Use of Social Media in Healthcare: good or bad ??

Before we answer this question, we need to know what kind of social media we are talking about here. I think that this article provides an excellent explanation of how social media can be used in healthcare; you can access this article via following link: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/chp.20129/pdf. As we have learned in the class, there are several social media available for healthcare professionals such as Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Blogs, LinkedIn, RSS Readers,  etc. Health Professionals can streamline the news they receive every day through RSS reader to keep everybody updated with the latest trends in the field. We all know about YouTube; it is one of the best social media available for everyone including healthcare professional in the world. Twitter is certainly useful to alert everyone for recent doings and it can also be used to track real-time information about health issues. LinkedIn is a great professional networking site that allows health professionals and colleagues to build connections with each other. Now, I believe that we all are familiar with blogs; blogs can be used to share your opinions and interpretations of health information publicly. 

However, there are plenty of issues with the use of social media in healthcare. For instance "Should a healthcare professional accept a patient's friend request on facebook"  because patient privacy can be violated by using some of these networking tools according to Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA). In addition, twitter can also create privacy and professional issues. 

So all in all, more guidelines and better education may be needed for health professionals before they engage in social media so that they can make the most use of these social media effectively and responsibly to protect the patient's privacy. Use of social media tools should not be ignored or minimized by the health professional since its advantages far outweigh its disadvantages.