If you are avid follower of the #HITsm Chats, you probably noticed it was MIA this week, and also will be next week. So, instead, here are a few interesting tweets I found from doing a search for #HITsm and #hcsm on Twitter. I highly recommend doing that every once in awhile…there’s some pretty interesting information to be found. With that, here are some of the highlights I found from those searches (it was hard to pick just a couple!) I saw a lot about social media, so I thought I’d focus on that today.
How #socialmedia and #mobile are playing a bigger part in #healthcare ow.ly/ggMXl #mHealth #hcsm
— Huntington Hospital (@HuntingtonNews) December 21, 2012
This is a really fascinating article. Did you know that 90 percent of people ages 18-24 trust health information found on social media? Kind of scary in some ways, since, well, there’s definitely some incorrect information out there. It also puts a lot of weight on the shoulders of those that do provide the information, to make sure it’s accurate, up-to-date, and informative. To be honest, I sometimes trust sites like WebMD more than my own doctor! Social media and mobile devices are here to stay in the healthcare world, that’s for sure. I think this article gives some good information on the pros and cons, as well as how healthcare providers can benefit, which brings me to the next post…
Why Healthcare Social Media is a waste of time for most doctors ow.ly/b9rCa #hcsm #healthcare
— The Happy MD(@TheHappyMD) December 22, 2012
Well, this is the opposite of what I read (and preach) a lot. A waste of time? The previous article talked about how it can be very beneficial for healthcare providers. The main arguments are that there is no return on investment (ROI), it can be dangerous when it adds to the likelihood of a doctor being burnt out, and it’s just a fad that is going to blow over and isn’t worth investing time, unless you have a lot of time and want it to be a hobby, or your company has products and services the customer pays for. I don’t agree with these statements, and believe that it is worth putting the time and effort into…but I suppose only time will tell which side of the fence is correct.
The Empowered Patient: 5 Ways Social Media Makes Patients Stronger ow.ly/giLcp#hcsm#epatient — ParkerWhite (@parkerwhite) December 21, 2012
Aren’t patients the most crucial aspect to any healthcare provider? So empowering them is so important, and this article talks about how social media is doing just that. It has five ways it empowers patience, which, in a nut shell, are:
- Connecting people suffering from a disease or ailment with others…so basically, helping people not feel so alone in their health struggles, and get support from others that “get it.”
- Patients can learn about different treatment options and about medical devices more easily. When a person just relies on their doctor for information, some of these options can be overlooked (and often are.)
- Patient’s who like being self-advocates are likely to become community advocates as well
- Patient’s are given a “voice” to talk about their experiences and thoughts
- There are social networks dedicated to certain diseases or conditions.
And finally, this doesn’t have anything to do with the other tweets I’ve mentioned, but it made me laugh. The sledding blogger on the far left looks familiar, doesn’t he?
No reindeer games here! Your favorite #HealthIT bloggers in a sledfest ow.ly/g7QpG @govhit @hitnews #hitsm ow.ly/i/1fGpR
— HITECH Answers (@HITECHAnswers) December 15, 2012
