Healthcare Social Networks: New Choices For Doctors, Patients
Check out healthcare-focused social networks, where healthcare pros can collaborate and share resources online, and patients can access more than information.
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Like most people, healthcare professionals use mainstream social media networks to connect with friends and family. But almost one-third of them also join social networks focused exclusively on healthcare.
Within these communities, providers find medical advice and best-practices, job openings and career tips, research and product information, as well as the opportunity to securely communicate with peers. Patient-focused networks, often built around a particular condition or disease, give individuals and their families supportive communities where they receive comfort, insights, and potential leads on new treatments.
Healthcare social networks also address the industry's privacy and security mandates. The data mining practices of sites like Facebook and Twitter make some patients and providers leery of posting questions or comments. And while many healthcare organizations use Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, and other social tools to communicate with constituents, individuals often worry about posting information in the wrong place. By sharing data on specialized sites -- especially those that plainly detail their security and privacy policies -- healthcare professionals and other users can feel safer about expressing their thoughts.
"There's a certain distance [healthcare professionals] need to maintain from patients -- both legally and for their own sanity. Even a friend relationship [on Facebook] can be considered a privacy violation," Doximity CEO Jeff Tangney told InformationWeek earlier this month.
Doximity's 250,000 members represent about 40% of all doctors in the US, according to the company. Most of the free site's traffic consists of HIPAA-compliant one-to-one messages and discussion forums that focus on business challenges or diagnoses.
Healthcare professionals are increasingly turning to specialized online communities to seek advice, advance their careers, or look for new jobs. In 2011, 31% used social media for job searching, up from 21% the prior year, according to AMN Healthcare's "2013 Survey of Social Media and Mobile Usage by Healthcare Professionals." The report also revealed that 48% used these sites for professional networking in 2011, compared with 37% in 2010.
Networks aimed at doctors deliver additional benefits, says Jon Michaeli, senior VP of global community and marketing at free physician-only community Sermo. "Members have access to over 35% of the US physician population to engage in discussion on any healthcare topic in an open, collaborative environment," he told us.
For their part, patients access a diverse array of social networks designed around healthcare -- including specific diseases and conditions, research, and support. These communities encourage members to forge relationships, share individual stories, and become more informed.
CureDiva, for example, helps breast cancer patients and survivors, says co-founder Ester Gofer. Members choose their preferred level of content-sharing privacy. The site also sells items like wigs, bras, and radiotherapy wraps.
"When women visit the CureDiva site, they will have both an easy shopping experience from a large variety of products as well as suggestions and support from the online community of breast cancer survivors who have been in the same situation," Gofer told us. "A sense of family and comfort is formed because of the personalized experience as well as support from other women."
ConnectedLiving focuses on seniors, a rapidly growing population of users. Currently available through nursing homes, assisted living complexes, and other senior housing centers, ConnectedLiving plans to extend its secure private social network into senior users' homes, says CEO Sarah Hoit.
"We have an entire aging population that's disconnected," she says. "ConnectedLiving is not about maximizing the number of connections; it is about maximizing the meaning of connections."
ConnectedLiving users don't get Facebook-style friend requests from people they don't know, says Hoit. Instead, online and real-world friends are the same group -- but the virtual community allows seniors to see their grandkids' Instagram photos or share their own photos via ConnectedLiving.
Social media aren't replacing doctor visits or in-person support groups, but some research suggests they may reduce unnecessary physician appointments. In a study, ConnectedLiving partner HP discovered that some users who had previously been spending days in bed or at the emergency room were transformed after joining the social network. "People are logging in nine or 10 times a day and not getting sick," Hoit says.
Special-interest social networks are playing a bigger role in healthcare. Check out these 12 examples. Which ones interest you?
Designed exclusively for physicians, Sermo provides its more than 260,000 members with clinical tools and resources embedded in its discussion forums. Doctors crowdsource insights and collaborate on patient cases and other medical topics to improve healthcare delivery and patient outcomes.
"Members have access to over 35% of the US physician population to engage in discussion on any healthcare topic in an open collaborative environment. On a typical patient case, this can easily result in 200+ years of combined medical education converging on an individual patient case within hours at zero cost," says Jon Michaeli, SVP of global community and marketing. "Also on Sermo, physicians can participate in market research studies for honoraria. Sermo pays out over $20 million in honoraria to doctors on an annual basis."
Today 40% of physicians use Doximity, according to the company. Founded in 2011, the site allows physicians to connect with their peers, securely collaborate on patient care, and find career opportunities. Physicians use the network to send more than 10,000 HIPAA-secure messages each day, and it's behind more than 3 million physician-to-physician connections.
ith more than 250,000 members, Patients Like Me was designed to help users share information on their conditions, give and receive support, and discover and contribute to research into treatments and cures. The free community encompasses more than 2,000 conditions, 1 million+ treatment and symptom reports, and more than 40 published research studies, according to the website. Partners include Genentech, Sage Bionetworks, and the Department for Veterans Affairs.
Currently available primarily through senior living centers, ConnectedLiving's online community is only part of the company's approach to helping older adults. The gated social network was designed to integrate with other tools, such as calendars, menus, and private communications with family members, says Sarah Hoit, co-founder of the 7-year-old company.
"We started in communities [to attract] seniors. From there we want to branch out into the homes, which is about to happen. It's web-based. It's secure and private. It's equally useful to the staff. We started this company as Boomers ourselves, desperate to be in touch with our aging relatives."
Created by and for orthopedic surgeons, OrthoMind allows only validated members of the orthopedic profession (and OrthoMind employees) to access the site. Using HIPAA-compliant messaging, orthopedic surgeons can exchange ideas and messages, discuss diagnoses, and access research reports and product reviews. Job searching and expert testimony are currently in beta development, according to the site.
Breast cancer patients can communicate with other patients and survivors across a broad spectrum of social networks, including CureDiva. This site includes discussion groups, tips and blogs, and more. The community also features a storefront offering an array of products such as stylish head scarves, bras, and more.
"Several oncology offices support CureDiva [by offering] iPads in waiting rooms for patients to browse and learn more about the site," says Ester Gofer, co-founder of CureDiva. "Patients are recommended to the site for safe products for any stage of diagnosis, as well as to gain valuable advice and recommendations for breast cancer survivors."
Designed for users who are actively involved in healthcare online, Wego Health Network is a free social network where advocates connect, share experiences and advice, and get press credentials required to cover many health conferences. Members can integrate their Wego profiles with profiles from other social networks, such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn, to cross-promote articles or videos they create for Wego.
Nurses share photos, stories, and patient questions, along with debates, news and reviews, and other information of interest to their peers on AllNurses. The site has more than 808,000 members, and conversations typically follow a thread format. The "Nurses Breakroom" area covers general topics, entertainment, and other healthcare and non-healthcare subjects.
DoctorsHangout.com looks a lot like Facebook but features questions about abnormal rashes and estimating insulin doses. The social network boasts members from around the globe, including doctors, medical students, and representatives of professional organizations and medical publications.
Created and supported by enterprise collaboration software developer Ozmosis, the eponymous social network is free to all licensed US physicians as a place to share medical knowledge. Ozmosis.org aggregates this data and shares insights about clinical, management, and healthcare practices. Physicians can collaborate with each other knowing that only doctors are allowed to participate in the network, according to the site.
A virtual gathering place for therapists, psychologists, marriage counselors, social workers, and psychiatrists, Therapy Networking provides a free venue for mental health professionals to interact, discuss challenges, and refer patients. It includes some Facebook-like features (users can give friends birthday gifts, for example), but posts focus on mental health.
Much like a support group, Quantia MD lets healthcare professionals communicate privately in secure discussions with other members, all identified by name. With a base of about 200,000 members, Quantia MD's free site also helps physicians with topics such as doctors' well-being, policy and reform, practice profitability, career development, and more.
Much like a support group, Quantia MD lets healthcare professionals communicate privately in secure discussions with other members, all identified by name. With a base of about 200,000 members, Quantia MD's free site also helps physicians with topics such as doctors' well-being, policy and reform, practice profitability, career development, and more.
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