At a recent conference I was seated during lunch with several hospital marketing directors and the conversation turned to the use of social marketing for doctors and hospitals. The comments around the table ran the gamut—from those who were experimenting with a Facebook page…to hospitals that have a dedicated social media staff… to one hospital that didn’t even allow access to Facebook via employee email.
Some hospitals seemed very comfortable about HIPPA and privacy issues, while others are extremely uncertain about how to proceed. I heard several marketing folks say their risk management staff won’t even consider social media as an option.
We decided to do a little research and found some great articles on medicine, privacy and social media. Read on for advice on how to make use of social media options while still safeguarding the privacy of your patients. If handled correctly the benefits of social media can make it a really useful tool for patient communication and community building.
