Healthcare Social Media: Time To Get On Board
July 13, 2012 09:14 AM Many hospitals and practices still hesitate to jump on board the social media bandwagon. Here's some practical advice to guide your organization through the decision process.
Eliza's Multichannel Strategy
Twelve years ago Eliza Corp. began pursuing a concept called health engagement management--using communication technology and behavioral analytics to keep people engaged about their health and health care. A dozen years later the notion of health engagement management has proven successful.
The Danvers, Mass.-based Company provides its health care customers--including large health plans, large health care systems, and disease management companies--with configurable programs that they can set up and then communicate with their patients or members about health related topics.
For example, one goal may be to extend the reach of a diabetes education program or the rate at which you can reach people who are pre-diabetic to delay the onset of the disease. "[We] use an analytics platform to present to customers what's working for whom, the channel of communication. Certain people respond more to an email versus a phone call, versus a text message," Lucas Merrow, Eliza CEO, told InformationWeek Healthcare
For example, Eliza does a lot of business during flu season making sure that senior citizens are aware that flu season is coming and recommending where they can get their vaccine.
As social media continues to explode within the healthcare sector, Eliza supports customer programs that support social media. "We're agnostic with respect to what channel we run the program. What we find is that if one channel works well, a combination of channels essentially always works better."
Recommended Reading
Healthcare Social Media: New Software Aims To Limit Risks
Healthcare Patient Data Laws Outdated: Consumers Union?
HHS Grants Tap Health IT To Improve Quality
Doctors' Tablet Use Almost Doubles In 2012
Telemedicine Tackles Mental Health Treatment
