As hospitals continue to build their online media presence, more facilities are hiring dedicated social media managers to wade through legal and ethical guidelines and train physicians to use the tools, American Medical News reports.
Hospitals have only recently began implementing social media strategies. The first hospital YouTube account was created in 2006 and the first Twitter account was set up in 2008, but about 870 hospitals now have roughly 2,260 social media sites, according to a hospital social network list compiled by Ed Bennett, director of Web strategy at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
Hospitals with an established online presence may hire social media managers after realizing that the tools can help build better relationships with patients and result in a considerable return on investment, American Medical News reports.
In addition to overseeing a facility’s social media presence and communicating with patients online, a hospital social media manager also can educate affiliated and employed physicians about proper social media etiquette.
While the exact number of hospitals with social media managers is unknown, an American Medical News analysis of an online jobs board aggregator found that an increasing number of hospitals are posting for such positions.
According to Robert Matney — a partner at Social Web Strategies — the trend represents a transformation in hospital business strategy, which now includes additional marketing and public relations efforts.
Matney said that many facilities have yet to explore how the tools can bolster communication within the organization that could enhance care quality (Cook, American Medical News, 11/8).
Source: iHealthBeat
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