1 Days of Past Futures Social Media and Health Care: The way forward Saturday, 21 September 2015 Pat Rich

2 Who am I? Work for the Canadian Medical Association – based in Ottawa, Canada Non-profit organization representing more than 80,000 Canadian physicians 2012 developed “rules of engagement” about social media for members Comprehensive strategy of using social media for communications and member engagement

3 The future The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.–L.P. Hartley, The Go-Between, 1953 “And we can also truly say, “The future is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” In considering a future time, you have to reckon with a whole thing: a complete culture, marketplace, society, community, industry, and all the things that shape them. Too often we don’t, we take up one change that we think is powerful and important, and leave most everything else like it is. John B. Mahaffie, April 30, 2012 Blog post

4 Social media tools are no longer new or mysterious Facebook >10 years old YouTube – just celebrated 10 years Twitter in common use for > 5 years First comprehensive social media guidelines developed for physicians and med students more than 5 years ago

Health care is changing … and social media enables and facilitates 1)social networking, 2)participation, 3)apomediation, 4)openness, and 5)collaboration

6 The New World  Main social media sites embedded into our culture (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube)  Dr. Google first choice for health information (Wikipedia for medical students)  E-patients using electronic tools and want to be engaged in their health care  Convergence of digital, mobile and social  Global, instantaneous communication and engagement  Explosion in number of health related apps (but few used more than once)  “Big data” being used to track disease trends and population-health  Research studies showing social media tools can be used to improve health in many ways

7 A changing environment: Are you digitally literate enough? “Today’s medical professionals must be masters of different skills that are related to using digital devices or online solutions” and mastering those skills “is now a crucial skill set that all medical professionals require.” Dr. Bertalan Mesko The democratization of media has made every physician an independent publisher …physicians now have to learn to manage and maintain their identity in the public space,” Dr. Bryan Vartabedian, From an article by Stephen Pelletier, in the AAMC Reporter, Aug, 2014

8 Where were you when the tide came in?  “Whether doctors choose to engage in social media or not, they cannot ignore the implications”  “While individual physicians are at different stages in their use of social media, it is a journey all physicians will eventually take. Social media is becoming so pervasive its importance as a channel to keep current on medical findings and to confer with colleagues is undeniable.” CMPA October,2014 Supplement

9 “We have current roles and guidelines but times are changing quickly. By 2017 patients and their health care providers are going to be communicating very differently.” Dr. Darren Beiko, Queens University urologist, July, 2013

10 And yet …. Percentage of Canadian physicians using social media for professional use Linked In or Facebook 8.5% YouTube or Flickr 5.1% Twitter 3.6% Blog4.5% Source: National Physician Survey 2014

11 Unanticipated consequences Desire to share information overriding traditional concerns about patient privacy and confidentiality Wearables rapidly ceasing to be just personal health devices and becoming fashion statements Desire to share information overriding traditional concerns about patient privacy and confidentiality Narrative medicine on the upsurge Photo: AP AP Photo

12 Predictions Use of social media by health care professionals will continue to grow incrementally New tools will continue to outpace ethics of their use

13 Social media are just tools … but tools have changed history - stirrup, plough, gun etc. Social media are tools of the mind rather than physical tools

14 Predictions Social media in conjunction with scientific breakthroughs, societal changes and other unknowns will transform health care delivery as we know it

15 Salamat!