Want
to know about social media and how to get the most from Facebook, Twitter,
LinkedIn or Google+? Then read this article by Edward T Murphy, originally
posted on Medscape, for a good introduction to social media
and beyond.
Social Media Primer for Healthcare Professionals
The
Social Media Explosion
Social media sites have grown in popularity among
millions of people around the world. For medical professionals, these sites
present new avenues for interaction with family, friends, patients, colleagues,
and organizations. This article will provide an introduction to social media
and the various networking opportunities they offer. With many choices and
designs, these platforms provide healthcare professionals with new ways to
support their work. Additionally, advice on how to get started participating in
social media will be offered, and the ethical and professional concerns that
have been raised about using social media will be discussed.
What
Are Social Media?
Social media are Internet-based platforms that allow
people to connect and interact. Mimicking the networks that exist in our
personal lives, social media aim to streamline these networks and give people
the opportunity to deepen connections and share with each other to a greater
extent.
Facebook
The most popular of all social networking sites,
Facebook has roughly 150 million active users in the United States and 750
million worldwide. Nearly half of all Americans actively use Facebook to
reconnect with former classmates and keep in contact with friends and family.
Each user creates a personal profile, and makes "friend requests" to
connect with individuals of their choosing. If a "friend request" is
accepted, the user can see the friend's profile and shared information.
Users
make "status updates" that consist of articles they are reading,
random musings, details about what they are doing, and photographs they have
recently uploaded. Other users are able to add comments to the updates to begin
or continue a conversation. Private correspondences are possible, as well as
live chats with whoever is on Facebook at the time. Use of Facebook is free,
with advertisement support.
YouTube
Although popular for watching adorable kittens play
and young people do foolish things, YouTube is also a place for medical
professionals to learn. YouTube is different from other social media sites,
because it is video-based and its goal is to provide information rather than
enable interaction, connection, and discussion. YouTube presents the
opportunity for healthcare professionals to share information about their
practices. The American Medical Association's (AMA) YouTube page hosts videos
ranging from how physicians can
advise older drivers to testimony given by
Chairwoman Ardis Dee Hoven to the House Judiciary Committee.
Healthcare
professionals can use YouTube for patient teaching. For example, the link to a
video on how to measure blood glucose levels using different devices can be
given to patients as a reminder after they have been taught this skill. New
parents could watch a video on how to properly take the temperature of a sick
newborn and mothers can learn how to breastfeed. This tool is a supplement, not
a replacement, for traditional face-to-face patient education.
Twitter
Twitter is a much faster and minimalist version of a
Facebook status update. Twitter users are limited to 140 characters per update,
called a "tweet." Because of its speed, Twitter has become a hub for
news and information sharing. When US Special Forces stormed Osama Bin Laden's
compound, a neighbor tweeted what he saw from his window as it was happening.
With its near real-time nature, Twitter has become a popular way for connecting
at conferences. Using a shared "hash tag," people discussing a topic
can unite their conversations under a single stream.
Attendees
at the Society of General Internal Medicine conference added the hash tag
"#sgim2011" to the end of their tweets. Other Twitter users who
searched for that hash tag during the conference could follow along from
anywhere with an Internet connection. For conference attendees, it was a way to
learn about things they might have missed and connect with other colleagues who
were attending the conference. Having live tweeted from conferences, I have
found it a good way to make initial connections with people who share some of
the same ideas and it has led to further contact and opportunities to
collaborate.
LinkedIn
The professional Internet hub, LinkedIn, has
transformed the business card from a small piece of paper that can be lost
easily into an interactive and living resume. Its 120 million users share their
professional profiles with other professional connections. Similar to Facebook,
connections must be requested and accepted to be able to see a user's full
profile. LinkedIn has become a place for recruiters to find potential job
applicants and jobseekers to find job postings and people who might be employed
by a particular organization. A person's name and a quick search can lead to a
connection that will not be ruined by the dry cleaner.
Google+
At the end of June 2011, Google introduced an
invite-only social network that broke the 10 million user mark in only 2 weeks.
A hybrid of Facebook and Twitter, Google+ allows its users to choose the people
they want to follow. To organize people, Google+ has created
"circles" that allow users to group people in customizable
categories, such as colleagues, friends, conference attendees, or sports fans.
Users determine which of their updates can be viewed by whom. The most
promising feature on Google+ is the "Hangout," where up to 10 people
can get together on a video chat.
At
the present time, the Google+ Project is in limited field trial and is not
inviting new members to join. However, the promise of Google+ is limited only
by its youth. It is still growing and lags behind other social networks, but it
does not appear that this will be the case for long.
Social
Media and Medical Ethics
With so many new opportunities to interact publically,
social media present a challenge to healthcare professionals. The AMA released
a set of social media guidelines[1] that indicate that when using
social media, medical professionals should:
- Maintain patient
confidentiality and physician-patient ethical guidelines;
- Utilize privacy
settings for personal use;
- Constantly monitor
their online presence;
- Notify colleagues when
a posting is unprofessional and report it if necessary; and
- Remain aware that
actions can have a negative impact and undermine one's career.
Using
social media can affect one's career both positively and negatively. By
exercising prudence, healthcare professionals can benefit from social media.
Facebook pages permit a healthcare provider to have a public profile for
patients to follow that is completely separate from the provider's personal
account. On the public Facebook page, providers can make announcements about
new offerings at their practices and changes in their schedule, and patients
can view this information without a "friend request."
Bradley
Crotty, MD, researches the use of social media by medical professionals. He
says that it is important to remain aware of how social media affects one's
public information. "Patients will search for you on Google," he
said, "so being aware of those results is important. You will not be able
to get rid of all of the personal information that you share on the Internet,
but you can actively push your professional information to the top." This
professional information, such as a Facebook fan page, a blog, or a standard
web page, is a space that associates the name of the healthcare professional
with her or his area of practice that is active and public. Keeping the space
updated and professional will put it at the top of search results and leave
potential patients with a positive impression of the healthcare professional.
Looking
Forward
One forward-thinking medical practice, Hello
Health, is already using social media and new technology to
develop an innovative practice. For a small fee each month, patients can access
healthcare providers by email, in-person visit, video chats, and instant
messaging. Patients can choose from these offerings, each of which has
different pricing. The providers can see patients much more efficiently. By
making their schedules available on the Website, patients can sign up for an
appointment when it is most convenient for them.
Social
media present an opportunity for professional advancement. Dr. Crotty notes,
"There are times when information is shared on social media before it is
formally published. I have seen grant announcements made on social media sites
first. Medical professionals who follow those feeds have the advantage of
applying earlier than colleagues who were not aware until later." From a
public health standpoint, the potential is high. "On Twitter, one can
advertise when flu vaccines are available or make announcements for new
recommendations and direct patients to trustworthy information," said Dr.
Crotty. It
also is how I came to write this very article. A global health colleague with
whom I connected on Twitter sent me an email saying that Medscape was looking
to publish an article on social media. I was put in contact with the editor and
this article came to exist, all thanks to a shared interest in social media and
the ability of Twitter to connect us.
Additional
Resources
Lee K-L, Ho M-J. Online social networking versus
medical professionalism. Med Educ. 2011;45:523.
Hawn
C. Take two aspirin and tweet me in the morning: how Twitter, Facebook, and
other social media are reshaping health care. Health Aff. (Millwood)
2009;28:361-368.
Farnan
J, Paro J, Higa J, Reddy S, Humphrey H, Arora V. Commentary: the relationship
status of digital media and professionalism: it's complicated. Acad Med.
2009;84:1479.
Mostaghimi
A, Crotty BH. Professionalism in the digital age. Ann Intern Med.
2011;154:560-562.
Young,
Jennifer. How social media transformed a nonprofit medical society. Non Profit
Quarterly. 2001 Aug. http://www.nonprofitquarterly.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=15476:how-social-media-transformed-a-nonprofit-medical-professional-society&catid=153:features&Itemid=336
Accessed September 6, 2011.
References
1. American
Medical Association. Professionalism in the use of social media. http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/meeting/professionalism-social-media.shtml
Accessed September 6, 2011.