subject: Social network spreads its wings to healthcare [print this page] Social network spreads its wings to healthcare
Social media has become an imperative marketing tool for hospitals. Healthcare institutions are acknowledging the fact that they are feeling the need to engage their physicians as well as patients online. There is more and sure growth through the various social media platforms which are prevalent today like Linkedin, Twitter, and Facebook.
As said before, various hospitals and healthcare entities are tiptoeing into the social network world, the return on investment still remaining a challenge. With HIPAA laws in place and the need to increase the revenue, this has come as a fresh breath addressing the avenues of marketing healthcare services.
Yet though it might seem that social networking has taken the doctors by storm, there is always some initial convincing required to see the benefits in the long run more clearly. The idea in itself is time consuming enough and in the doctors world it is looked upon merely as an expansion of the marketing department.
However hiring a social media specialist is getting more suggestive as doctors notice the trend of general people seeking for advice on the best healthcare concerns as well as doctors, over the internet. Patients share in formation among themselves and even check on customer testimonials on youtube or twitter to be doubly sure before risking their treatment with a healthcare organization. Hence there is a need to be present in the virtual world to be on the top of the mind of the patient. The word of mouth is still important for healthcare business and when a patient googles for a doctor and the blog comes up on Twitter, it just stresses on the convincing route.
Social media involves primarily enabling relationships among people for greater exchange of information. However, it is not only about the sharing information but doing it in a more interactive way.
Sure, it is nice to "follow" a doctor's link on any one of these social networking services. However it's an undue dilemma to suggest whether a doctor is doing this just to attract attention through positive comments , and somehow misguiding empowered patients to find the information themselves which is a common practice. Hence they divert from the intial responsibility of treating a patient and more on glorifying their business. The responsibilities of the health concerns are largely getting divided in this competitive scenario and no one can blame them for trying newer marketing strategies for increasing footfalls to clinics and treating patients well.
