I recently came across an interesting blog posted by the TopRank Online Marking Blog: 5 Examples of Social Media in Healthcare Marketing. It focuses on five examples of how social media has been and will continue to be integrated into the health care industry.
The example that I found to be most interesting discusses the success of the Henry Ford Hospital tweeting a live procedure from an operating room. It was considered a successful use of social media because of the audience it reached; health care providers, students and patients as the main audiences. The blog claims that utilizing Twitter not only attracted new patients but also helped recruit medical personnel.
However, I have to wonder about the “what if” scenario. What if the surgery had not been a success and the patient died? What if the surgeon was more focused on how many followers and retweets he was getting instead of the patient’s well-being? Was the patient’s privacy compromised?
I can only assume, and hope, that a strict set of guidelines was set in stone long before this surgery ever took place. For those of you reading my blog, I am sure that you can figure out which side of the social media in the health care industry argument I am on.
A proper set of guidelines, including privacy, patient care, etc., should always be implemented before any health care professional joins the social media world. For example, a “Grey’s Anatomy” episode followed the same story line by showing the chief of surgery tweeting a procedure as it was happening. A large amount of the episode was spent debating the pros and cons of tweeting procedures from the operating room. Yet in the end, a proper set of guidelines was placed and followed, allowing for a successful use of social media to connect to the outside world. The use of Twitter in the Henry Ford Hospital scenario also connected people worldwide by sharing an in- the-moment situation that most never gets to know about. Being one of the first hospitals to successfully tweet a live procedure not only welcomed the Henry Ford Hospital to the social media world, but also showcased them as a leader in the health care industry.
I believe that Twitter will one day be an amazing tool for sharing public opinion. Yet based on the "Weinergate Scandal" that just erupted and, subsequently, the multiple people who were able to hack into each others accounts I fear that the safety of twitter has yet to be fullproof. Until that day, Twitter will serve as my way of communicating to celebrities and that is all. :)
ReplyDeleteha-ha Craig I completely understand where you are coming from! Twitter definetely still has some major issues to fix but I agree with you in that it has tje potential to be an amazing social media tool. Thanks for commenting and hope that you check back this week when I blog about Facebook in the health care industry.
ReplyDeleteThis is a tough one...on one hand I wouldn't like to be the subject of a surgery posted online. On the other, tweeting important medical procedures could have a profound impact on students that otherwise would never see certain surgeries. If this becomes a trend, I can only hope that students will continue to learn by real, hands-on demonstrations and not just through social media avenues like Twitter.
ReplyDeleteOnce again we do have to wonder who is watching the watchdogs? And is this a viable use of professionals' time. Although it is well-documented that a teaching hospital offers some of the best care available, if they have to become in policing which means hiring, training and again supervising people to do those specific tasks, what other possible areas are they neglecting?
ReplyDeleteI really don't like anything about this idea. We are already little more than a number in any situation. I certainly don't want to become even more of a one. Also medical situations are so personal, I don't like the prospect of anything becoming so public.
ReplyDeleteI think what alot of you are missing is the fact that a surgeon CANNOT tweet your surgery without a ton of paperwork being signed. You as the patient would have to ok the surgery being tweeted live. They cannot just do whatever they want. That is why I am constantly stressing that proper guidelines and follow throughs are needed in order to protect patients while still making Twitter an effective tool. Just wanted to clarify that because I think I was unclear in my original post.
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