Using Social Media for information streaming in healthcare

Are you in health care and accessing social media for work purposes? Are you also comfortable with using some of the current social media platforms as tools for the streaming of information that meets your needs? If so, the following information is probably not new. However, if you do not fit in either of these two categories, then feel free to read on.

The amount of information related to health care is burgeoning whether it be in the form of facts, published scientific reports, or related to other day to day work processes. Much of this information is now sourced electronically including via the Internet. This situation has not gone unnoticed in some areas with there being an increasing realisation that somehow all of this needs to be managed. At times individuals can feel like they are "trying to drink from a fire hydrant" (Mitchell Kapoor) as pictured.

This same analogy was featured in a blog written by a medical student in Scientific American Blog-Unofficial Prognosis where the impact of this information deluge on medical students was explored.

So how can you use social media to help with your information needs regardless of where you are in the health sector? Plus why might this now be an increasingly important topic? First you need to gain familiarity with use of the most common social media platforms which include Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Linked In (see below image). Then you need to ascertain which organizations, groups and individuals are relaying information via these platforms which can help meet your learning needs. As it turns out an increasing number of organizations are relaying important information via social media.

 

For example if you have recently joined Twitter but still feel a little unsure of how to go about finding the organizations or individuals of interest, the good news is that help is at hand. This is in the form of the Symplur hashtags project- @healthhashtags Via this Symplur web site you can find hashtags including for organizations, communities of practice(eg nursing, medicine, audiology), diseases, treatments, management and informatics. As a result of exploring the hashtags you will also be able to find relevant organizations, plus individuals on Twitter as well as their related web sites and other social media channels. As everyone has slightly different learning needs in health care, this is why it is now important that you know how to source useful information for yourself.

Finally feel free to explore, find like minded individuals and most important of all continue to learn! Also take some time to check out advice that is available on the safe use of social media platforms eg for Facebook via reputable channels including Mashable Social Media.

Why should I use Twitter, as a healthcare worker?

How often do I hear comments being made about Twitter including the 'it is for socialising with celebrities' statement. If this was truly the case this blog would not need to be written nor posted! If you know all about Twitter you do nor need to read on, for everyone else here are some facts plus tips.

The use of social media in health care is now very much on the increase as outlined in a recent posting on the popular medical blog KevinMD . So hoping that you can continue to ignore this major trend, is probably no longer useful.

Twitter has become a conduit for relaying information rapidly around the world and is increasingly being used not only by individuals but a number of organisations. Here are some of examples of organisations who all use Twitter- governmental Food and Drug Administration , VicHealth , United Kingdom National Health Service , international organisations World Health Organisation , OECD , professional entities Kings Fund , American College of Surgeon, universities Harvard University , Imperial College , hospitals Mayo Clinic , Kings College Hospital , and medical journals New England Journal of Medicine , Lancet. Also in the public health arena Twitter has been used for 'tweeting' out information on policy Centres for Disease Control , APHA , new developments Johns Hopkins Public Health and evolving health issues CDC Social Media

So what use is this information for you? Well by joining onto Twitter you can elect to follow some of the organisations or entities that relay practical, useful information that you already know about. Look out for the Twitter symbol which is usually a small blue bird icon or a small blue 't' on their web sites and by clicking on that logo, you can then become a follower. Then by checking on your own home page on Twitter you can view all of the tweets of everyone you follow. The information contained in these tweets plus their accompanying links onto web pages may be useful for ongoing learning activities and adding to your knowledge base.

By trial and error you can also find other organisations you may wish to follow by entering relevant words into the Twitter search tool bar. If you find yourself following someone or something that is not particularly useful you can always unfollow! Guides on how to use Twitter are available on the Internet and the Mashable  guide is one of the more popular currently.

How about actually 'tweeting'? Remember what you tweet is immediately in the public global Internet sphere, so anyone can potentially see it. Think before you write and even more importantly before you click on send! One unfortunate tweet can have major, major implications. There are guides available for the use of social media in the health sector. Examples include from the Australian Medical Association , and the British Medical Association . Your employer may also have a social media policy which you need to be fully aware of.

So what now? You can try joining up onto Twitter and start following what interests you. Whether you wish to tweet is up to you and please remember there are rules. Information contained in this recent Cool Info graphic , and the Jeffbullas Blog very much confirm that the use of social media is on the increase. So even if you are currently not accessing Twitter, there is a very good chance that people you know are. Good luck!