Social Media and Physical TherapyConsiderations for an Evolving Marketplace

Social Media in the News

HEALTHCARE IS CHANGING

Beyond payment policy reform, delivery is about to dramatically evolve.

Health 2.0 - Defined

“The use of social software and light-weight tools to promote collaboration between patients, their caregivers, medical professionals, and other stakeholders in health"

Source: Adapted from Jane Sarasohn-Kahn's "Wisdom of Patients" report, by Matthew Holt, Last updated June 6, 2008

http://health20.org/wiki/Main_Page

Building a Community

• Make friends, don’t sell

• The message needs to be viral

• No one comes over to your house for a sales pitch, so don’t treat your networks that way either

Negative Reviews?

Twitter.com/tnoteboom

Just WHAT, will we use Twitter for?

•Microblogging•On-the-go communication•Crowdsourcing•Patient interactions?

!@!@

Using Twitter

Things I’ve done on Twitter:•Gotten directions through a hospital•Found a potential funding source for Ethiopia project•Found others who share my passion for Twins baseball•Learned from innovative physical therapist friends online•Participated in debates of various topics•Became a mentor to PT students•Discovered new restaurants and coffee shops•Posted reviews of businesses•Promoted activities of Regis DPT students

Using Twitter

Best used with Twitter Apps, like Tweetdeck

•Lists

Using Twitter

Best used with Twitter Apps, like Tweetdeck

•Create Searches•Use Hash Tags

Quality of Tweets• Analysis of Tweets during H1N1 Outbreak

• Pre- and Post-pandemic, 2009• Analyzed 1800 tweets per day• Coded for analysis (high-level, personal exp, etc)

– 21% Personal experience– 16% Personal opinion– Of remainder, only 5% were unreferenced

–<1% categorized as giving Mis-Information!

• Caveat: Government and Public Health sites were not the main source of linked references.

Cynthia Chew, Medicine 2.0 Congress Proceedings, 9/2009 www.infovigil.com

Social Media Strategy

• Determine your client preferences

• Be transparent and approachable, but not “too friendly”

• Learn to use each tool in depth…– Example: Learn how to search make a Facebook fan page,

learn how to use hash tags in Twitter or Digg an article

• Deliver value with every posting– Physical therapy links, research reviews, links to podcasts

Social Media Strategy

• Accept that you can’t measure ROI

• But you can measure web activity– Alerts for your content– Google Analytics

• Social media is about building a brand, not selling something!

Dangers of Social Media and Web Apps?Some fears reflect personal comfort, some reflect misinformation, others…just need to be accepted.

Managing Your Online Identity

1. Have a Message

2. Spread the Message

3. Be Consistent

!!!Who do you really want to see this pic?

http://lifehacker.com/357460/manage-your-online-reputation

5 Fool-Proof Ways to Stay Out of Trouble for Your Posts

1. Get Permission

2. Be Nice

3. Manage the Permissions of Your Medium

4. “Will I Offend Anyone?”

5. Create Alerts for Your Stuff

HUMANS ARE SOCIAL. BE SOCIAL.