The ability to engage patients is an essential aspect of healthcare. Without it, patient healthcare costs can rise as a result of increased hospitalizations or not adhering to a care plan. With outcome-based reimbursement becoming the norm, this may lead to a reduction in revenue. Harnessing the power and effectiveness of social media is one way to increase patient engagement in their own health care and reduce these issues.
Why Social Media?
During a speech at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society conference, Dr. Kevin Campbell, a cardiologist made a compelling case for the use of social media in patient care using three tools. Facebook Live, Twitter, and blogging all have a visual or video component to them. These increase engagement by 6000% according to Campbell’s estimation.
Live chats can connect patients and physicians in a way that hasn’t been possible before. Likewise, blogs create an interactive patient experience. Patients can learn about disease and conditions and get information from experts that they might not otherwise have access to.
Engagement and Technology
Technology provides access to information and it also influences opinions and decisions. Dr. Geeta Nayyar, the chief healthcare at innovation officer at Femwell Group Health pointed to social media’s influence on people:
“Every Facebook update, every online community post and every Tweet has the potential to change minds and behaviors.”
Nayyar points to millennials and baby boomers and how they use technology to help them with their healthcare needs. Baby boomers are using it to search for information and to make health care decisions. This is a trend that will only increase over time. While millennials might not need a lot of health care services now, they will. As the first natively digital generation, they tend to be very discerning and value personal relationships with their physicians. If they do not feel that they are not being heard, they’ll switch.
Social Media and Outcomes
Social media is not just about improving patient loyalty to providers and giving them access to better information. They can also produce better outcomes. Better informed and more engaged patients can lead to empowerment and increase the likelihood of a patient to become more involved in their care plan and follow it.
Social media also leads to better outcomes for physicians. Doctors can also use it to connect with other colleagues and access continuing education and knowledge opportunities more readily too.
Tips for Engagement
To make patient engagement optimal, health care providers should be aware of and follow accepted standards of online engagement such as:
Sharing relevant health content- Patients often turn to the internet for health information. But as providers know, some of this information can be unreliable. By sharing health information that is reliable, providers increase patient engagement and encourage communication.
Initiate conversations- Often times, patients are the ones who initiate conversations with their providers. Sometimes these conversations also fall through the cracks and aren’t responded to. Social media allows providers to take control of communication with patients. By posting thoughtful comments and open-ended questions relevant to the particular practice, patients will feel like their participation is worthwhile and that they are being heard.
Respond to Feedback- Providers who respond to feedback from their patients often enjoy increased loyalty from their patients. By responding to mentions of a practice on social media, patients will feel like they have been heard. Discussing what will be done in response to this feedback also shows that what has been said actually matters.
Don’t Forget to Blog- Blogs establish authority and expertise. By taking the time to write regular blog posts, patients will get to know the practice better. Sharing real-life patient experiences also make patients feel more confident when seeking care.
Social media engagement is becoming increasingly important in healthcare. That is why employing a solid social media strategy will be nothing but helpful to healthcare providers going forward. In the end, social media is an important communication tool for patients and physicians. Using a cohesive and consistent strategy to encourage this function will increase patient engagement and active participation in the healthcare process. It will also establish expertise and knowledge and lessen the unreliability of internet health information that is currently so prevalent.