Health care and social media

Westfair Communications”™ recent roundtable on medical issues spurred my interest in medical social media. At this event, five distinguished panelists answered a number of questions concerning the state of the medical experience and care, insurance, costs, Obamacare and a host of other issues. Unfortunately, there was no discussion about the impact of social media.

Social media has become an important component in the health field.  According to an April 2012 report by the Health Research Institute, “45% of consumers said information found via social media would affect their decisions to seek a second opinion. More than 40% of respondents reported that information found via social media would affect the way they coped with a chronic condition or their approach to diet and exercise.” A further analysis revealed that “community sites had 24 times more social media activity on average than any of the health industry companies.”

In short, people are increasingly dependent on social media to learn more about all types of medical issues.  The two most widely used platforms, Facebook and YouTube (and others), allow people to share information, support and interact with each other and learn about specific treatments or procedures. Not surprisingly, they also discuss doctors and hospitals.

Word-of-mouth referrals are extremely powerful social media marketing and sales tools.  A recent study showed that 68% of all decisions to buy a product online are affected by online discussions and comments. That same chatter is also present concerning medical issues and products and patient care with a majority of people willing to share health information on social media.

While it is not surprising that the community sites would be more vocal than those of health industry companies, that it is 24 times more vocal should be unnerving to the entire health industry. Negative reviews – justified or not – can severely affect a medical practice.  One doctor with whom we worked was the recipient of several negative – and anonymous – reviews of her practice, which, if left unchecked, would probably have hurt her business.

Given this huge reliance on social media by the general population and the impact exerted by negative and positive comments, many insurance companies, hospitals and medical practices have begun to direct more resources towards their social media marketing and management. Social media offers a tremendous opportunity for them to enhance their brand, improve communications with existing patients and attract new ones. It is also far more cost-effective than most of their advertising and marketing campaigns.

Some healthcare organizations are using social media and webinars as important education and training tools for their staff. They are also starting to share success stories involving research or treatments on social media. A handful of hospitals are even tweeting live-from-the-operating-room procedures.  (This is going a little overboard for me.)

Most important for these medical organizations is the ability to provide accurate information to their patients before and after an appointment.  Patients want to know and understand all about their conditions and be able to receive support – which is becoming increasingly important – from their institution and through social media. With 73% of patients searching online for relevant information, it is essential that these medical organizations provide accurate and informative content – which can improve their patient care and attract new business.

The Mayo Clinic, for example, is using inexpensive Flip cameras to post videos of patients, doctors, treatments and their experiences.  Videos can be very powerful instruments that elicit enormous responses, particularly when integrated into a comprehensive marketing strategy. When one of the Mayo Clinic”™s videos went viral, in six weeks it received over 2.1 million views.

The social media strategies and implementation that medical practices, hospitals, vendors and insurance companies use can greatly affect their brand, patient perception and trust.  It also can improve health management while providing important and relevant information and education to increasingly integrated consumers and providers.

Bruce Newman is the vice president at The Productivity Institute L.L.C. in Carmel. He is also a social media strategist and the designer of a new service, wwWebevents.com. Follow him on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and the Productivity Institute blog. He can be reached at bnewman@prodinst.com.