Social Media and Healthcare

Does Our Hospital Need a Facebook Fan Page?

It seems as if everyone and every company has a Facebook page.

While regular websites still play an important role in branding, Facebook allows a personal level of interaction. There are many reasons that you should sign up and use a Facebook page for your hospital.

Let's take a look at the best parts of having an account.

Community Outreach

A page on Facebook is the perfect place to reach out to your local community. Especially if you are trying to brand your hospital as a community based health center.

People have a choice of which hospitals to use, allow your social media presence to brand your hospital as the place to go. Post updates on new services, little known programs, and events.

The page can also be used to inform locals of job openings, classes, and health care events (such as flu shot clinics).

Facebook has a function where users can post questions and people can choose the answers. If you prefer, you can ask a question in a status update and allow comments instead of the traditional question format provided by the site.

Groups

You can also start groups for people in your community.

Health support forums fill the internet, but it can be hard to find a local support group. Since Facebook has permeated so many lives, finding a local, hospital based support group for a particular illness can create a great environment for your hospital.

Other groups can include those for employees, doctors, nurses, and trustees.

Health Surveys

An important function your page can be used for is collecting data.

Polls and surveys can be answered by community members. The more people participating can give you a better idea of the general health in your community. Health initiatives can be created based on the information gathered.

Education

Uploading videos to Facebook or even linking to your YouTube channel can generate far more exposure for your hospital. These videos can showcase new procedures, new staff, and health topics.

Educational content is easily spread among users. Many shares occur when the information is a new take on old information or a new discovery that people aren't familiar with. Share videos on how to treat the flu at home, how to keep foods safe to eat, and how to identify common illness.

Community health education is the most important part of reaching out.

A Facebook page can allow you to interact on a more personal level with the people using your facilities than a regular website. Social networks bring a familiarity that can never be reached by forums and websites alone.

Yes, your hospital could certainly use a Facebook page if it is currently lacking one.

It can help brand your facility, reach out, and serve the community. Reputation management is easier when you are able to interact with the community and learn exactly what it is they are looking for in a health provider.

Find out what works, what doesn't, and how you can implement ideas the people using your facility want or need.

While those active on social media aren't shy about expressing opinions on their Facebook pages, how much do their "Likes" really reflect the quality of an organization? American Journal of Medical Quality (a SAGE journal) recently published a study that found that Facebook "Likes" were indeed an indicator of hospital quality and patient satisfaction.

"Findings suggest that Facebook offers an additional resource, beyond surveys, to gauge the attitudes of patient populations," wrote study authors Alex Timian et.al.