Survey: Social Media Use by U.S. Hospitals and Health Systems
Author: Jared Rhoads
Use of social media by hospitals is growing for basic, non-clinical purposes such as marketing, communications and brand management. In most hospitals that use social media, the function is handled by the marketing and/or public relations departments, not clinicians. Hospitals rate their experience with social media as overwhelmingly positive.
In July and August of 2012, CSC surveyed 36 U.S. hospitals and health systems on their use of social media. In this paper, we highlight our key findings and offer our own latest thinking on the topic.
Use of social media by hospitals is growing, but it is still limited to non-clinical purposes such as marketing and brand management. Now that organizations are comfortable using social media in a basic unidirectional way, it is time to consider using these technologies more strategically.
The next step in maximizing value will be to become more interactive by engaging patients and enhancing patient satisfaction. This next phase could also include connecting consumers and providers and providing insights to inform product development. For this to occur, clinical departments will need to become more involved. For instance, special teams could be formed with clinical representation to respond to certain types of event triggers using clearly-written procedures and guidelines.
Download the full survey, "Ready to Interact: Social Media Use by U.S. Hospitals and Health Systems (PDF, 951KB)
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