Welcome to the First Ever! Edition of the HealthCare Social Media Review.
Welcome to the First Ever! Edition of the HealthCare Social Media Review.
First, I would like to thank my extremely helpful colleague, David Harlow, who was instumental in getting our endeavor up and running. David will host the next edition of The Review on his website, HealthBlawg. 
Second, I would like to thank all those of you who helped out with advice, ideas, and willingness to host future HCSM Review Editions.
Third, I would like to thank all those of you who submitted posts for this first edition. I truly enjoy reading all the posts that I receive and I thank you all for the opportunity.
This is a photo of me this weekend hard at work reading and creating this first edition:
I did not specify a topic or theme because I just wanted to see what kind of posts I would receive. I could then categorize the posts the way that I saw fit. So here goes….
Physician Guidelines for the Use of Social Media
A great post on Physician Guidelines for using social media in healthcare was submitted by Mark Ryan from his blog, Social Media Health Care. Mark is a family medicine doctor with great experience in social media. He speaks on the use of social media in healthcare and is on the Mayo Clinic Social Media Advisory Board. This post offers suggestions and advice for physicians about how to use social media and the advantages that can be gained.
Advantages and ROI of Social Media in HealthCare
For encouragement to enter the world of social media, look to Howard Luk’s post, Physicians Should Be Part of 
“The Internet has forever changed the way our patients will approach healthcare. Digital or social media is NOT a passing fad… get past that.”
And Howard closes by saying:
“Lastly, I personally feel that to ignore the intersection of healthcare and social media, is to ignore your own potential relevance as a healthcare practitioner over the coming years”
Indeed, social media is a force to be reckoned with!
Social Media Platforms Used in HealthCare – Overview
For an overview on social media options, see Gary Levin’s post on The Many Platforms of Social Media in HealthCare on his website, Health Train Express. Gary is a social media expert and hosts almost daily hangouts on Google+ This post talks about the options available in social media and includes a very cool infographic with stats on what percentage of providers and physicians are using social media and how.
Dan Diamond’s post, Hospitals on Twitter: Current Trends and Proven Strategies, offers really great advice on 
Doximity and iRounds
Marie Ennis-O’Conner, a public relations professional who blogs at Social Ease Marketing, wrote a wonderful exclusive post for us here on HealthWorks Collective about the new social media site, Pinterest. Marie specializes in healthcare communications and non-profit social media marketing. Her post, How to Create a Pinteresting HealthCare Social Media Strategy, is filled with lots of information about Pinterest and how to use it to maximize the potential of this rapidly growing site. I am including one of her Pinterest Tips here:
“#Pinterest Tip: For healthcare, images related to exercise, nutrition and other health care promotion resources work well, as you can see in this example from the Facing Cancer Together pinboard, which highlights healthy living tips for wellness and cancer prevention.”
Marie’s post is filled with great information – Read it and learn about Pinterest!
Advantages of Social Media Use for Patients
Improving Health Literacy
Communicating With Teens
Katie Malbon wrote a wonderful post about using social media for teens to spread awareness of STDs and 
“So, if they[teens] are doing all this through one main ‘portal’, it makes sense that we, as health professionals, reach them in that space. The advantages of doing this could be huge” And she’s right!
Self-Management and Self-Awareness
Self-tracking and self-monitoring are becoming more and more prevalent among dedicated members of the self-awareness movement. Kent Bottles writes about this in his post, Will the Self-Awareness Movement Take Off in HealthCare?, published on The Doctor Weighs In. Kent’s talks about the beginning of the Quantified Self-Movement and Gary Wolf’s blog:
“According to Wolf, four technologic advances made the quantified self movement possible:
“First, electronic sensors got smaller and better. Second, people started carrying powerful computing devices, 
Kent goes on to give specific examples of individuals using social media and technology to motivate themselves, change their behavior, and monitor their progress.
With increasing technological advances and social media options, more and more individuals and organizations will adopt this behavior.
And last, but certainly not least, the Privacy Issue!
Privacy has been, and always will be, a concern in any healthcare 
“In the health care and health care social media context, we all need to be aware of our own needs and desires concerning sharing of personal information, and we all need to be aware of the ways in which personal information is shared and used, and re-shared and re-used, by the platforms and repositories that we use. Armed with this knowledge, we can work to establish our own context-sensitive norms, and work to ensure that they are honored.”
In his post, David also offers resources and tips for those who want to learn more about privacy and social networking.
For details on The HealthCare Social Media Review, including submissions, hosting, hosting schedule, more information, please see our Main Page!
Thank You!