Mayo Clinic Courting Patients of the Future Via Twitter

Posted by: Matthew Bick // August 1st, 2012

In a recent article for Ragan’s Health Care Communication News, Jessica Levco describes the Mayo Clinic’s devotion to being proactive when it comes to their future patients.  Mayo’s Center for Innovation, according to Levco, “wants its tweet chats to be about ideas.”

The world-renowned institution has been asking its followers three main questions, all designed to begin finding insights into how its patients view healthcare in the 21st century.  Questions about what changes need to be made and ways that healthcare providers can empower its patients are sparking conversation across the Twittersphere, something that Mayo is very excited about.

Maria Hayhow, a communication design specialist for the Center for Innovation, was quoted by Levco: “[Twitter] is an idea-generating platform.  We wanted to solicit insights from people who we brought into the chat.  When you get down to it, everyone can relate to what a patient is, and everyone has probably been one at some point.”  Mayo has also used Storify to bring more visual appeal to the chats with photos and other rich content.  Best of all, the only cost in this particular outreach method is employee time.

@MatthewBick

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Patients Prefer E-mail Over Social Media For Communicating With Doctors

Posted by: Neil James // April 8th, 2011

Patients Prefer E-mail Over Social Media For Communicating With Docs

It’s so frustrating. Just when you got used to the concept of e-mail, your children won’t respond to your messages. Why? They don’t check their e-mail. All they use to communicate is Facebook, Twitter and text messaging. So when you take off your parenting hat and put on your healthcare marketing hat, it stands to reason that your children are using social media tools to communicate with health professionals, right? Not necessarily according to a new study, as reported by Nicole Lewis in a new article for InformationWeek, Social Media Rejected For Healthcare Communications. This Capstrat Public Policy Polling study, which surveyed registered voters in late February, found that over eight in 10 would not use social media or instant messaging to communicate with their physician even if offered. This surprising reluctance extended to highly social-savvy young people – only 21 percent of those ages 18-29 would participate in an online medical forum if offered. Capstrat found, however, much higher levels of enthusiasm for more “traditional” digital mediums such as e-mail towards medical tasks such as setting appointments, accessing medical records and nurse consultation.

@NeilAndrewJames

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150 Out of 5,000 Physician Tweets Violating Privacy, Containing Inappropriate Content

Posted by: Neil James // February 23rd, 2011

150 Out of 5000 Physician Tweets Violating Privacy Containing Inappropriate Content

There’s a reason the cantankerous Dr. House has survived seven seasons on-air. He’s profoundly entertaining. Of course, his antics are far more tolerable in a fictional, less-litigious environment. But according to new research from the GW School of Medicine and Health Sciences, as chronicled by Kate Taylor in an article for TG Daily, Physicians Acting Unprofessionally on Twitter Says Report, physicians are getting their Dr. House on via Twitter as three percent of Tweets from 260 self-identified physicians with more than 500 followers were characterized as “unprofessional.” These “unprofessional” Tweets contained potential patient privacy violations, profanity, sexually explicit material and discriminatory statements. Worse, an additional one percent of Tweets contained unsupported claims about a product claims about a product they were selling on their website, and ten Tweets about medical therapies ran counter to accepted medical knowledge and guidelines! Despite this, the researchers were quick note that, by and large, the majority of physician Tweets were professionally helpful.

@NeilAndrewJames

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Should Doctors Tweet While On the Clock?

Posted by: Russell Herder // December 3rd, 2010

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In nearly every profession, a few minutes of downtime are encountered on a weekly, if not monthly basis. With the high professional and ethical standards physicians are held to, it’s no surprise that Tweeting between appointments is cause for concern. Pediatric gastroenterologist and author Bryan Vartabedian explores this topic in Should Doctors Tweet Between Patients. Bryan’s suggestions to avoid murky waters are primarily focused on a keen awareness of patient’s perceptions, as well as a commitment to professionalism. Just like other methods of communication, Tweets can potentially have a very large reach, and as such, deserve a critical eye. If patients on online forums can extend criticism or praise for a physician, shouldn’t physicians be able to utilize these online communities as well?

@MJBlackford

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Why Twitter Is Effective in Promoting Healthy Lifestyle Changes

Posted by: Russell Herder // October 12th, 2010

Why_Twitter_Is_Effective_in_Promoting_Healthy_Lifestyle_Changes

Taking a pill every morning is easy. Making a healthy lifestyle change is far harder. Yet, it’s these changes at the margin, behavioral changes such as quitting smoking and healthier eating, that yield far more powerful (and cost-effective) impacts on personal wellness. Many providers are finding that Twitter is proving to be an effective tool in reinforcing positive health behavior. Kenneth Lin, MD, explores this phenomenon in an article for KevinMD.com, Using Twitter and Mobile Apps to Make Healthy Lifestyle Changes. Dr. Lin states that in many cases, unfortunately, a one-time consultation just isn’t sufficient to motivate meaningful behavioral change. Patients looking to effect change are more successful, when they receive support on a repeated basis and feel they are not alone in their struggles. Dr. Lin argues that Twitter is an effective vehicle in promoting community and message repetition, citing real life examples such as @quitsmoking123 and @alcholicsanony.

@NeilAndrewJames

Image Credit – Carrot Blog

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One In Ten Follow At Least One Healthcare Company On Facebook, Twitter

Posted by: Russell Herder // September 21st, 2010

One_In_Ten_Follow_At_Least_One_Healthcare_Company_On_Facebook_Twitter

Does your healthcare brand have a social media strategy? For what reasons do people opt to follow your healthcare brand on Twitter or Facebook? A new survey, as chronicled by Jennifer Ringler in an article for pharmaexec.com, Social Media and Healthcare Consumers: A Report, yields new consumer insights with respect to healthcare in social media. According to Ringler, of the 441 surveyed people who regularly access at least one social network, 12 percent followed at least one healthcare brand. The most popular reasons cited for following a healthcare brand included getting advice on purchase decisions, learning about new products and sharing advice with others.

@NeilAndrewJames

Image Credit – Cubism

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55 Percent Of Patients Prefer Tweets From Caregivers Over Other Healthcare Employees

Posted by: Russell Herder // July 28th, 2010

55_Percent_Of_Patients_Prefer_Tweets_From_Caregivers_Over_Other_Healthcare_Employees

So management is finally on board with social media for your hospital. Cue the record scratch. Who’s going to actually Tweet? Who the audience wants to hear from is just as important as who wants to Tweet. So, who exactly do healthcare consumers want to hear from? Reed Smith attempts to answer this question in his recent blog pos, Who From the Hospital Should Tweet? According to his poll, 55 percent of patients and family members want to see Tweets from nurses and caregivers more than any other hospital representative including CEOs, administrators, PR staff and other volunteers.


@NeIlAndrewJames


Image Credit – Global Neighbourhoods

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Despite Successes, Many Doctors Want Nothing To Do With Twitter

Posted by: Russell Herder // May 17th, 2010

One of the challenges facing social media adoption in healthcare is a reluctance to stray from established communication channels. According to this article, the average provider in the Athena Health Network gets over 1,100 faxes per month! But why else might physicians, providers and other healthcare professionals be resistant to adopting social media vehicles such as Twitter?

In the above interview with MdiTV, New York pediatrician Joanna Dolgoff (@Joannadolgoffmd) argues that many physicians view Twitter as not particularly effective in their primary goal – building their local practice. Dolgoff counters that by establishing herself as a thought leader in the industry, she has effectively grown her business by using Twitter to build relationships and trust with those in her local community. 

Are you a physician or healthcare provider that uses social media for growing your practice? Has it been effective? If so, which vehicles do you use?

@NeilAndrewJames

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700 of 52,000 Health-Related Tweets Spread Misinformation

Posted by: Russell Herder // May 14th, 2010

700-of-52000-Health-Related-Tweets-Spread-Misinformation

Twitter is growing by the day. This is not a groundbreaking observation. But for the healthcare world and those who follow it, Twitter has been caught on a difficult tightrope of cause and effect. As observed by Molly Merrill in Twitter study highlights need for monitoring health info dissemination, Twitter may be useful for giving and receiving medical and pharmaceutical information, but it is just as likely to create confusion and, worse, incorrect or harmful advice. The aforementioned study noted how 700 of 52,000 health-related tweets spread misinformation. A small percentage, but not when you consider that they were transmitting to nearly one-million followers – cause for a second glance when jumping tweet-to-tweet.

Have you ever sought out or read a health-related Twitter post? Did you put stock in the information? Have you ever re-tweeted information that you didn’t necessarily know was true? Let us know what your experience has been!

@KyleGWilson

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Twitter Usage For Cardiologists

Posted by: Russell Herder // April 21st, 2010

Keyboard

Between their hectic schedules and heavy patient loads, it is not hard to understand why physicians often say that they do not have time to dabble in the social media world. Yet as more and more patients rely on the Web to find medical information and professionals, it has become increasingly important for physicians to establish some type of online presence in order to stay better connected. In the following article, For Cardiologists: A Twitter Primer, one cardiologist shares his journey going from Twitter skeptic to Twitter advocate, as well as provides a breakdown of how Twitter works for physicians who are interested in giving the tool a try.

Are you a physician who uses Twitter? Or do you know a physician who uses Twitter? Tell us about your experience!

- Claire Sychowski
Image Credit – Stanford Medical Blog

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