One in five Americans use social media websites as a source of healthcare information, according to National Research Corp.’s Ticker survey, with the vast majority (94 percent) using Facebook. This usage is not merely speculative; when asked about social media’s influence, one in four respondents said it was “very likely” or “likely” to impact their future healthcare decisions. It has long been acknowledged that a majority of patients are seeking information online—in fact, a recent Pew study shows 80 percent of Americans obtain health data online, and that health information is the third most popular online pursuit. In response, many health care organizations have reputable and helpful websites. The growing reliance on social media needs to likewise be addressed.

Supplying patients with correct information in a digestible format is critical. People who have difficulty understanding health information have poorer overall health and a higher risk of death, according to a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). People with low health literacy are also more likely to use hospital emergency rooms and inpatient care and less likely to get flu shots or mammograms. The findings are significant, as more than 75 million adults in the United States have limited health literacy, and such inability to comprehend and use health information costs the U.S. economy as much as $238 billion each year.

Social networking should not be considered just another marketing gimmick. There is evidence that leveraging Facebook can boost patient engagement. Patients that engage in interaction before an appointment have a more meaningful experience. In addition to allowing professionals to connect with patients, it also encouraged patient-to-patient communication that is more comfortable and familiar to many users than the traditional support group formats. These “virtual” support groups allow patients to exchange emotional support and information, and are available to them 24/7.

Yet hospitals are not taking advantage of the opportunities Facebook creates to better engage patients, build healthcare communities, or develop their hospital brands. A study, conducted by Verasoni Ah Ha! Insights, indicated that only a few hospitals across the country are really using social media. Less than 40 percent of hospitals posted daily to their pages, and only 6 percent had more than 10,000 fans. Yet on hospital pages where there is a high degree of interaction between the hospital and members, the study found that patients, family members, friends, and members of the community used the hospital’s Facebook presence to share experiences, laud, connect, and recommend hospital services, and in some cases praise certain physicians.

No one expects social networking to work for all aspects of health care. One recent study shows that while patients would be willing to use secure messaging to go online with their doctors, they reject the idea of using social media to consult with their physician. Still, as social networking continues to grow, this may change; an Intuit Health study indicates that currently, a major trend regarding Americans and their health care is that they expect their physicians to be easily accessible online. Seventy-three percent of Americans surveyed would prefer to use a secure online communication solution to make it easier to get lab results, request appointments, pay medical bills, and communicate with their doctor’s office.

For many, social media seems particularly susceptible to incurring a privacy violation. It is true that patient information exchanged via social media networks as well as mobile devices is subject to all HIPAA regulations.  Others worry about the need for greater accountability and guidelines. JAMA recently published a related survey.  The authors analyzed the tweets of about 250 physicians for a one month period who had at least 500 followers. The analysis has raised some concerns as some tweets contained potential patient privacy violations and conflicts of interest. Yet this concern may be overstated; the vast majority of tweets was professional in nature, with only 38 messages (0.7%) of all tweets analyzed representing potential patient privacy violations.

The turn from seeking online information to social media is a shift practitioners need to notice. Social networking can be leveraged to improve patient care, communication, and trust; stakeholders across the industry need to find a level of comfort and engage in this process.