study examining the use of social media
in telemedicine, at least not to my
knowledge. But there is talk.
In an article by Dr. Joseph Kim, he offers
that social media is in fact a form of
telemedicine – an informal and casual one
that lacks reimbursement, but a form of it
nonetheless.
Not Just for Connecting with Patients
So what’s going on with health care on
social media beyond patient-provider
connections and consumer use?
CEO of Creation Healthcare Daniel Ghinn
said: “Public social media, including
Twitter is changing the way that health
care professionals are learning and
collaborating professionally.”
According to research by Creation
Pinpoint, health care professionals post
to Twitter approximately 152,000 a day,
and there have been 208 million tweets by
them since 2006.
seems to me that this use of social media
is a direct example of Dr. Kim’s notion that
social media is a form of telemedicine.
The research showed that health care
professionals are not just talking to
patients; they’re talking to each other
– networking, sharing research and
resources. And in telemedicine, the scene
is much the same.
As the person who manages the Arizona
Telemedicine Program’s (ATP) social media
channels, I can say quite authoritatively
that telemedicine providers and related
companies are actively participating on
social media channels.
Tracking Outbreaks
Not only is social media a great
networking tool for telemedicine and
an effective way of reaching consumers,
it’s a way to learn about what’s working
for providers and what’s not. It’s also
probably the fastest way to find out about
anything and everything happening with
telemedicine around the world.
Perhaps one of the most exciting impacts
of social media on healthcare is a new way
to track the spread of fast-moving illnesses
like the flu. An article in The Business of
Federal Technology puts it very succinctly,
saying, “flu spreads fast, but tweets
spread faster.”
Given this unique condition where
social media has become a voice about
the wellness of populations, health
organizations and federal agencies, such
as the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, are using predictive
analytics of social media data
to monitor and track
possible disease
outbreaks.
It
Telemedicine and Social Media
ATP Joins the Conversation
Prior to September of 2013, ATP was not
active on any social media. I joined the
ATP team to kick-start the process. Today,
we have a strong presence and have
fostered valuable relationships o