’t really have anything to discuss.

    What is it that you think institutions are ‘waiting to see’ about? About starting twitter streams? What kind of examples are you talking about?

  5. Chucko says:
    February 3, 2009 at 6:24 pm

    Same idea, different field: http://smgestalt.blogspot.com/2009/02/5-reasons-your-staff-should-be-allowed.html

  6. rilescat says:
    February 3, 2009 at 4:24 pm

    To the comment of Dr. Cunningham:

    You are right regarding the failure of sites. Many of them do not succeed. I also contend that success in the technology front (any technology, not just SN) requires process to be the number one focus before implementations. If you have read some of my other articles, you will find one of my favorite sayings:

    Crap process + Technology = Fast Crap

    That being said, I think many institutions are too quick to take the “wait and see” approach. I find this to be intensively true in the USA. The vast majority of medical facilities wait for the government to tell them how to improve care instead of attempting to forge out and improve the care they provide on their own.

    Thoughts?

  7. anne marie cunningham says:
    February 3, 2009 at 3:00 pm

    First point about sharing good practice I can agree with. But…. this could be done now through email lists which have been available for years. There may be barriers to institutions sharing best/real-life practice, other than just not having the time, or the tech.

    The point about bad press is less relevant to me in the UK (at least at present).

    Main barrier to social networking is ‘what is the point?’. Please stop blaming medical professionals and institutions. How many NINGs and FFrooms and social networks (outside healthcare) have you seen fail? Even when the tech is set up the reason for using it is not always clear. if the benefits are not clear then people will not bother.

    You need to start talking to health care professionals and finding out what their problems are. Then you can think how tech (including social networking) could help them solve their problems. Then the two of you can try and work things out together.

  8. Mike Costa says:
    February 3, 2009 at 1:23 pm

    Key points to me:

    “They think of them [SM] as an annoyance that they surf on during the day”

    “Is it HIPAA compliant?”

    People involved in SM spend a lot of time talking about it, but little time implementing it. You’re absolutely right, there is strong bureaucracy in Healthcare (which shouldn’t exist IMO) that deters change from happening. Clearly, perspectives are misaligned and some deem SM as an annoyance.

    Is it HIPPA compliant is a great question – one your antiquated HIPAA privacy officer probably can’t even answer. As innovation flourishes, healthcare orgs need to employ younger, more tech savvy HIPAA administrators to keep up with evolving methods of communication. This will begin to lift the curtain of bureaucracy to allow for more innovative means of communication and easier expansion for connectivity.

    For those cowering in fear of HIPAA – just review the 18 Identifiers of PHI: http://www.research.ucsf.edu/chr/HIPAA/chrHIPAAphi.asp. Perhaps #18 will inhibit much of upcoming tech – we’ll see.

    Thoughts?

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