Social media and Facebook tips for hospitals

1. Facebook: Useful Communication Channel
Or Waste Of Time For Hospitals?
Abstract – The reputation of Facebook as a useful communication channel between hospitals and
patients has been sullied by a number of social media gaffes by hospital employees, some of which
involved HIPAA violations (http://goo.gl/E8H4E). Perhaps as a result, many contradictory opinions on
Facebook as a communication channel for hospitals have been published, indicating that social media,
such as Facebook, is either a waste of time for hospitals and doctors (http://goo.gl/QU0gz) or a great
communication resource which hospitals need to engage with (http://goo.gl/kKmy4). We examine the
proper use of Facebook by hospitals, to demonstrate that it can engage patients and generate warm,
positive feelings toward the hospital – included a detailed case study of how one hospital uses
Facebook.
Introduction -
Recently many contradictory opinions on Facebook as a communication channel for hospitals have been
published (for this article, all full web links are given at the end). Social media, such as Facebook, is
either a waste of time for hospitals and doctors (http://goo.gl/QU0gz) or a great communication
resource which hospitals need to engage with (http://goo.gl/kKmy4). Smaller hospitals are better at
Facebook than larger hospitals (http://goo.gl/jwNzE ) except when they aren’t. Social media is a one way
communication blast from hospitals (http://goo.gl/TeCmx ), except when it isn’t (see for example this
description of patient engagement through Facebook - http://goo.gl/YMrYy ). And of course, it is
important to remember the many horrible hospital-related gaffes performed by hospital employees on
their private Facebook pages, usually involving some type of breach of patient privacy – involving both
doctors (http://goo.gl/E8H4E ) and nurses (http://goo.gl/WNIIO ).
Even medical organizations that believe in the importance of social media and that want to set useful,
helpful guidelines for their use as a communication channel tend to view social media, such as
Facebook, with alarm. For example, the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), the professional
membership body for family doctors in the UK, is seeking doctors’ input on a Social Media Highway
Code, a set of draft guidelines for the use of social media by physicians in the UK http://goo.gl/0uZ67 ).
In the draft, the RCGP makes the rather startling assertion that physicians should follow 'the unwritten
code adopted by cowboys in the newly discovered frontier of the Wild West' when engaging with social
media (http://goo.gl/tsA6w ).
With all of these contradictions, what is possible to say about Facebook and hospitals? To answer this
question, it is necessary to consider the Why, What and How of Facebook.
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Why Facebook for hospitals – because your patients are on Facebook, communicating with each other
about their medical experiences and concerns – and also about you, the hospital. Avoiding Facebook is
like trying to avoid direct communication with your patients; it is a bad idea generally and won’t lead to
success in the long run. Hospitals want to help their patients and want to engage with them; since
patients are on Facebook, it is important for the hospitals to be there too.
What can Facebook do for hospitals – Facebook provides a comfortable, engaging platform for patients
to discuss their medical fears and lack of information, as well as their experiences with providers of
medical care. Hospitals which acknowledge this role of Facebook can use it to provide accurate
information, allay medical fears and use patient feedback to provide more positive medical experiences.
How does Facebook work? This last question relates to many potential pitfalls for hospitals and
providers of medical care. Facebook is a public on-line forum; although many users experience feelings
of intimacy, comfort and connectedness through interacting with Facebook, it is anything but private.
Hospitals need to always ensure that patient privacy is respected, even if a patient chooses to post
private medical information on a public hospital Facebook page, and to encourage patients to interact
with the hospital in a manner which respects patients’ privacy.
This last point is one reason that many hospitals shy away from even attempting to engage with
Facebook; they fear violations of patient privacy and loss of control over patient data. However, if
hospitals engage correctly with patients through Facebook, they can provide a positive experience to
patients while respecting their privacy and maintaining data protection as required under HIPAA.
What do your patients like on Facebook?
In a study entitled "The Economics of Social Computing: Some Preliminary Findings on Healthcare
Organizations" published in the Journal of Computational Science in August 2011, a number of points
were found to give patients a positive Facebook experience with a hospital. These points included:
 Share positive news, such as birth announcements (obviously being careful to conform to HIPAA
for patient privacy)
 Post about new developments – a new wing, new services – anything that helps the patient
achieve a deeper/more extensive interaction with the hospital
 Emphasize your hospital’s expertise, whether in particular services or in specific patient
categories
Other studies have suggested posting quizzes and other interactive applications for patients to enjoy.
Some hospitals, such as the Mayo Clinic, encourage patients to post their personal stories and photos on
Facebook (http://goo.gl/yYWpO ).
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Providing a positive experience to your patients on Facebook – case study
To demonstrate how these seemingly contradictory aspects of Facebook – intimate, connected
conversations in a public forum – can be overcome for positive patient engagement by hospitals, we will
examine a case study of successful Facebook interactions by a hospital. The hospital that we selected,
Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), is an award-winning pediatric hospital (we have no
connections to this hospital). It has a strong national and international reputation, but also prides itself
on its local connections and place in the local community. Here is a link to its Facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/ChildrensHospitalofPhiladelphia.
Figure 1 shows the top part of the CHOP Facebook page, showing the logo “All Better – Again” and text
indicating that CHOP ranked number 1 in more specialties in the US News & World Report. The award
badge is off to the right (indicated by a circle); the main focus of this part of the page is on a smiling,
obviously healthy child – thereby demonstrating the hospital’s slogan of “All Better”. This part of the
page already emphasizes the hospital’s commitment to curing children, and to restore children back to
health.
Figure 1 – top part of CHOP Facebook page
At the bottom part of Figure 1, as indicated by the rectangle, the hospital has chosen to provide
information about itself that could be potentially useful for the parents of patients. On the far left, a
description is provided about CHOP, which parents can scroll down to read. Next to the text, there is a
photograph (shown in Figure 2 below), which can be clicked to view more photographs about the
hospital. The next box shows the number of “Likes” (for this hospital, 41899 at the time that the
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snapshot was taken), followed by a map so that parents can locate the hospital. The map also clearly
anchors CHOP’s geographic and hence community location, further demonstrating its community
connections. Finally, the last box can be clicked to view videos posted on this page.
Figure 1 clearly sums up the character and personality of this hospital – that CHOP is a save, warm
environment that you can trust your children with as patients, with high standards of excellence as
recognized by external bodies. These feelings – and Facebook pages, when successful, should strongly
invoke those feelings that are desired by the hospital – enable CHOP to communicate in a warm,
intimate manner on a public forum.
Figure 2 shows how photographs and accompanying stories can be used on hospital Facebook pages to
further invoke those desired feelings. The photograph in this Figure, indicated by the blue square,
shows Spiderman entertaining the children. The children are clearly excited and happy to see their hero
– and are also clearly healthy enough to be able to respond to his visit energetically. The children are
clearly patients at the hospital – one is shown wearing hospital pajamas – but their energy levels are
high enough to show that CHOP is well on its way to making good on its promise of “All Better” with
these children. Note that the children are shown from the back, to reduce HIPAA concerns, although
presumably the parents’ permission was also obtained.
Figure 2 – CHOP’s use of photos
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Figure 3 shows the use of videos as educational tools and for community outreach to parents – thereby
further cementing the hospital’s character as an organization which cares about parents and children in
general. The video in the Figure, as indicated by the blue square, relates to eczema, a basic health
concern of parents. Children might not be expected to end up at CHOP due to eczema, but the video
demonstrates CHOP’s medical expertise to parents who might later need the hospital’s services for their
children for other reasons.
Figure 3 – Video is used to cement CHOP as pediatric medical expert
Figure 4 shows the same part of the Facebook page as Figure 3, but emphasizing posts and
recommendations by parents. The square shows general posts by parents, in which they discuss injuries
that brought them to CHOP and thanked the hospital for the Spiderman visit. The circle shows a few
recommendations from parents, which are warm and heartfelt – again invoking feelings of warmth and
trust in other parents who might consider this hospital for their own children in the future.
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Figure 4 – parents’ posts and recommendations for CHOP
Thus, CHOP – Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia – has managed to maintain a warm, intimate
atmosphere in a public forum through its Facebook page. Parents clearly feel that the hospital cares
about them, and so they communicate with the hospital through postings and recommendations. CHOP
carefully maintains patient privacy and avoids HIPAA violations, by avoiding any type of patient details in
postings controlled by the hospital (parents are of course free to supply such details if they choose).
If you are interested in how we can help your hospital with Facebook or any other type of social media,
please email us at info@imedsocial.com. We would be happy to discuss our tips for successful social
media campaigns for hospitals and medical care providers.
Full Web links –
http://goo.gl/QU0gz = http://www.thehappymd.com/healthcare-social-media-a-waste-of-time-for-
most-doctors/
http://goo.gl/kKmy4 = http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/03/hospitals-engaged-social-media-
presence-facebook-twitter.html
http://goo.gl/jwNzE = http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Health-Care-IT/Smaller-Hospitals-Use-Facebook-
More-Effectively-Study-Finds-442939/
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http://goo.gl/TeCmx = http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/survey-hospital-social-media-use-basic-
unidirectional/2012-10-02
http://goo.gl/YMrYy = http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/facebook-posts-increase-patient-
engagement/2012-03-06
http://goo.gl/E8H4E = http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/04/doctor-reprimanded-patient-privacy-
breached-facebook.html
http://goo.gl/WNIIO = http://www.nursetogether.com/Career/Career-Article/itemId/2222/Nurses-and-
Social-Networking-Think-Twice-About-Wh.aspx
http://goo.gl/0uZ67 = http://www.onmedica.com/NewsArticle.aspx?id=c5c35ddd-ab6a-4d8a-85c3-
081b91988890
http://goo.gl/tsA6w = http://www.gponline.com/News/article/1153131/gps-observe-wild-west-rules-
new-online-world-rcgp-warns/
http://goo.gl/yYWpO = http://www.fiercehealthit.com/story/facebook-posts-increase-patient-
engagement/2012-03-06
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