1. Healthcare in Social Media
Presented by: Carolyn Gamoso

2. Is there a doctor in the house?!?!?
YES!
…sort of

3. Objectives: Describe the characteristics of online consumers.
Discuss the benefits and risks of social media.
Examine the implications of the internet and social media on the health consumers.
Identify ethical issues related to the use of internet and social media.
Analyze the role of INS in the use of internet and social media.

4. Who is the online consumer?
Empowered and engaged individuals with a “self-defined” need to obtain health information online, either for themselves or others, on various topics like primary prevention and health promotion, disease prevention, treatment options, and management of illnesses (Lewis et al. 2010).

5. Who is the online consumer?
In 2012, the majority of online consumers were either female, white, ages 18-49, had a higher education level, or had higher incomes
Half of those health inquiries were for the online consumers themselves and half were on someone else’s behalf.
(Fox & Duggan, 2013)

6. Answer Billing Questions
What are their expectations?
Answer Billing Questions
Medical Conditions
Book Appointments
Health Promotion
Test Results
COMMUNICATION
INFORMATION
CONVENIENCE
Prescription Refills
Chatroom
Update Personal Information
Treatments
ILLNESSES
Medical Records
(Nelson & Ball, 2004)

7. What are their expectations?
Consumers want to access information on health promotion, medical conditions & chronic illnesses, and treatments for the such as well as access to their own medical record information and test results.
Consumers want to communicate with healthcare providers via which gives them a chance to communicate off hours and compose their thoughts and questions on their own time.
Consumers want to be able to book appointments, order prescription refills, update information, and answer billing questions.
(Nelson & Ball, 2004)

8. Where are they looking?
In 2012, 72% of online consumers looked online for health information
77% started on search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo
13% started on specialized health information sites like WebMD
2% looked for health information on general sites like Wikipedia
1% started their searches at a social network site like Facebook
(Fox & Duggan, 2013)

9. At its very core, Social Media allows users to exchange user-generated content with other users
Users share opinions, knowledge, & content
Social Media initiates voluntary participation & communication. Thus, passive users now become active producers.
Users create & maintain relationships with other users who have similar needs, interests, or problems
(Zokepli & Karulzaman, 2014)

10. A Risky Business…
Privacy, Confidentiality & Security Breach of personal information
Social Media lacks regulation
Information can be unreliable
Information can be targeted (ie. marketing ploys)
Advocacy vs. Accuracy - Consumer Perception of Information can be obscured by user comments/opinion
(Lau et al., 2012)

11. Health Consumers Internet & Social Media
Health information and staying updated
Social support
Giving and receiving advice from peers with like conditions
Health Consumers Internet & Social Media
Healthcare Efficiency
Cost reduction through education
Quality healthcare improvement (ie. comparing providers)
Increased interactivity improving provider-patient relationship
Self Care and Self-Management
(Antheunis et al., 2013)

12. Informatics Nurse Specialists Ethics, Internet & Social Media
Understand value for Social Media’s
ability to engage the public in order to promote health
Take advantage of “instantaneous” attribute of Social Media and post meaningful and critical health information
Utilize multiple Social Media platforms to reach larger audiences (Neiger et al., 2012)
Understand how to
use social media and how consumers digest online content (Prasad, 2013)
Informatics Nurse Specialists Ethics, Internet & Social Media

13. Informatics Nurse Specialists Ethics, Internet & Social Media
Take responsibility for what you post.
Protect Brand Image
Adhere to organizations Social Networking/Media policies
Maintain profession’s ethical standards.
Dual citizenship – professional vs. personal. Beware that separate accounts do not guarantee privacy
ANA’s “Principles For Social Networking and the Nurse”
Digital professionalism -
Be honest
Share good information
Refute bad information
Informatics Nurse Specialists Ethics, Internet & Social Media
Define goals & objectives and
stick to them
when posting information
Protect patient privacy/confidentiality
(Gagnon & Sabus, 2014)

14. References:
Antheunis, M., Tates, K., & Nieboer, T. (2013). Patients’ and health professional’s use of social media in health care: Motives, barriers, and expectations. Patient Education and Counseling, 92,
Fox, S., & Duggan, M. (2013). Health Online Retrieved from
Gagnon, K., & Sabus, C. (2014). Professionalism in a digital age: Opportunities and considerations for using social media in health care. Physical Therapy, 95(3), DOI: /ptj
Lau, A., Gabarron, E., Fernandez-Lugue, L., & Armayones, M. (2012). Social media in health- what are the safety concerns for health consumers? Health Information Management Journal, 41(2),
Lewis, D., Eysenbach, G., Kukafka, R., Stavri, P., & Jimison, H. (2010). Consumer Health Informatics: Informing Consumers and Improving Health Care. New York, NY: Springer.
Neiger, B., Thackeray, R., Van Wagenen, S., Hanson, W., Barnes, M., et al. (2012). Use of social media in health promotion: Purposes, key performance indicators, and evaluation metrics. Health Promotion Practice, 13(2), DOI: /
Nelson, R., & Ball, M. (2004). Consumer Informatics: Applications and Strategies in Cyber Health Care. New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.
Prasad, B. (2013). Social media, health care, and social networking. Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, 77(3),
Zolkepli, I., & Kamarulzaman, Y. (2015). Social media adoption: The role of media needs and innovation characteristics. Computers in Human Behavior, 43,