Modern Healthcare (1/20, Conn, Subscription Publication) writes, “A report from the not-for-profit ECRI Institute, a patient-safety and quality-improvement organization, details social media’s potential as a public-engagement tool for healthcare organizations but warns that risk management is necessary.”
Researchers “found that 41% of roughly 23,000 respondents reported using social media to research healthcare decisions.” Other results include that “most hospitals use social media ‘as an extension of their existing marketing and public relations plans’; physicians use the sites also to market themselves and their practices while often mixing in personal information.”
The report also warned, “A disorganized approach to social media will be obvious to other users and will damage the organization’s credibility and reputation.”