Engaging Your Patients Using Social Media
Stage 2 of the CMS EHR Incentive Programs will begin in 2014 for those Eligible Professionals (EPs) who have completed two stage 1 reporting periods. Stage 2 includes new objectives to improve patient care through better clinical decision support, care coordination, and patient engagement. For patient engagement requirements and to successfully attest to meaningful use, the patient action will be more than 5% of a practice’s patients sending secure messages to the provider and more than 5% of the patients accessing their health information online. Does you practice have a plan? Are you implementing a plan?
First up is social media. Healthcare trends show a movement to a patient-centric model. In this model the patient is in charge of their own health care and they are building their trusted networks. These trusted networks will be people and communities off and online. You and your practices need to be available to be included in your patient’s trusted networks both off and online. You will need a plan of what, when, and how social media will be used by your practice. And once you open accounts and start your campaigns it is very important to keep them active with current and relevant information. Don’t expect immediate results, be prepared for a commitment. Review and edit your practice policies to reflect the use of social media and remember you can’t always take back what has been posted and seen. And of course, always keep in mind privacy and HIPAA compliance.
Here are tips, lessons learned, and thoughts on engaging patients through social media and patients using social media for health care.
- How Social Media Impacts Healthcare – John Lynn (@techguy) shares his thoughts on the power of social media in connecting people and involve them in their care. Not only can social media connect people, it also facilitates conversations and helps share information. (1m:36s)
- 5 ways to start engaging patients on social media – Tips picked up at the Health Care Social Media Summit co-hosted by the Mayo Clinic and Ragan Communications.
- MORE For Your Practice radio show hosted by Rebecca Morehead and produced by Practice Manager Solutions. Hear her interview with Kathi Browne, the “Healthcare Social Media Evangelist” talk about steps for getting our practice on social media.
- Will Social Media Help Hospitals Engage Patients? – What demographics use which types of social media? Patients will be more likely to choose their hospitals after checking out online hospital reviews before checking in.
All week on HealthcareNOWradio.com, hear some of the industries leading experts on patient engagement and patient advocacy. Hear Regina Holliday on MU Live!, hear about the Louisiana Health IT initiative, “Own Your Own Health on Engage4Health, and Matthew Hager from the National eHealth Collaborative on Learning Lunch. And while you are listening you will hear some of the latest Public Service Announcement from HHS on patient engagement. See all of this weeks radio highlights on patient engagement. And stay tuned for more on patient engagement all this week. Check out the sidebar widget to see what’s playing right now and Rediscover Radio.