Research and Markets: Social Media Use Among the U.S. Healthcare Provider Institutions: A Comprehensive Report
DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/2fea75/social_media_use_a) has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report "Social Media Use Among the U.S. Healthcare Provider Institutions" to their offering.
Professional usage of social media (both individual and within institutional frames) is high within healthcare providers institutions. However, only a minority of provider institutions have a dedicated budget for social media. The majority of employees have access to social media in their workplace, but the majority of provider institutions using social media employ some access policies for employee use. Social networking and institutional social media are most often used (among other media), both individually for professional use and for institutional use. Provider institutions appear most interested in using social media for marketing purposes. Social networking and institutions' own social media best fulfill institutions' needs.
Social networking mediums are the number one social media type utilized within institutions even above an institutions' own social media. Other media types will likely have a difficult time overcoming the dominance held by social networking.
Currently, most institutions do not require professional use of social media. However, because social media is used for both personal and professional purposes, institutions will not likely ignore this opportunity for long especially given the familiarity that their employees already have with such tools. It is expected that social media providers will have growth opportunities to formally implement within healthcare institutions.
One main challenge that social media providers will need to address and minimize is security. Security concerns are not a new challenge, but within the healthcare industry they are even more paramount than in other industries due to patient privacy laws, such as HIPPA. In healthcare institutions, social media is more often used to communicate with internal parties (i.e., colleges and patients), so security will likely be more closely managed. The use of social media to external parties could provide added benefits, such as brand exposure and research breakthroughs, to healthcare institutions. Consequently, social media providers will have to sell the balance of greater exposure versus minimized security risk factors.
The management of employee productivity is important as healthcare institutions begin to allow social media. Given the already blurred lines between personal and professional use of social media, healthcare institutions may have a difficult time assessing what is and is not deemed for work purposes. A first step is to develop, implement, and enforce a social media access policy. The majority of surveyed institutions that allow access to social media have access policies in place. However, the details of the access policies are not clear to all users. Ambiguity of access policies is more prevalent among those with personnel-specific policies, as opposed to site-specific policies. While it might not be clear which access policy is better for managing employee productivity, the key takeaway is that healthcare institutions should clearly and consistently communicate the policy.
Another aspect that healthcare institutions have to consider when allowing access to social media is who or what department(s) will enact and enforce the policies. Among those institutions currently allowing social media access, the majority utilize an oversight committee that involves members from IT, Marketing, Human Resources, and Legal departments, among others. However, IT is most heavily involved overall. For those healthcare institutions looking to allow access, a similar model might be recommended. IT's involvement is more operational, but other departments can have important roles as well. For instance, marketing departments can guide how social media use optimizes an institutions' promotional activities, such as research or accolates; human resources can inform and enforce policies; and legal departments can enforce patient privacy laws. Thus, an oversight committee can likely increase a social media access policy's effectiveness.
Key Topics Covered:
Executive Summary and Implications Research Background, Objectives, Method Details, and Demographics Key Benchmarks for Social Media Use Among Healthcare Professionals and Institutions Institutional Policies Concerning Social Media Institutional Staffing and Budgeting for Social Media
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