Recent data released by Ed Bennett, whose research into hospitals, the health care industry and the internet, has become widely respected, states that as many as 367 hospitals in the U.S. now use some form of social media to engage the public and their patients. This included or was broken down in the group into 267 Twitter accounts, 190 FaceBook pages, 186 YouTube tutorials or video items and 35 Blogs. Which really got me thinking. Of course hospitals should be using social media to engage the public. How many trips to a doctor are either unnecessary, because information is available regarding minor health issues that can empower us to deal with it ourselves (check webMD), or how many trips are in fact necessary and someone doesn’t go because of the torture of having to deal with waiting rooms and being around sick people, crying babies, drunks, staph. Helping to streamline the entry process into waiting rooms utilizing social media could potentially save time, save space in waiting rooms, limit the spread of disease and reduce general stress and discomfort. For those who would otherwise avoid coming in, social media can now make that process possibly more bearable and less daunting. Now someone just has to come up with a system that integrates social media with the DBMS that hospitals use to organize this managerial data. I’m of course speculating, but I think there’s potential for social media to aid in the management of public health. Not only in the waiting room or emergency room side of things but to warn the public of emerging health issues in their regions (tainted food, water, outbreaks of various types) and to engage the public in a constant dialogue regarding preventative health habits and diet etc.

There is also the emergency response benefit of social media. The recent tropical storms in the Philippines have left thousands buried in debris and floodwaters throughout Manila. Local citizens there have turned to social media to update on their FaceBook status which routes are safe and which ones are blocked or too dangerous. Even updates about rescued residents or the flow and location of government aid are posted. This once again gets me wondering. Do we in Vancouver have social media elements that can aid our hospitals and our emergency response plan to help maintain communication like this? Because I think we should. Maybe our emergency management services should have a Twitter account or FaceBook page sending out updates in the case of a major earthquake? Not everyone is going to sign up for the Vancouver Coastal Health RSS feed and there are no signs of social media being utilized by VCH or even individual websites for Vancouver’s several hospitals. St. Paul’s upon a Google search will get you Providence Health Care and Vancouver General has little more web presence beyond the VCH site. If essential information needed to get out to the public the most popular social media sites would be the most effective way for hospitals and emergency response bodies to reach us. While Metro Vancouver has a FaceBook page there is no sign of any emergency management bodies having incorporated social media into their response plans, at least that I can find. I would encourage them to do so.

Related posts:

1. Democracy 2.0, social media throws the doors open on CRTC
2. Facebook, Freud and Marx: Social stratification and profit in social media
3. US military considers banning all social media for troops : Army VS Web 2.0

Tags: Ed Bennet, Emergency Management, Emergency Response, Metro Vancouver, Philippines tropical storm, Social Media, vancouver, Vancouver Coastal Health, webMD

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