Volume 21, Issue 1 - Medical Writing in Oncology
A rising tide: Hospitals and social media
Author: Ursula Schoenberg
Abstract
The advent of social media has changed the face of healthcare communications. More and more hospitals are recognizing this fact and seeking to integrate tools like Twitter® and Facebook® into their own communications strategies. This article gives an overview of the challenges clinics are facing vis-à-vis social media, and of the benefits they reap when the new tools are used effectively. Trends in social media use by hospitals in North America and Europe are highlighted and a range of best practice examples given. These include brand and crisis management, patient and physician education, fundraising, community building, and recruitment. Finally, the shifting role of medical writers and communicators toward social media management is explained.
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References
- U Schoenberg. Tricky terrain: healthcare and social media, The Write Stuff/J Eur Med Writers Assoc 2011;20(4):240–243.
- Thaker SI, Nowacki AS, Mehta NB, Edwards AR. How U.S. hospitals use social media. Ann Intern Med 2011;154:707–708.
- Hawker MD. Social networking in the National Health Service in England: a quantitative analysis of the online identities of 152 primary care trusts. Stud Health Technol Inform 2010;160(1):356–360. Hospital Social Network List (updated 19 October, 2010).
- Lewison G, Tootell S, Roe P, Sullivan R. How do the media report cancer research? A study of the UK's BBC website. Br J Cancer 2008;99(4):569–76.
- Fishman J, Ten Have T, Casarett D. Cancer and the media: how does the news report on treatment and outcomes? Arch Intern Med 2010;170(6):515–8.
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