New study reveals websites almost as important for health information as speaking with doctors and nurses

July 2, 2010 By

A recent study by Epsilon has some interesting information for healthcare professionals who are thinking about using social media to attract and communicate with their patients.

From the press release about the study:

  • 40% of online consumers use social media for health information (reading or posting content), but frequency of engagement varies widely;
  • Individuals who use healthcare social media fall into two broad groups; the highly engaged patient who takes an active role in health management (80%) versus individuals who lack confidence to play an active role in their own health (20%). Social efforts must address these two audience types with very different needs;
  • Consumers engage with healthcare social media for both rational and emotional reasons:
  • Emotional needs are primary. Many healthcare social media users want reassurance, support, and a sense of intimacy from people who are going through a similar experience;
  • Rational needs are secondary, but also important. Social media users are searching for foundational information about their specific conditions and symptoms, information about drugs and supplements, and the latest health news

For me, the study simply reinforces my sense that the web is now the first, go-to source of health and medical information. If doctors and healthcare professionals aren’t active on the web, they’re ceeding ground to those who are, including all the scam artists. Personally, I think healthcare providers need to be part of the conversation.

Below is a link to the press release. At the bottom of the release is a link to where you can get the full study. It’s worth reading and pondering:

Epsilon Study Reveals a Prescription for Customer Engagement. Inside Look at Social Media and the Pharmaceutical Industry Uncovers Significant Opportunities for Pharma Marketers

Filed Under: Healthcare blogs, Research, Social media Tagged With: ,

Q&A on therapists and social media

May 14, 2010 By

One of my favorite bloggers, Susan Giurleo of Smart Business Ideas for Helping Professionals, has an audio Q&A about some questions I posed to her in regard to a recent blog post on social networking:

I’m curious what you think about some of the issues that are raised in the article you link to. What’s your position on therapists researching their patients online, or friending them on FaceBook? Is it okay for a therapist to ask patents to become Fans (or “Like” in the current terminology) their business? Can social networking create doctor-patient confidentiality problems? In your experience, are there ethical grey areas or no-cross lines that you have to deal with while using social networking to help market yourself?

I enjoyed hearing her answers and learned a lot from them; I had never thought about the liability issues, for example. Please listen to the audio here. Susan has great things to say about using social media in a reasonable and effective manner.

Filed Under: Healthcare blogs, Social media, Social networks Tagged With: ,

An inspirational blog: MyHealth Beijing

February 2, 2010 By

When I want to show someone what the ideal doctor’s blog looks like, I point them to MyHealth Beijing. Please take a look. This blog provides us expats living in Beijing with the essential health information that we need to know. Air quality. Food safety. Traditional Chinese Medicine. These are all topics of daily interest to us Beijing expats and I read every post.

MyHealth Beijing belongs to Dr. Richard Saint Cyr, who works at the International Medical Center—Beijing. Soon after I discovered it, the blog went “viral” and soon Dr. Richard was being interviewed and mentioned in some of the major Beijing expat magazines (there are several). I’m sure there are many other equally or better qualified doctors here in Beijing, doctors who have lived here longer than Dr. Richard and whose knowledge and advice I could trust — but I don’t know them. They don’t have blogs. Dr. Richard is my Beijing health authority.

I find it interesting that this is Dr. Richard’s personal blog. It’s not part of the medical group he works for, yet I suspect it’s done wonders to promote the International Medical Center. I’ve always heard Beijing United Family Hospital mentioned as the leading Western-style hospital in Beijing, but I suspect MyHealth Beijing may be helping them get more patients. Before reading Dr. Richard’s blog, I’m not sure I’d ever even heard of the International Medical Center—Beijing; now I’m thinking about joining because I feel I can trust the heath care they provide, simply based on Dr. Richard.

If you’re a doctor, wouldn’t you like to establish this kind of authority and trust in your community?

Filed Under: Doctor's blogs, Healthcare blogs Tagged With: , , , , ,

Blogs are an essential part of “playing the social game” in today’s world

July 29, 2009 By

I’m reading The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt and came across a fascinating and suggestive couple of paragraphs about brain size and social networks.

Robin Dunbar has demonstrated that within a given group of vertebrate species — primates, carnivores, ungulates, birds, reptiles, or fish — the logarithm of the brain size is almost perfectly proportional to the logarithm of the social group size. In other words, all over the animal kingdom, brains grow to manage larger and larger groups. Social animals are smart animals.

Dunbar points out that chimpanzees live in groups of around thirty, and like all social primates, they spend enormous amounts of time grooming each other. Human beings ought to live in groups of around 150 people, judging from the logarithm of our brain size; and sure enough, studies of hunter-gatherer groups, military units, and city dwellers’ address books suggest that 100 to 150 is the “natural” group size within which people can know just about everyone directly, by name and face, and know how each person is related to everybody else.

One scientist’s research is not settled fact, of course, but this sounds right. And it makes me think of how quickly social media became popular: Sites like FaceBook and LinkedIn became successful so quickly, I think, because they truly suit the needs of our times. We live in a populous world and need to keep track of a never-ending stream of acquaintances, clients, customers, associates, former coworkers, and school friends. Our brains just can’t handle so many connections.

We need extra help.

The thing is, people use these social networking tools to do what people love to do most – talk about people.

Dunbar notes that people do in fact use language primarily to talk about other people — to find out who is doing what to whom, who is coupling with whom, who is fighting with whom. And Dunbar points out that in our ultrasocial species, success is largely a matter of playing the social game well.

Doctors and other medical professionals need to be part of this social game. Otherwise, they’re not part of the discussion – and not in control of their reputation.

Filed Under: Doctor's blogs, Healthcare blogs, Social networks Tagged With: , , ,