You mentioned that the Mayo Clinic has been involved in some aspect or another of social media since 2005. Would you say that the Mayo Clinic is out ahead of other healthcare systems in the US? If yes, have you found any reason why healthcare organizations would hesitate to use social media as a communication tool?

I look forward to reading your 35 Social Media Theses!

Catherine Ford
Doctoral Student
Management and Organizational Leadership

Technology can bring about change if the people choose to adapt it. Twitter has helped bring about change by making perceptions, attitudes, experiences between patient and provider a little more transparent.

I believe your Social Media Theses no. 15, point out the most valuable action a physician or hospital can take: “You can hear a lot just by listening.”

Physicians have a simple choice, they can opt not to participate in social media and be at the mercy of 3rd parties, or they can join the conversation and influence/build their online presence.

Then again, I believe the increased use of social media in healthcare is a consequence of its transparency and how easy it is to just “listen in, and actually hear”.

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts on the AdAge article. I read both the article and your blog posts and am in agreement that the reason we are active in health care communications and social media is not because of health care reform – or even marketing.

Like you…at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, we have been communicating with patients using all different types of mediums – including social media – for a few years now…and for reasons other than highlighted in the article. The article, although well written, does not capture the true mission behind our communications programs and health education outreach.

As I was able to share with Elisheba Muturi (@shebamuturi), who kindly featured PAMF’s communications efforts and philosophy in her blog (http://bit.ly/aLxnUj)…At the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, we see social media as a natural extension of our two-way communications, ongoing conversation, information sharing and patient empowerment. Listening and having discussions helps us to continue to learn and improve upon the quality of our organization’s health programs and services. Having these newer social media tools now available to us gives us another way to connect with people – in a way some people like to receive information – and allows us to hear from them, listen to them and respond more personally and in real-time.

Ideally, social media activity is seamless with our traditional communications. Hopefully, they work jointly to help bring people health information and connections – in the way they want to receive and use them, so they can be active partners in their own health and health care team.

Similarly, in a recent interview with Ed Bennett (@edbennett), I was able to share the philosophy of Mills-Peninsula Health Services in using social media to communicate with people about the building of the new hospital. In “Community Outreach Blog Tracks the Building of a New Hospital” (http://bit.ly/b0DcAu), Ed generously gave me the opportunity share our feeling that in all communications, we are patients too, and we know what if feels like to want to know what is going on at the medical center where a patient or their family member receives treatment. So, in recently creating a new online newsroom to share news about the building of the new community hospital, we wanted it to be more than that. Our goal was to create a “live” connection to the community – so people can participate in an exciting neighborhood hospital building project and when the new hospital opens its doors, feel like partners in the building process – and in their own health care. We wanted them to be part of the process – from beginning to end – and beyond.

Again, at the heart of every communications decision and discussion is the people – and keeping the “welcome mat” out, the door open and the conversation flowing. Not marketing, not health care reform. Yes, both of those are big issues in today’s health care arena, but what we are hoping for in using social media as part of our health care communications and education, is to help people and give the information they need and want…to be part of their own health care decisionmaking and team.

Thanks again for sharing, your thoughts!
Erin

As an advocacy organization, IHA is still analyzing the potential impacts and hospitals are turning to us for answers. This is something that will take years to play out.

I will say that social media did play a role in health care reform advocacy and will continue to do so. We will certainly use these tools to continue advancing IHA’s message.

And we will monitor the thoughts and ideas of experts like Lee and Ed to help our hospitals thoughtfully respond to all the changes coming down the pike.

Scott McIntyre
Director of Communications
Iowa Hospital Association