MONEY MATTERS IN HEALTHY & TECH : The power of social media in healthcare

Social media has indeed digitalised the world. It has greatly impacted our lives in many different ways. In this so-called ‘digital world’, where the power of social media is so immense, we have changed the way we do business and how we make our choices.

The healthcare industry has not been left out in this digital world. We read lots of health-related information on Facebook, twitter and other social networks.

But, have you ever imagined the impact - both positive and negative, that social media has on healthcare delivery?

Recent studies have it that there are over 1500 million active users of Facebook all over the world. A study done by mediabistro - US based, revealed that over 40 per cent of patients agree that information found through social media affect the way they make decisions regarding their health.

In Tanzania, there are no researched statistics, but it is estimated that over ten million people use social media. And this brings us to an important question for the Tanzanian audience: How frequent do you get to acquire health related knowledge via Facebook?

Obviously, there are those who will say, “many times”. There are several health related Facebook pages established by doctors and many health experts who are actively taking advantage of social media to offer health education and advice.

Some studies have shown that over sixty per cent of social medial users have strong faith in social media posts made by doctors and health experts compared to other groups.

Ways in which social media can be used for health education

Take good examples of social media hashtag campaigns like #cigarrettesmokingkills, #letsfightcervicalcancer and etc. All these campaigns have increased community awareness significantly on various health aspects.

Social media is also useful in organising major health events. Recall one of the recent health screening events that took place at Mnazi Mmoja grounds in Dar es Salaam; where thousands thronged the area for the service.

I am aware of how social media played a key role in making this event successful including others.

Health facilities are also enjoying the fruits of social media in strengthening their operations, thus, increasing commitment towards quality healthcare delivery.

Social media as a marketing tool

Hospitals use social media platforms like Facebook and twitter towards acquisition of competitive market position- commonly done by private healthcare entities.

Social media is being used by hospitals as a platform to increase awareness to their clients regarding the availability of particular medical services, cost of services or any issue the facility might wish to share. This keeps clients closer to their facilities.

Hospital managers use social media to get feedbacks from clients of the service being offered. Patients get an opportunity to rate the services and present their complaints directly to the concerned facility. In fact managers use these feedbacks to adjust plans so as to increase quality of the healthcare service delivery.

Professional networking continues to keep health experts closer. They get to share information, research findings and so much regarding healthcare issues.

Two-thirds of doctors are estimated to use social media for professional purposes. The togetherness brought by social media is key to quality healthcare system.

The drawback

Despite all the good things that social media can do in healthcare, there are risks linked directly to it. There is a greater possibility of breach of patient’s privacy.

There are already documented cases where healthcare providers deliberately or unknowingly shared clients’ information on social media.

Healthcare givers are argued to use social media wisely; otherwise this might damage their professional reputation.

Lots of people are using social media to make self diagnosis of the illnesses they don’t know thus ultimately leading to self-medication of drugs in many cases. This is indeed not very good as most of them end up stressed.

There are a couple of misleading health information circulating in social media from untrusted sources. These messages mislead people and some of them discourage practices, which are in real sense healthy. It is recommended not to rely on every information you receive via social media and seek a professional advice from a medical practitioner for your own good.