The Cutting Edge of Health Care: Social Media

It takes more than a team of brilliant doctors and high-tech equipment to impress patients these days.

When making a decision about where to receive health care,  the average patient now turns to a not-so-surprising resource: social media.

According to a recent survey conducted by YouGov Healthcare, a hospital's activity and presence on social media sites greatly affects their image and credibility. The survey reported that the level of social media engagement is directly correlated with how "cutting edge" a patient perceives a hospital to be.

To learn more about the importance of social media for hospitals, read the full article here: Hospitals and Social Media - Staying on the Cutting Edge

Your Checklist for communicating in a “Social World.”

Ok, so you’ve decided to answer a few questions to see where it gets you.  But you’re not sure how to go about it.  First of all, it’s important to begin with tips for good answers;

1.     Choose to answer a question that best relates to you and your area of specialties.

2.     Qualify the question.  Does the question allow you to provide a good answer?

3.     Keep it simple and friendly.  Use common language- not too much medical jargon.

4.     Choose to answer questions that are from patients nearest to your own practice location.  This increases the chances of converting them into your patients.