Physician Views on Use of Social Media: Patients 2.0 Doctors 2.0 Health 2.0

Doctors and hospitals are going social, adopting social media for professional and clinical use, based on surveys conducted in mid-2011 by QuantiaMD and Frost & Sullivan and the Institute for Health Technology Transformation (iHT2).



Two-thirds of physicians are using social media for professional purposes, and see potential in the use of these channels to facilitate patient-physician communication.


The survey found a cadre of “Connected Clinicians” who use multiple media sites to positively impact patient care. Over 20% of clinicians use 2 or more sites.


Only 1 in 10 physicians is familiar with one or more online patient communities, as the first chart illustrates.


This is true across various condition categories, especially for rare diseases, cancers, chronic conditions, maternal and child health, and wellness/prevention. As one physician shared anecdotally, “Patients can share their stories, learn from others, spread knowledge, and instill hope.”

The report, Social Media Use in U.S. Healthcare Provider Institutions: Insights from Frost & Sullivan and iHT2 Survey, dated August 30, 2011.


Discusses findings from a survey of hospitals, physician offices and other patient care settings conducted in April-May 2011. The survey found that 3 in 4 of them use social networking for professional purposes as shown in the second chart. One in 2 use internet forums, message boards and online communities, and 1 in 3 use blogs and chatrooms. 21% use microblogging (read: Twitter) for professional reasons. The most commonly-cited reason for using social media is marketing, brand awareness and business development — although Frost & Sullivan and iHT2 see signs in the market for health institutions to use social media outside of marketing. They point to the Veterans Administration which is encouraging employees to use social media to interact with patients and the public. Most U.S. health providers, though, are concerned about patient privacy and information security challenges when it comes to using social media beyond the marketing function.


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http://healthpopuli.com/2011/09/09/health-providers-go-social-and-most-are-keen-to-connect-with-patients-online-for-monitoring-and-group-consults/