How important is it for healthcare providers, including orthopedic practices, to engage in social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or blogs? Pam Lagano, of strategy based public relations firm Lagano & Associates, Inc., emphasizes that it is essential.
There are many compelling reasons to use these tools to promote your practice, surgery center or hospital — everything from strengthening brand recognition to helping search engine rankings to increasing patient volume. Ms. Lagano discusses six points on using social media in a healthcare setting, citing several outstanding examples of how a few providers have used social media to their advantage for targeted objectives.
1. Customer Service
Norman Regional Health System spends 30 minutes a day on Twitter and Facebook. Through these tools they’ve worked quickly with frustrated patients to get their issues resolved. They would rather have them cared for in a positive and proactive manner immediately than weeks later as seen with other customer service tools.
"That's the gift of social media — immediacy," says Ms. Lagano.
2. Community Outreach and Engagement
The University of California-San Francisco Medical Center used Twitter, Facebook and the Facebook-based game Farmville to find new donors and raise $1 million for a new children's hospital.
3. Patient Education
Children's Hospital Boston has an active pediatric health blog and nearly 230,000 views of its YouTube videos. Ms. Lagano recommends that orthopedic practices take advantage of the resources on the AAOS patient education Web site, Your Orthopaedic Connection, to become more visible to patients. Include links to already existing patient tip sheets and injury prevention information on your blog or practice Facebook page.
For real time patient education, at least seven hospitals have used Twitter during live surgery, including:
• Methodist University Hospital in Memphis (brain surgery). This one led to 21,000 YouTube views and 3 requests for appointments
.
• Sherman Hospital (robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy). During this surgery, 72 followers asked questions on Twitter.
• Henry Ford (removal of a cancerous kidney mass). The impetus for the lead surgeon to Twitter was to let people know that a tumor can be removed without taking the entire kidney.
4. Public Relations
The media is always looking for stories and sources. Social media makes it easier for them to find the stories you have to tell. Facebook is a perfect supplement for all of these public relations activities. Children's Hospital Boston is ahead of the pack again, with more than 450,000 followers of its Facebook page — among the most of any hospital in the world.
5. Referring Physician Outreach
MD Anderson Cancer Center uses Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to promote use of Referring Physician Portals. They have found that this not only builds physician loyalty but also has significantly increased patient registrations.
6. Crisis Communications
An outstanding example was seen during the recent floods in North Dakota. Hospitals in the area of the floods used a blog and Twitter feed to communicate updates. They took control of their message, decreased media demands, and freed phone lines during the emergency.
"The bottom line is that the majority of consumers believe that if a hospital has a strong social media presence, they are likely to be more cutting edge, creating a halo effect across clinical functions," says Ms. Lagano.
Learn more about Lagano & Associates, Inc.
Related Articles on Social Media:
500 Million Potential Patients on Facebook: Why Your Practice Needs Social Media
6 Ways for Orthopedic Surgeons to Effectively Utilize Social Media
5 Ways Orthopedic Surgeons Can Improve Their Social Media Presence
1. Customer Service
Norman Regional Health System spends 30 minutes a day on Twitter and Facebook. Through these tools they’ve worked quickly with frustrated patients to get their issues resolved. They would rather have them cared for in a positive and proactive manner immediately than weeks later as seen with other customer service tools.
"That's the gift of social media — immediacy," says Ms. Lagano.
2. Community Outreach and Engagement
The University of California-San Francisco Medical Center used Twitter, Facebook and the Facebook-based game Farmville to find new donors and raise $1 million for a new children's hospital.
3. Patient Education
Children's Hospital Boston has an active pediatric health blog and nearly 230,000 views of its YouTube videos. Ms. Lagano recommends that orthopedic practices take advantage of the resources on the AAOS patient education Web site, Your Orthopaedic Connection, to become more visible to patients. Include links to already existing patient tip sheets and injury prevention information on your blog or practice Facebook page.
For real time patient education, at least seven hospitals have used Twitter during live surgery, including:
• Methodist University Hospital in Memphis (brain surgery). This one led to 21,000 YouTube views and 3 requests for appointments
.
• Sherman Hospital (robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomy). During this surgery, 72 followers asked questions on Twitter.
• Henry Ford (removal of a cancerous kidney mass). The impetus for the lead surgeon to Twitter was to let people know that a tumor can be removed without taking the entire kidney.
4. Public Relations
The media is always looking for stories and sources. Social media makes it easier for them to find the stories you have to tell. Facebook is a perfect supplement for all of these public relations activities. Children's Hospital Boston is ahead of the pack again, with more than 450,000 followers of its Facebook page — among the most of any hospital in the world.
5. Referring Physician Outreach
MD Anderson Cancer Center uses Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to promote use of Referring Physician Portals. They have found that this not only builds physician loyalty but also has significantly increased patient registrations.
6. Crisis Communications
An outstanding example was seen during the recent floods in North Dakota. Hospitals in the area of the floods used a blog and Twitter feed to communicate updates. They took control of their message, decreased media demands, and freed phone lines during the emergency.
"The bottom line is that the majority of consumers believe that if a hospital has a strong social media presence, they are likely to be more cutting edge, creating a halo effect across clinical functions," says Ms. Lagano.
Learn more about Lagano & Associates, Inc.
Related Articles on Social Media:
500 Million Potential Patients on Facebook: Why Your Practice Needs Social Media
6 Ways for Orthopedic Surgeons to Effectively Utilize Social Media
5 Ways Orthopedic Surgeons Can Improve Their Social Media Presence