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Perficient Perspectives: The Evolution of Social Media in Healthcare

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The Evolution of Social Media in Healthcare Healthcare organizations continue to navigate the transforming healthcare industry and identify new avenues to engage with consumers outside of the facility walls. In a fast-paced, information-dominated world, successfully interacting with consumers may seem like a daunting task. The key is to connect with consumers where they are and provide them with actionable health and wellness information they need to live a healthier life. When you think of social media in healthcare you might think it is a tool for marketing, but it goes much farther than that. Sure, social media can be used to attract and retain consumers, but social media can also be a powerful tool to reduce healthcare costs and help with chronic disease and population health management. Healthcare organizations are in varying stages of becoming social enterprises, from social innovators like Mayo Clinic to those beginning the journey to developing a comprehensive social media strategy. In this perspective we take a look at the evolution of social media in healthcare and discuss what social media in healthcare will look like in the future. When did you begin to see social media used in healthcare? How was it first used? Social media has been used in healthcare for a number of years. Henry Ford Health System was the first to live tweet a surgery in 2009, and Mayo Clinic held the first Annual Health Care Social Media Summit that year as well. However, it really wasn’t until 2011-2012 that we began to see high adoption of social media in healthcare. However, with the exception of some great examples like Seattle’s Swedish Hospital, social media was largely used just as a PR tool. Healthcare organizations were still largely speaking about themselves in the first person by describing all of their accomplishments in a way that looked very much like a press release. The healthcare organizations that got social media right in the early days understood their role as “healthcare provider” within the social media context as well. How is social media in healthcare used today? While almost every healthcare organization has a social media presence in one form or another, they vary significantly in terms of maturity. The more advanced healthcare organizations are using social media for one (or both) of the following: Managing population wellness: One of the most important uses of social media comes in the form of public health. Social media provides a multi-faceted means of delivering new – and perhaps critical – healthcare information to the public. The viral nature of social media can be a very effective means of disseminating information quickly. This is especially true when the information comes from a highly regarded source and is viewed as immediately applicable to patients. P ERSPECTIVES AN INTERVIEW WITH Melody Smith Jones leads connected health solutions for Perficient. She has more than 12 years of experience integrating technology solutions into marketing and loyalty strategies, and has specialized knowledge in the implementation of collaborative technologies, business intelligence, and CRM. Melody has an MBA from Xavier University in Business Intelligence and Marketing. Perficient experts sit down for an informal Q&A on the technology topics and issues on the minds of our clients. April 2015
Transcript

• Converting unknown consumers into patients: Any business needs to drive new revenue, and hospitals and health plans are no different. Given that approximately 60% of internet users look for health information online, social media is an abundantly helpful tool that both payors and providers can use to convert unknown consumers into patients/members and to increase loyalty from existing consumers. If hospitals and health plans want to serve the public, then they need to meet the public where they are, which increasingly means on the internet and social media.

How does social media impact healthcare consumer behaviors?The job of social media is to start conversations with consumers using forms of outreach they are already using to collect health information. Social media impacts consumer behavior in the same way that any great conversation with a trusted advisor does. In fact, according to Webbed Feet, 92% of consumers say they trust earned media, such as social media, word of mouth, recommendation from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising.

There is a seismic and stressful cultural shift taking place that transforms our “sick care” model into a “wellness” model that impacts care outside of the clinical setting in a transformational way. The market has reached a place where the industry has both the incentives and information needed to move towards this new model of care. The business practice challenge will understandably take much more time to heal.

What are the benefits of social media for patients, providers and health plans?The shift towards the wellness model has important implications for the health insurance plan as well. For example, Humana has reported that technology will be key in the effort to engage its more than 20 million consumers in a wellness model. Investments in “information tools” allow Humana to educate and motivate consumers, help them gain easier access to providers and more timely treatments, and to work to improve their health in multiple ways. Humana is transitioning its role to help members with their health needs as opposed to simply “financing access to sick care.” The strategy wraps around the integrated delivery model to accomplish several things:

• Quick dissemination of health education: Social media provides an incredible opportunity for healthcare organizations to demonstrate thought leadership on today’s most pressing healthcare topics such as diabetes, obesity, and wellness. Through the dissemination of medical information that is accurate and actionable, healthcare organizations can not only improve general health and well-being but also grow patient rosters, and the bottom line, as a result. Other industries have learned that providing free content that demonstrates thought leadership often brings sizeable rewards. Those same industries would be green with envy at the interest healthcare organizations receive from the content they create.

• Healthcare across vast distances: Social media allows people to share information at a speed and distance never before possible. It presents a new opportunity to prevent, diagnose, and

The Evolution of Social Media in HealthcareHealthcare organizations continue to navigate the transforming healthcare industry and identify new avenues to engage with consumers outside of the facility walls. In a fast-paced, information-dominated world, successfully interacting with consumers may seem like a daunting task. The key is to connect with consumers where they are and provide them with actionable health and wellness information they need to live a healthier life.

When you think of social media in healthcare you might think it is a tool for marketing, but it goes much farther than that. Sure, social media can be used to attract and retain consumers, but social media can also be a powerful tool to reduce healthcare costs and help with chronic disease and population health management. Healthcare organizations are in varying stages of becoming social enterprises, from social innovators like Mayo Clinic to those beginning the journey to developing a comprehensive social media strategy.

In this perspective we take a look at the evolution of social media in healthcare and discuss what social media in healthcare will look like in the future.

When did you begin to see social media used in healthcare? How was it first used?Social media has been used in healthcare for a number of years. Henry Ford Health System was the first to live tweet a surgery in 2009, and Mayo Clinic held the first Annual Health Care Social Media Summit that year as well. However, it really wasn’t until 2011-2012 that we began to see high adoption of social media in healthcare. However, with the exception of some great examples like Seattle’s Swedish Hospital, social media was largely used just as a PR tool. Healthcare organizations were still largely speaking about themselves in the first person by describing all of their accomplishments in a way that looked very much like a press release. The healthcare organizations that got social media right in the early days understood their role as “healthcare provider” within the social media context as well.

How is social media in healthcare used today?While almost every healthcare organization has a social media presence in one form or another, they vary significantly in terms of maturity. The more advanced healthcare organizations are using social media for one (or both) of the following:

• Managing population wellness: One of the most important uses of social media comes in the form of public health. Social media provides a multi-faceted means of delivering new – and perhaps critical – healthcare information to the public. The viral nature of social media can be a very effective means of disseminating information quickly. This is especially true when the information comes from a highly regarded source and is viewed as immediately applicable to patients.

treat diseases. In some cases it can even save lives. But we still need more engagement from healthcare professionals. Having lived in rural communities and a foreign country where I did not speak the native language, I can attest to the tremendous opportunity that healthcare organizations have through the adoption of collaboration and social media tools to provide quality care to individuals who may not otherwise have access to medical advice.

• Mechanism for cost control: Social media is the most cost-effective way to promote a message. Smart marketers already realize this, which is why they were early adopters of social media. However, social media can go beyond the marketing department of healthcare organizations. Social media and collaboration tools can provide an incredibly cost-effective way to monitor and dispense healthcare services. Healthcare organizations have an incredible opportunity to differentiate themselves as low cost providers of high-quality medicine through the use of social media and collaboration tools.

• Collaborative nature of social media: In many cases, industries outside of healthcare become guinea pigs for technological advances that can be later used in the healthcare industry. Social media has, in countless instances, leveled the playing field between companies and their consumers. Companies are now vigilantly monitoring social media networks for traces of customer sentiment around their brand in hopes that they can react. They are also leveraging the power of social media offensively to build brand awareness, prove thought leadership, and innovate. Healthcare organizations have incredible opportunities to harness the power of social media to achieve these same ends. However, if healthcare organizations are slow to invest in the tools and functions necessary to respond adequately to healthcare consumerism, then they could be at an incredible disadvantage if social media takes over their brand while they are not looking.

P E R S P E C T I V E SAN INTERVIEW WITH Melody Smith Jones

leads connected health solutions for Perficient. She has more than 12 years of experience integrating technology solutions into marketing and loyalty

strategies, and has specialized knowledge in the implementation of collaborative technologies, business intelligence, and CRM. Melody has an MBA from Xavier University in Business Intelligence and Marketing.

Perficient experts sit down for an informal Q&A on the technology topics and issues on the minds of our clients. April 2015

What challenges does social media present?There are some. First, there are privacy concerns. Violating HIPAA privacy policies can result in stiff penalties. As such, the same open nature that makes social media appealing also raises privacy concerns for healthcare organizations. There is little in the way of advice on the matter, and healthcare organizations have been shy with advancing social media policies of their own. Progress in this area, though slow, has grown at a good pace over the past few years. For example, Health and Human Services and the American Medical Association have guidance in the area.

Next, there is a lack of training in collaborative technologies. Many are intimidated by the rapid pace of social media, and doctors are no exception. There has been little professional guidance to help physicians navigate connections with patients on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. My recommendation is to join social media and ask the healthcare social community some questions. Due to its very nature, social media is filled with highly collaborative people who are willing to help a newcomer. Veterans in social media enthusiastically provide advice to newbies. Limits on holistic patient information is another concern. For obvious reasons, doctors are hesitant to provide medical advice to “online patients” when they have very little in the way of holistic medical history. Doctors have very good reasons for shining light in your eyes and listening to you breathe during an office visit. Interacting with patients online limits a physician’s access to important information. As a result, this new social medium for disseminating healthcare services creates questions related to liability for misdiagnosis. The reactionary nature of laws, particularly in regulating the use of new technologies, make healthcare organizations very skeptical about the social media scene.

Finally, there is a social stigma around social media. While a growing number of physicians participate in social media, there are also physicians that look down on the practice. They may wonder if a “real doctor” should be navigating social networks. They also may wonder if social media compromises the existing patient/doctor relationship. With the popularity of physician-only social media outlets like Doximity, I’m confident that these questions will be worked out within the medical community to the benefit of social media as a whole.

Where do you see healthcare social media going in the future?We expect to see three main trends in healthcare social media:

• Private networks: One of the biggest movements in social networking is a drive towards more private moments with a less densely populated circle of friends. This movement towards fewer but more stable connections is known as Dunbar’s number, which operates under the premise that one can maintain stable social relationships with about 150 people. With today’s social networks deluged with data, many consumers are moving towards more intimate and personal connections. Many of these networks are trending towards a common theme. As opposed to connecting only to people they know, consumers are now forming private networks based on shared themes, interests, passions, beliefs, and ideologies. It will be important for healthcare organizations to understand the already-existing

online patient communities as well. From my perspective, these pre-existing communities will form into the private social networks of healthcare.

• Social patient portal: Not all patient-doctor interaction can occur in traditional social media outlets. However, technologies are rapidly filling the current void to extend social media channels into a private, communication-rich online environments where patients and doctors can interact. Using these advances in technology, I envision that the traditional social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook, will become a starting point for healthcare communications that can be fully integrated into care using advances in collaborative technology.

• Social analytics and patient data: Over the past year I have heard the healthcare industry sing the collective “retail strategy” song. It’s true that adopting successful consumer engagement practices from other industries is a good practice to adopt. However, many healthcare organizations rallying behind retail strategies are ignoring what retail does so well: collect data around the consumer. Retail uses data to understand its consumer and predict their behavior to plan accordingly. However, healthcare organizations are catching on, and the future of social media will reflect this with the increased use of social analytics.

What should healthcare organizations do now to prepare for the future in terms of social media?Preparing for the future requires an organization to form a social media bedrock of both strategy and governance. To make a social media strategy effective, it is important to present content in a fashion and format that makes the most sense to the healthcare consumer. No two patient populations are the same, so you must know your patient population better than anyone else. Many times, the battle for customer engagement is fought through social media. And, increasingly, it can seem that organizations are no longer in control of the conversations that occur around their brand. This is a scary thought. As such, it is crucial that every social media strategy include a formal social media governance program. This program will ensure that an organization’s

social media conversations stay relevant and on message while also building a defense against brand erosion. However, with the right strategy, you can embrace the power of social to influence the conversation and amplify your message.

What else do you want people to know about the evolution?Doing social media well is not a sprint – it is a marathon. A healthcare organization should not expect to execute a single social media campaign – even a good one – and expect success. An effective healthcare social media program consists of a long-term relationship between a healthcare organization and the population it keeps well.

How can Perficient help engage healthcare consumers?Perficient’s connected health solutions engage patients, members, providers, and the health community using technology to deliver quality care outside of the traditional medical setting. While the healthcare consumer, on average, only spends 1% of their time in the care setting, it is the other 99% that determines whether they return or maintain their health. Connected health solutions at Perficient aim to maximize healthcare resources and provide increased and flexible opportunities for healthcare consumers to engage with their care. The ultimate goal is to reduce costs and improve the quality of care.

• Converting unknown consumers into patients: Any business needs to drive new revenue, and hospitals and health plans are no different. Given that approximately 60% of internet users look for health information online, social media is an abundantly helpful tool that both payors and providers can use to convert unknown consumers into patients/members and to increase loyalty from existing consumers. If hospitals and health plans want to serve the public, then they need to meet the public where they are, which increasingly means on the internet and social media.

How does social media impact healthcare consumer behaviors?The job of social media is to start conversations with consumers using forms of outreach they are already using to collect health information. Social media impacts consumer behavior in the same way that any great conversation with a trusted advisor does. In fact, according to Webbed Feet, 92% of consumers say they trust earned media, such as social media, word of mouth, recommendation from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising.

There is a seismic and stressful cultural shift taking place that transforms our “sick care” model into a “wellness” model that impacts care outside of the clinical setting in a transformational way. The market has reached a place where the industry has both the incentives and information needed to move towards this new model of care. The business practice challenge will understandably take much more time to heal.

What are the benefits of social media for patients, providers and health plans?The shift towards the wellness model has important implications for the health insurance plan as well. For example, Humana has reported that technology will be key in the effort to engage its more than 20 million consumers in a wellness model. Investments in “information tools” allow Humana to educate and motivate consumers, help them gain easier access to providers and more timely treatments, and to work to improve their health in multiple ways. Humana is transitioning its role to help members with their health needs as opposed to simply “financing access to sick care.” The strategy wraps around the integrated delivery model to accomplish several things:

• Quick dissemination of health education: Social media provides an incredible opportunity for healthcare organizations to demonstrate thought leadership on today’s most pressing healthcare topics such as diabetes, obesity, and wellness. Through the dissemination of medical information that is accurate and actionable, healthcare organizations can not only improve general health and well-being but also grow patient rosters, and the bottom line, as a result. Other industries have learned that providing free content that demonstrates thought leadership often brings sizeable rewards. Those same industries would be green with envy at the interest healthcare organizations receive from the content they create.

• Healthcare across vast distances: Social media allows people to share information at a speed and distance never before possible. It presents a new opportunity to prevent, diagnose, and

The Evolution of Social Media in HealthcareHealthcare organizations continue to navigate the transforming healthcare industry and identify new avenues to engage with consumers outside of the facility walls. In a fast-paced, information-dominated world, successfully interacting with consumers may seem like a daunting task. The key is to connect with consumers where they are and provide them with actionable health and wellness information they need to live a healthier life.

When you think of social media in healthcare you might think it is a tool for marketing, but it goes much farther than that. Sure, social media can be used to attract and retain consumers, but social media can also be a powerful tool to reduce healthcare costs and help with chronic disease and population health management. Healthcare organizations are in varying stages of becoming social enterprises, from social innovators like Mayo Clinic to those beginning the journey to developing a comprehensive social media strategy.

In this perspective we take a look at the evolution of social media in healthcare and discuss what social media in healthcare will look like in the future.

When did you begin to see social media used in healthcare? How was it first used?Social media has been used in healthcare for a number of years. Henry Ford Health System was the first to live tweet a surgery in 2009, and Mayo Clinic held the first Annual Health Care Social Media Summit that year as well. However, it really wasn’t until 2011-2012 that we began to see high adoption of social media in healthcare. However, with the exception of some great examples like Seattle’s Swedish Hospital, social media was largely used just as a PR tool. Healthcare organizations were still largely speaking about themselves in the first person by describing all of their accomplishments in a way that looked very much like a press release. The healthcare organizations that got social media right in the early days understood their role as “healthcare provider” within the social media context as well.

How is social media in healthcare used today?While almost every healthcare organization has a social media presence in one form or another, they vary significantly in terms of maturity. The more advanced healthcare organizations are using social media for one (or both) of the following:

• Managing population wellness: One of the most important uses of social media comes in the form of public health. Social media provides a multi-faceted means of delivering new – and perhaps critical – healthcare information to the public. The viral nature of social media can be a very effective means of disseminating information quickly. This is especially true when the information comes from a highly regarded source and is viewed as immediately applicable to patients.

treat diseases. In some cases it can even save lives. But we still need more engagement from healthcare professionals. Having lived in rural communities and a foreign country where I did not speak the native language, I can attest to the tremendous opportunity that healthcare organizations have through the adoption of collaboration and social media tools to provide quality care to individuals who may not otherwise have access to medical advice.

• Mechanism for cost control: Social media is the most cost-effective way to promote a message. Smart marketers already realize this, which is why they were early adopters of social media. However, social media can go beyond the marketing department of healthcare organizations. Social media and collaboration tools can provide an incredibly cost-effective way to monitor and dispense healthcare services. Healthcare organizations have an incredible opportunity to differentiate themselves as low cost providers of high-quality medicine through the use of social media and collaboration tools.

• Collaborative nature of social media: In many cases, industries outside of healthcare become guinea pigs for technological advances that can be later used in the healthcare industry. Social media has, in countless instances, leveled the playing field between companies and their consumers. Companies are now vigilantly monitoring social media networks for traces of customer sentiment around their brand in hopes that they can react. They are also leveraging the power of social media offensively to build brand awareness, prove thought leadership, and innovate. Healthcare organizations have incredible opportunities to harness the power of social media to achieve these same ends. However, if healthcare organizations are slow to invest in the tools and functions necessary to respond adequately to healthcare consumerism, then they could be at an incredible disadvantage if social media takes over their brand while they are not looking.

What challenges does social media present?There are some. First, there are privacy concerns. Violating HIPAA privacy policies can result in stiff penalties. As such, the same open nature that makes social media appealing also raises privacy concerns for healthcare organizations. There is little in the way of advice on the matter, and healthcare organizations have been shy with advancing social media policies of their own. Progress in this area, though slow, has grown at a good pace over the past few years. For example, Health and Human Services and the American Medical Association have guidance in the area.

Next, there is a lack of training in collaborative technologies. Many are intimidated by the rapid pace of social media, and doctors are no exception. There has been little professional guidance to help physicians navigate connections with patients on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. My recommendation is to join social media and ask the healthcare social community some questions. Due to its very nature, social media is filled with highly collaborative people who are willing to help a newcomer. Veterans in social media enthusiastically provide advice to newbies. Limits on holistic patient information is another concern. For obvious reasons, doctors are hesitant to provide medical advice to “online patients” when they have very little in the way of holistic medical history. Doctors have very good reasons for shining light in your eyes and listening to you breathe during an office visit. Interacting with patients online limits a physician’s access to important information. As a result, this new social medium for disseminating healthcare services creates questions related to liability for misdiagnosis. The reactionary nature of laws, particularly in regulating the use of new technologies, make healthcare organizations very skeptical about the social media scene.

Finally, there is a social stigma around social media. While a growing number of physicians participate in social media, there are also physicians that look down on the practice. They may wonder if a “real doctor” should be navigating social networks. They also may wonder if social media compromises the existing patient/doctor relationship. With the popularity of physician-only social media outlets like Doximity, I’m confident that these questions will be worked out within the medical community to the benefit of social media as a whole.

Where do you see healthcare social media going in the future?We expect to see three main trends in healthcare social media:

• Private networks: One of the biggest movements in social networking is a drive towards more private moments with a less densely populated circle of friends. This movement towards fewer but more stable connections is known as Dunbar’s number, which operates under the premise that one can maintain stable social relationships with about 150 people. With today’s social networks deluged with data, many consumers are moving towards more intimate and personal connections. Many of these networks are trending towards a common theme. As opposed to connecting only to people they know, consumers are now forming private networks based on shared themes, interests, passions, beliefs, and ideologies. It will be important for healthcare organizations to understand the already-existing

online patient communities as well. From my perspective, these pre-existing communities will form into the private social networks of healthcare.

• Social patient portal: Not all patient-doctor interaction can occur in traditional social media outlets. However, technologies are rapidly filling the current void to extend social media channels into a private, communication-rich online environments where patients and doctors can interact. Using these advances in technology, I envision that the traditional social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook, will become a starting point for healthcare communications that can be fully integrated into care using advances in collaborative technology.

• Social analytics and patient data: Over the past year I have heard the healthcare industry sing the collective “retail strategy” song. It’s true that adopting successful consumer engagement practices from other industries is a good practice to adopt. However, many healthcare organizations rallying behind retail strategies are ignoring what retail does so well: collect data around the consumer. Retail uses data to understand its consumer and predict their behavior to plan accordingly. However, healthcare organizations are catching on, and the future of social media will reflect this with the increased use of social analytics.

What should healthcare organizations do now to prepare for the future in terms of social media?Preparing for the future requires an organization to form a social media bedrock of both strategy and governance. To make a social media strategy effective, it is important to present content in a fashion and format that makes the most sense to the healthcare consumer. No two patient populations are the same, so you must know your patient population better than anyone else. Many times, the battle for customer engagement is fought through social media. And, increasingly, it can seem that organizations are no longer in control of the conversations that occur around their brand. This is a scary thought. As such, it is crucial that every social media strategy include a formal social media governance program. This program will ensure that an organization’s

social media conversations stay relevant and on message while also building a defense against brand erosion. However, with the right strategy, you can embrace the power of social to influence the conversation and amplify your message.

What else do you want people to know about the evolution?Doing social media well is not a sprint – it is a marathon. A healthcare organization should not expect to execute a single social media campaign – even a good one – and expect success. An effective healthcare social media program consists of a long-term relationship between a healthcare organization and the population it keeps well.

How can Perficient help engage healthcare consumers?Perficient’s connected health solutions engage patients, members, providers, and the health community using technology to deliver quality care outside of the traditional medical setting. While the healthcare consumer, on average, only spends 1% of their time in the care setting, it is the other 99% that determines whether they return or maintain their health. Connected health solutions at Perficient aim to maximize healthcare resources and provide increased and flexible opportunities for healthcare consumers to engage with their care. The ultimate goal is to reduce costs and improve the quality of care.

• Converting unknown consumers into patients: Any business needs to drive new revenue, and hospitals and health plans are no different. Given that approximately 60% of internet users look for health information online, social media is an abundantly helpful tool that both payors and providers can use to convert unknown consumers into patients/members and to increase loyalty from existing consumers. If hospitals and health plans want to serve the public, then they need to meet the public where they are, which increasingly means on the internet and social media.

How does social media impact healthcare consumer behaviors?The job of social media is to start conversations with consumers using forms of outreach they are already using to collect health information. Social media impacts consumer behavior in the same way that any great conversation with a trusted advisor does. In fact, according to Webbed Feet, 92% of consumers say they trust earned media, such as social media, word of mouth, recommendation from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising.

There is a seismic and stressful cultural shift taking place that transforms our “sick care” model into a “wellness” model that impacts care outside of the clinical setting in a transformational way. The market has reached a place where the industry has both the incentives and information needed to move towards this new model of care. The business practice challenge will understandably take much more time to heal.

What are the benefits of social media for patients, providers and health plans?The shift towards the wellness model has important implications for the health insurance plan as well. For example, Humana has reported that technology will be key in the effort to engage its more than 20 million consumers in a wellness model. Investments in “information tools” allow Humana to educate and motivate consumers, help them gain easier access to providers and more timely treatments, and to work to improve their health in multiple ways. Humana is transitioning its role to help members with their health needs as opposed to simply “financing access to sick care.” The strategy wraps around the integrated delivery model to accomplish several things:

• Quick dissemination of health education: Social media provides an incredible opportunity for healthcare organizations to demonstrate thought leadership on today’s most pressing healthcare topics such as diabetes, obesity, and wellness. Through the dissemination of medical information that is accurate and actionable, healthcare organizations can not only improve general health and well-being but also grow patient rosters, and the bottom line, as a result. Other industries have learned that providing free content that demonstrates thought leadership often brings sizeable rewards. Those same industries would be green with envy at the interest healthcare organizations receive from the content they create.

• Healthcare across vast distances: Social media allows people to share information at a speed and distance never before possible. It presents a new opportunity to prevent, diagnose, and

The Evolution of Social Media in HealthcareHealthcare organizations continue to navigate the transforming healthcare industry and identify new avenues to engage with consumers outside of the facility walls. In a fast-paced, information-dominated world, successfully interacting with consumers may seem like a daunting task. The key is to connect with consumers where they are and provide them with actionable health and wellness information they need to live a healthier life.

When you think of social media in healthcare you might think it is a tool for marketing, but it goes much farther than that. Sure, social media can be used to attract and retain consumers, but social media can also be a powerful tool to reduce healthcare costs and help with chronic disease and population health management. Healthcare organizations are in varying stages of becoming social enterprises, from social innovators like Mayo Clinic to those beginning the journey to developing a comprehensive social media strategy.

In this perspective we take a look at the evolution of social media in healthcare and discuss what social media in healthcare will look like in the future.

When did you begin to see social media used in healthcare? How was it first used?Social media has been used in healthcare for a number of years. Henry Ford Health System was the first to live tweet a surgery in 2009, and Mayo Clinic held the first Annual Health Care Social Media Summit that year as well. However, it really wasn’t until 2011-2012 that we began to see high adoption of social media in healthcare. However, with the exception of some great examples like Seattle’s Swedish Hospital, social media was largely used just as a PR tool. Healthcare organizations were still largely speaking about themselves in the first person by describing all of their accomplishments in a way that looked very much like a press release. The healthcare organizations that got social media right in the early days understood their role as “healthcare provider” within the social media context as well.

How is social media in healthcare used today?While almost every healthcare organization has a social media presence in one form or another, they vary significantly in terms of maturity. The more advanced healthcare organizations are using social media for one (or both) of the following:

• Managing population wellness: One of the most important uses of social media comes in the form of public health. Social media provides a multi-faceted means of delivering new – and perhaps critical – healthcare information to the public. The viral nature of social media can be a very effective means of disseminating information quickly. This is especially true when the information comes from a highly regarded source and is viewed as immediately applicable to patients.

treat diseases. In some cases it can even save lives. But we still need more engagement from healthcare professionals. Having lived in rural communities and a foreign country where I did not speak the native language, I can attest to the tremendous opportunity that healthcare organizations have through the adoption of collaboration and social media tools to provide quality care to individuals who may not otherwise have access to medical advice.

• Mechanism for cost control: Social media is the most cost-effective way to promote a message. Smart marketers already realize this, which is why they were early adopters of social media. However, social media can go beyond the marketing department of healthcare organizations. Social media and collaboration tools can provide an incredibly cost-effective way to monitor and dispense healthcare services. Healthcare organizations have an incredible opportunity to differentiate themselves as low cost providers of high-quality medicine through the use of social media and collaboration tools.

• Collaborative nature of social media: In many cases, industries outside of healthcare become guinea pigs for technological advances that can be later used in the healthcare industry. Social media has, in countless instances, leveled the playing field between companies and their consumers. Companies are now vigilantly monitoring social media networks for traces of customer sentiment around their brand in hopes that they can react. They are also leveraging the power of social media offensively to build brand awareness, prove thought leadership, and innovate. Healthcare organizations have incredible opportunities to harness the power of social media to achieve these same ends. However, if healthcare organizations are slow to invest in the tools and functions necessary to respond adequately to healthcare consumerism, then they could be at an incredible disadvantage if social media takes over their brand while they are not looking.

What challenges does social media present?There are some. First, there are privacy concerns. Violating HIPAA privacy policies can result in stiff penalties. As such, the same open nature that makes social media appealing also raises privacy concerns for healthcare organizations. There is little in the way of advice on the matter, and healthcare organizations have been shy with advancing social media policies of their own. Progress in this area, though slow, has grown at a good pace over the past few years. For example, Health and Human Services and the American Medical Association have guidance in the area.

Next, there is a lack of training in collaborative technologies. Many are intimidated by the rapid pace of social media, and doctors are no exception. There has been little professional guidance to help physicians navigate connections with patients on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. My recommendation is to join social media and ask the healthcare social community some questions. Due to its very nature, social media is filled with highly collaborative people who are willing to help a newcomer. Veterans in social media enthusiastically provide advice to newbies. Limits on holistic patient information is another concern. For obvious reasons, doctors are hesitant to provide medical advice to “online patients” when they have very little in the way of holistic medical history. Doctors have very good reasons for shining light in your eyes and listening to you breathe during an office visit. Interacting with patients online limits a physician’s access to important information. As a result, this new social medium for disseminating healthcare services creates questions related to liability for misdiagnosis. The reactionary nature of laws, particularly in regulating the use of new technologies, make healthcare organizations very skeptical about the social media scene.

Finally, there is a social stigma around social media. While a growing number of physicians participate in social media, there are also physicians that look down on the practice. They may wonder if a “real doctor” should be navigating social networks. They also may wonder if social media compromises the existing patient/doctor relationship. With the popularity of physician-only social media outlets like Doximity, I’m confident that these questions will be worked out within the medical community to the benefit of social media as a whole.

Where do you see healthcare social media going in the future?We expect to see three main trends in healthcare social media:

• Private networks: One of the biggest movements in social networking is a drive towards more private moments with a less densely populated circle of friends. This movement towards fewer but more stable connections is known as Dunbar’s number, which operates under the premise that one can maintain stable social relationships with about 150 people. With today’s social networks deluged with data, many consumers are moving towards more intimate and personal connections. Many of these networks are trending towards a common theme. As opposed to connecting only to people they know, consumers are now forming private networks based on shared themes, interests, passions, beliefs, and ideologies. It will be important for healthcare organizations to understand the already-existing

online patient communities as well. From my perspective, these pre-existing communities will form into the private social networks of healthcare.

• Social patient portal: Not all patient-doctor interaction can occur in traditional social media outlets. However, technologies are rapidly filling the current void to extend social media channels into a private, communication-rich online environments where patients and doctors can interact. Using these advances in technology, I envision that the traditional social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook, will become a starting point for healthcare communications that can be fully integrated into care using advances in collaborative technology.

• Social analytics and patient data: Over the past year I have heard the healthcare industry sing the collective “retail strategy” song. It’s true that adopting successful consumer engagement practices from other industries is a good practice to adopt. However, many healthcare organizations rallying behind retail strategies are ignoring what retail does so well: collect data around the consumer. Retail uses data to understand its consumer and predict their behavior to plan accordingly. However, healthcare organizations are catching on, and the future of social media will reflect this with the increased use of social analytics.

What should healthcare organizations do now to prepare for the future in terms of social media?Preparing for the future requires an organization to form a social media bedrock of both strategy and governance. To make a social media strategy effective, it is important to present content in a fashion and format that makes the most sense to the healthcare consumer. No two patient populations are the same, so you must know your patient population better than anyone else. Many times, the battle for customer engagement is fought through social media. And, increasingly, it can seem that organizations are no longer in control of the conversations that occur around their brand. This is a scary thought. As such, it is crucial that every social media strategy include a formal social media governance program. This program will ensure that an organization’s

social media conversations stay relevant and on message while also building a defense against brand erosion. However, with the right strategy, you can embrace the power of social to influence the conversation and amplify your message.

What else do you want people to know about the evolution?Doing social media well is not a sprint – it is a marathon. A healthcare organization should not expect to execute a single social media campaign – even a good one – and expect success. An effective healthcare social media program consists of a long-term relationship between a healthcare organization and the population it keeps well.

How can Perficient help engage healthcare consumers?Perficient’s connected health solutions engage patients, members, providers, and the health community using technology to deliver quality care outside of the traditional medical setting. While the healthcare consumer, on average, only spends 1% of their time in the care setting, it is the other 99% that determines whether they return or maintain their health. Connected health solutions at Perficient aim to maximize healthcare resources and provide increased and flexible opportunities for healthcare consumers to engage with their care. The ultimate goal is to reduce costs and improve the quality of care.

• Converting unknown consumers into patients: Any business needs to drive new revenue, and hospitals and health plans are no different. Given that approximately 60% of internet users look for health information online, social media is an abundantly helpful tool that both payors and providers can use to convert unknown consumers into patients/members and to increase loyalty from existing consumers. If hospitals and health plans want to serve the public, then they need to meet the public where they are, which increasingly means on the internet and social media.

How does social media impact healthcare consumer behaviors?The job of social media is to start conversations with consumers using forms of outreach they are already using to collect health information. Social media impacts consumer behavior in the same way that any great conversation with a trusted advisor does. In fact, according to Webbed Feet, 92% of consumers say they trust earned media, such as social media, word of mouth, recommendation from friends and family, above all other forms of advertising.

There is a seismic and stressful cultural shift taking place that transforms our “sick care” model into a “wellness” model that impacts care outside of the clinical setting in a transformational way. The market has reached a place where the industry has both the incentives and information needed to move towards this new model of care. The business practice challenge will understandably take much more time to heal.

What are the benefits of social media for patients, providers and health plans?The shift towards the wellness model has important implications for the health insurance plan as well. For example, Humana has reported that technology will be key in the effort to engage its more than 20 million consumers in a wellness model. Investments in “information tools” allow Humana to educate and motivate consumers, help them gain easier access to providers and more timely treatments, and to work to improve their health in multiple ways. Humana is transitioning its role to help members with their health needs as opposed to simply “financing access to sick care.” The strategy wraps around the integrated delivery model to accomplish several things:

• Quick dissemination of health education: Social media provides an incredible opportunity for healthcare organizations to demonstrate thought leadership on today’s most pressing healthcare topics such as diabetes, obesity, and wellness. Through the dissemination of medical information that is accurate and actionable, healthcare organizations can not only improve general health and well-being but also grow patient rosters, and the bottom line, as a result. Other industries have learned that providing free content that demonstrates thought leadership often brings sizeable rewards. Those same industries would be green with envy at the interest healthcare organizations receive from the content they create.

• Healthcare across vast distances: Social media allows people to share information at a speed and distance never before possible. It presents a new opportunity to prevent, diagnose, and

The Evolution of Social Media in HealthcareHealthcare organizations continue to navigate the transforming healthcare industry and identify new avenues to engage with consumers outside of the facility walls. In a fast-paced, information-dominated world, successfully interacting with consumers may seem like a daunting task. The key is to connect with consumers where they are and provide them with actionable health and wellness information they need to live a healthier life.

When you think of social media in healthcare you might think it is a tool for marketing, but it goes much farther than that. Sure, social media can be used to attract and retain consumers, but social media can also be a powerful tool to reduce healthcare costs and help with chronic disease and population health management. Healthcare organizations are in varying stages of becoming social enterprises, from social innovators like Mayo Clinic to those beginning the journey to developing a comprehensive social media strategy.

In this perspective we take a look at the evolution of social media in healthcare and discuss what social media in healthcare will look like in the future.

When did you begin to see social media used in healthcare? How was it first used?Social media has been used in healthcare for a number of years. Henry Ford Health System was the first to live tweet a surgery in 2009, and Mayo Clinic held the first Annual Health Care Social Media Summit that year as well. However, it really wasn’t until 2011-2012 that we began to see high adoption of social media in healthcare. However, with the exception of some great examples like Seattle’s Swedish Hospital, social media was largely used just as a PR tool. Healthcare organizations were still largely speaking about themselves in the first person by describing all of their accomplishments in a way that looked very much like a press release. The healthcare organizations that got social media right in the early days understood their role as “healthcare provider” within the social media context as well.

How is social media in healthcare used today?While almost every healthcare organization has a social media presence in one form or another, they vary significantly in terms of maturity. The more advanced healthcare organizations are using social media for one (or both) of the following:

• Managing population wellness: One of the most important uses of social media comes in the form of public health. Social media provides a multi-faceted means of delivering new – and perhaps critical – healthcare information to the public. The viral nature of social media can be a very effective means of disseminating information quickly. This is especially true when the information comes from a highly regarded source and is viewed as immediately applicable to patients.

treat diseases. In some cases it can even save lives. But we still need more engagement from healthcare professionals. Having lived in rural communities and a foreign country where I did not speak the native language, I can attest to the tremendous opportunity that healthcare organizations have through the adoption of collaboration and social media tools to provide quality care to individuals who may not otherwise have access to medical advice.

• Mechanism for cost control: Social media is the most cost-effective way to promote a message. Smart marketers already realize this, which is why they were early adopters of social media. However, social media can go beyond the marketing department of healthcare organizations. Social media and collaboration tools can provide an incredibly cost-effective way to monitor and dispense healthcare services. Healthcare organizations have an incredible opportunity to differentiate themselves as low cost providers of high-quality medicine through the use of social media and collaboration tools.

• Collaborative nature of social media: In many cases, industries outside of healthcare become guinea pigs for technological advances that can be later used in the healthcare industry. Social media has, in countless instances, leveled the playing field between companies and their consumers. Companies are now vigilantly monitoring social media networks for traces of customer sentiment around their brand in hopes that they can react. They are also leveraging the power of social media offensively to build brand awareness, prove thought leadership, and innovate. Healthcare organizations have incredible opportunities to harness the power of social media to achieve these same ends. However, if healthcare organizations are slow to invest in the tools and functions necessary to respond adequately to healthcare consumerism, then they could be at an incredible disadvantage if social media takes over their brand while they are not looking.

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What challenges does social media present?There are some. First, there are privacy concerns. Violating HIPAA privacy policies can result in stiff penalties. As such, the same open nature that makes social media appealing also raises privacy concerns for healthcare organizations. There is little in the way of advice on the matter, and healthcare organizations have been shy with advancing social media policies of their own. Progress in this area, though slow, has grown at a good pace over the past few years. For example, Health and Human Services and the American Medical Association have guidance in the area.

Next, there is a lack of training in collaborative technologies. Many are intimidated by the rapid pace of social media, and doctors are no exception. There has been little professional guidance to help physicians navigate connections with patients on Facebook, Twitter, and other sites. My recommendation is to join social media and ask the healthcare social community some questions. Due to its very nature, social media is filled with highly collaborative people who are willing to help a newcomer. Veterans in social media enthusiastically provide advice to newbies. Limits on holistic patient information is another concern. For obvious reasons, doctors are hesitant to provide medical advice to “online patients” when they have very little in the way of holistic medical history. Doctors have very good reasons for shining light in your eyes and listening to you breathe during an office visit. Interacting with patients online limits a physician’s access to important information. As a result, this new social medium for disseminating healthcare services creates questions related to liability for misdiagnosis. The reactionary nature of laws, particularly in regulating the use of new technologies, make healthcare organizations very skeptical about the social media scene.

Finally, there is a social stigma around social media. While a growing number of physicians participate in social media, there are also physicians that look down on the practice. They may wonder if a “real doctor” should be navigating social networks. They also may wonder if social media compromises the existing patient/doctor relationship. With the popularity of physician-only social media outlets like Doximity, I’m confident that these questions will be worked out within the medical community to the benefit of social media as a whole.

Where do you see healthcare social media going in the future?We expect to see three main trends in healthcare social media:

• Private networks: One of the biggest movements in social networking is a drive towards more private moments with a less densely populated circle of friends. This movement towards fewer but more stable connections is known as Dunbar’s number, which operates under the premise that one can maintain stable social relationships with about 150 people. With today’s social networks deluged with data, many consumers are moving towards more intimate and personal connections. Many of these networks are trending towards a common theme. As opposed to connecting only to people they know, consumers are now forming private networks based on shared themes, interests, passions, beliefs, and ideologies. It will be important for healthcare organizations to understand the already-existing

online patient communities as well. From my perspective, these pre-existing communities will form into the private social networks of healthcare.

• Social patient portal: Not all patient-doctor interaction can occur in traditional social media outlets. However, technologies are rapidly filling the current void to extend social media channels into a private, communication-rich online environments where patients and doctors can interact. Using these advances in technology, I envision that the traditional social media outlets, such as Twitter and Facebook, will become a starting point for healthcare communications that can be fully integrated into care using advances in collaborative technology.

• Social analytics and patient data: Over the past year I have heard the healthcare industry sing the collective “retail strategy” song. It’s true that adopting successful consumer engagement practices from other industries is a good practice to adopt. However, many healthcare organizations rallying behind retail strategies are ignoring what retail does so well: collect data around the consumer. Retail uses data to understand its consumer and predict their behavior to plan accordingly. However, healthcare organizations are catching on, and the future of social media will reflect this with the increased use of social analytics.

What should healthcare organizations do now to prepare for the future in terms of social media?Preparing for the future requires an organization to form a social media bedrock of both strategy and governance. To make a social media strategy effective, it is important to present content in a fashion and format that makes the most sense to the healthcare consumer. No two patient populations are the same, so you must know your patient population better than anyone else. Many times, the battle for customer engagement is fought through social media. And, increasingly, it can seem that organizations are no longer in control of the conversations that occur around their brand. This is a scary thought. As such, it is crucial that every social media strategy include a formal social media governance program. This program will ensure that an organization’s

social media conversations stay relevant and on message while also building a defense against brand erosion. However, with the right strategy, you can embrace the power of social to influence the conversation and amplify your message.

What else do you want people to know about the evolution?Doing social media well is not a sprint – it is a marathon. A healthcare organization should not expect to execute a single social media campaign – even a good one – and expect success. An effective healthcare social media program consists of a long-term relationship between a healthcare organization and the population it keeps well.

How can Perficient help engage healthcare consumers?Perficient’s connected health solutions engage patients, members, providers, and the health community using technology to deliver quality care outside of the traditional medical setting. While the healthcare consumer, on average, only spends 1% of their time in the care setting, it is the other 99% that determines whether they return or maintain their health. Connected health solutions at Perficient aim to maximize healthcare resources and provide increased and flexible opportunities for healthcare consumers to engage with their care. The ultimate goal is to reduce costs and improve the quality of care.


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