Social Media Possibilities for Public Health

Social Media in Public Health

By Maureen DonnellanYour Community StrategyStrategic Advisers LLC

Healthcare IS Community.

Social Media and Public Health

I. Data and TrendsII. Who’s Doing ItIII. Obstacles and Issues of Concern - Why

Social Media Plans FailIV. Building the system that will give you

the results you want.V. Weaving Your Social Network into Public

RelationsA. AudiencesB. Advocating for your Constituents

VI.Healthcare Reform and Opportunities to Servee.g., Immunizations

In 2009, a total of 58% of Internet users reported searching for health information online.

Although people may prefer to go to their clinicians first, they have reported that they actually go online first for health information because it is so convenient.

Looking for health information is the third most popular online activity measured in Pew Internet surveys.

In 2010, 8 in 10 internet users looked online for health information, making it the third most popular online pursuit among all those tracked by the Pew Internet Project, following email and using a search engine.

64% of adults living with at least one chronic condition have internet access, compared with 81% of adults who report no chronic conditions. Yet once online, 83% of internet users living with chronic conditions say they look online for health information, compared with 77% of internet users living with no such conditions. Indeed, internet users living with chronic conditions are keen to gather health information online, particularly about specific diseases, treatments, health insurance, and drug safety or recalls. They outpace or match other internet users on nearly every topic.

Why Aren’t More Primary Care Providers Using Social Media?

“ I do not think social media, especially healthcare social media, is the best avenue to interact with patients. It’s simply too risky on too many levels.” Doctors And Social Media: To Interact With Colleagues Or Influence Patient Care?August 15th, 2010 by DrWes in Better Health

II. Issues of ConcernRisk Management and Social Media Policy

What keeps medical executives up at night?1) transparency 2) time 3) HIPAA4) liability

How to Address It1. Transparency is required for authenticity. 2. Find people that do have the time.3. Clear Social networking policy4. Education and policy.

II. Issues of ConcernRisk Management and Social Media Policy

Discussion of patient non-specific issues is encouraged.

Any attempt at patient-initiated discussion of specific medical issues is discouraged and immediately goes offline and onto the EMR for issues of record, liability and safety.

Doctor-patient dialog surrounding individual care should be limited to HIPAA compliant networks that integrate with the EMR.

II. Issues of ConcernRisk Management and Social Media Policy

http://www.healthcareitnews.com

Currently only 10.3% of hospitals are engaged in social media.

Analysts say they will account for the greatest growth in social media by 2014.

TriHealth Y ? ?

Christ Y ? ?

Deaconess N N N

Mercy – MHCP Y Y Y

Jewish - MHCP N N N

St. Elizabeth Y Y ?

Shriners Y Y Y

Childrens’ Y ? ?

Health Alliance UC Health University Hosp

N N N

Drake Center Y Y Y

Commonwealth Orthopaedic

Y N N

The Family Medical Group Y Y Y

Hamilton County Public Health

Y Y N

City of Cincinnati Health Dept.

N N N

Clermont County General Health District

Y N N

Some of Greater Cincinnati’s Healthcare Organizations using Social Media as of Feb. 4, 2011

I. Data and TrendsWho’s Doing It?

“Patients with the strongest relationships to specific primary care physicians were also more likely to receive recommended tests and preventive care.”Massachusetts General Hospital Research Study

Journal of Medical Internet Research2008 Thomas J. Moore, MD, Boston University Medical Center

“We have found that an online program that provides weekly educational information, motivational messages and convenient ways for self-monitoring can lead not just to significant weight loss but also to reduction in blood pressure and to healthier dietary habits.”

Nielsen Online By Melissa Davies, Healthcare Research Director, Healthcare

“39% of patients already use online support groups to discuss medications or treatments with other patients.”

Patient access to health information via social media channels is rising at a torrid pace – introducing an invaluable opportunity for providers to include patients as critical members of the care team.

Coordinated care and population managementSeptember 08, 2010 | Peter A. McClenne

Michael Christopher Gibbons, MD, MPH

The Ability of Health IT to connect patients to providers and healthcare systems may help them improve care processes and outcomes by learning from large groups of patients.

Health IT may offer significant new promise for addressing healthcare disparities by improving the availability, appropriateness, and efficacy of patient health education.

I can read thousands of blog posts written by people from all walks of life, all living with type 1 diabetes.

I can find connections. I can find people who understand exactly what I’m going through.

I don’t feel so alone or isolated. In fact I often feel inspired and empowered by what I’ve seen.

Social media has helped me be a healthier person by showing me real-life examples of others living with diabetes.

Unfiltered and unafraid, these people are sharing their stories. I hear first hand about situations they have experienced, and I can share in their successes and challenges.

Blog Post by Scott JohnsonSeptember 24, 2010Type I Diabetes patientMayo Clinic

A PATIENT’S PERSPECTIVE ON SOCIAL MEDIA

More access to InformationImproved ComplianceDeeper Relationships

Reduced DisparityBetter Outcomes

Cost Effectiveness

…Better Health

In 2008, Adam Sarner, an analyst with market research firm Gartner, projected that over 75 percent of Fortune 1000 companies with Web sites had undertaken some kind of online social-networking initiative for marketing or customer relations purposes.

He added in an interview with CNET News, 50 percent of those campaigns were classified as failures.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-13577_3-10058509-36.html#ixzz112Vy7VuD

Why Social Media Plans Fail

HIPAA and concerns with privacy are not necessarily the reasons social media in healthcare fails:

The most common reasons that social media fails to conjure up success in any industry:

- Lack of a strategic plan- No clear objectives- Failure to Engage- No measurement – no outcome

Why Social Media Plans Fail

Lack of a Strategic Plan

1. Create social media tactics that fit into your existing strategic plan and enhance your current marketing and customer relations strategies.

2. Identify clear roles and responsibilities for new work that bridges across traditional divisions of labor, and account for interdepartmental workflows required for social media collaboration.

3. Aim for simple objective, create clear targets and benchmarks, and choose the appropriate measuring tools that will allow you to effectively adapt.

4. Build upfront consensus on the definition of success (and failure).

5. Stay mindful of the industrial and competitive landscape.

6. Engage the right people to execute.

Why Social Media Plans Fail

Objectives - Start with the end in mind.

1. Jeff Livingston, MD, who practices at MacArthur OB/GYN, in Irving, Tex, said initially his objective in using social media was to connect with teens in a way that they were familiar with in order to talk about preventing teen pregnancy. Now he says social media has helped the practice to better connect with the community.

2. According to UNC Health Care, a not-for-profit integrated healthcare system owned by the State of North Carolina and based in Chapel Hill, their intention for using social media was "to create an open dialog with the community about UNC Health Care."

AdvocacySupport GroupsOnline ResourcesCombat MisinformationDisease ManagementResearchFeedbackPubic Relations

Build the system that will give you the results you want.

Media Platform Objective Targeted Outcome

Performance Indicator

Website:CMS

Patient Portal: appointments, pre-registration, BillingRefillsEHR interfaceSocial Media interface

Facebook Q & ADiscussion GroupsComplaint DeskEvents InvitationsPRHealthtips

Twitter Bulletins, Healthtips, PR

Blog In-depth, expert publications

Build the system that will give you the results you want.

Build the system that will give you the results you want.

One Objective at a Time

A. Risk Management1. All policies in place before launch of social media campaign.

Outcome-Based Strategic Planning2. Pick Your Targets3. Measure4. Follow the Successes5. Redefine

Repeated cycles of failure AND success.

Build the system that will give you the results you want.

With a good plan in place you can have the luxury of

implementing three of my favorite, common, but oft-ignored,pieces of expert advice:

Be Fearless.Change Your Mind.Learn from Failure.

Common Points of Social Media Failure

• Inadequate Organizational Structure• Lack of Clear Purpose• Lack of Authenticity• Failure to Engage• Weak Architecture• Failure to Fail…

ing mavens , promoters and membership

Reality Strikes!

Social Community Networking may require:

1. New Organizational Structure 2. New work flow processes

“Customer Service is the new Marketing”

Lack of Clear Purpose…

Social NetworkBuilding Community

Enhancing RelationshipsImproving CommunicationsCaring for your Constituents

“Social support…is influenced by social structural imperatives and becomes more than the sum of the

individual links of networks in terms of social cohesion. Social cohesion can have a powerful

effect on health…and has implications for improving the health of communities. “

Michael Marmot and Richard Wilkinson Social Determinants of Health International Centre for Health and Society

Lack of Authenticity

1. Complaints and negative comments can be a huge opportunity to demonstrate patient/client advocacy. Don’t erase them.

2. Be Open.3. Ask people to get involved.4. Admit mistakes and how to remedy them.

“You are not in control… your customers, partners and employees are.” Charlene Li, Author of “Open Leadership: How Social Technology can transform the way you lead.”

Open LeadershipSkills Assessment Test

Failure to Engage = Social Media Failure

- Failure to post compelling, relevant content

- Failure to be constituent focused

- Failure to reach out and form relationships

- Failure to make sure community members know they are heard by responding and following through.

-Failure to identify the place where “the rubber meets the road”.

Know where the rubber meets the road.

Where does the rubber meet the road for Hamilton County Public Health?

Managing HCPH Programs and “Brands”

Architecture

How you engage will be determined by who you want/need to engage with.

Architecture is audience driven.

49

Social Network

Corporate Website

50

Evolution of the Social Corporate Website

1. No social integration

2. Link away with no strategy

3. Link away but encourage sharing

4. Brand integrated in social channels

5. Aggregate discussion on site

6. Users stay on site with social log-in

7. Social log-in triggers sharing

8. Seamless

integration

52

Corporate Website

+Social

Network

EMR

53

Evolution of the Social Corporate Website

1. No social integration

2. Link away with no strategy

3. Link away but encourage sharing

4. Brand integrated in social channels

5. Aggregate discussion on site

6. Users stay on site with social log-in

7. Social log-in triggers sharing

8. Seamless

integration

55

2. Website/Social Media Assimilation

56

Evolution of the Social Corporate Website

1. No social integration

2. Link away with no strategy

3. Link away but encourage sharing

4. Brand integrated in social channels

5. Aggregate discussion on site

6. Users stay on site with social log-in

7. Social log-in triggers sharing

8. Seamless

integration

57

58

Evolution of the Social Corporate Website

1. No social integration

2. Link away with no strategy

3. Link away but encourage sharing

4. Brand integrated in social channels

5. Aggregate discussion on site

6. Users stay on site with social log-in

7. Social log-in triggers sharing

8. Seamless

integration

Architecture will also be determined by access requirements to tools and information…

60

Corporate Website

+Social

Network

EMR

HCPH Social Media Strategy (Architecture)

PhysiciansHospitals

HHS CDC NIH CMS

Programs

General Public

Environmental constituents

SchoolsRestaurants

Other AgenciesEmergency Preparedness

EHR

Architecture

1. How you engage will be determined by who you want/need to engage with.

2. Architecture is audience driven.

Social Media “Page”v.

Social Community Network

Bring All Partners to the Table…Who Are You Really Serving?

Health District staff have always practiced education over enforcement. In addition to required inspections, the Health District offers food safety training for licensed food service operators and retail food establishments to ensure that food service staff understand and follow proper food handling procedures.

HCPH Clean Kitchen Award

Social Media “Page”v.

Social Community Network

Assessment of Current Efforts

You’ve started!

Huge potential to:• reach constituents • propel program success• Innovate public relations and communications in

public health• New universe of customer service.

Many Opportunities in current Program Plan of Work

Probable Effects of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act

What Happens Next?

1. Approve HCPH Social Media Policy2. Create an initial organizational

Social Media Strategy 3. Clarify Program Brand Strategy4. Launch Survey to identify target

audiences and potential pilot projects.

5. Choose Pilot.6. Execute.7. Measure and Revise.8. Revise organizational strategy.9. Move onto next project.

Pilot Project Proposals

1. We Thrive

Refocus marketing and promotion on PHYSICIANS and SCHOOLS.

2. Immunizations/Tuberculosis

Create a health bridge between public health agencies and PHYSICIANS about immunization compliance.

Link EHR, Primary Care Physicians, and the Public through physician promotion, events and social media networking.

The last point of social media failure…

…failing to Fail.

“The strength of a relationship is not how perfect it is but how resiliently it deals with the unavoidable downs. With the advent of social technologies, there are new ways to form those bonds and relationships – but also the potential to amplify mistakes.”

Innovation requires failure. So embarking into new territory requires preparation and planning for failure.

NEXT STEP – Pilot Project