SOCIAL BUSINESS

Part 2: Benefits Abound When Marrying Health Care With Social Media

Alison Diana | Date: 02-01-12 | Comments

Health care organizations, like business in other industries, are using innovative forms of social media to inform and engage users.

Table of Contents:

Part 2: Benefits Abound When Marrying Health Care With Social Media
In part one of this article, which ran earlier this week, we talked about how health care and social media are a natural fit. Here are more examples of the innovative ways health care organizations are using social media to inform and engage users.

No Bitter Pill?

Although millions of people are prescribed medications each year, an estimated 30 percent to 50 percent of individuals worldwide do not take them as prescribed, according to the World Health Organization. In some cases, cost is the reason. But in others, it is forgetfulness, experts say. Social media could play a role in reminding patients, especially those on long-term treatments, to take their pills.

The IT department at the University of Iowa Children�s Hospital worked with staff doctors to create Iowa MedMinder, a customizable application that integrates with Facebook to remind young transplant patients to stay current on their medications. The software is personalized for each patient and features a pop-up listing of all his or her medications for the day. This box shows up on the patient�s Facebook page. The child simply checks-off the medications as they are taken, and that information is sent back to the primary physician.

"Teenagers and young adults do pretty well when it comes to taking their medications initially after a transplant, but the largest number of kidney failures in this age group comes from noncompliance," said Patrick Brophy, M.D., director of the Division of Pediatric Nephrology, Dialysis and Transplantation at UI Children's Hospital, told HealthCanal.com. "They get to feeling better, they start hanging out with their friends and they stop taking their medications.�

To help patients heal, at least one hospital is using a Facebook-based tool to remind younger patients to take their medications post-surgery.

Although Brophy himself is not a Facebook user, his son recommended the popular social networking site as a convenient, effective way to communicate with young people.

"It made sense,"Brophy said, in the interview. "We all need to recognize that this is the way of the future."

Next: It Takes a Village >>

Click here for "THINK" Leadership Forum Presentation Videos

IBM Resources

Videos

TWITTER FEED

22 minutes agoGood morning from Los Angeles! #ibmcloud
25 minutes agoThat's it from me! Over to North America.
31 minutes agoThe data processing of Roland Garros 2012 (#RG12) rests on IBM Private Cloud http://t.co/JUaY1ItM [French Press release]
about 2 hours agoIBM Accelerates Business from Supply to Demand with New #Cloud Offerings For Smarter Commerce http://t.co/OFxknOb0 [Press Release]
about 3 hours agoHow IBM #SmartCloud Foundation technology powers cloud adoption? IBM VP @SLHebner explains here http://t.co/sSzfa0O5 [VIDEO]
about 4 hours agoIBM's Fiona Cullen will present ‘The Power of #Cloud: Driving Business Model’ On May 24 @ Utrecht, Netherlands #cloudforum2012 #ibmcloud
about 5 hours agoBlog Post: Why service providers should not ignore cloud http://t.co/ZfQyue4r via @eMarcusNet #thoughtsoncloud
about 6 hours agoHave any #cloudmoment? Share your story with us via Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and tag it. See other stories http://t.co/J4ntsaQ5
about 7 hours agoSign up now for IBM #SmartCloud Enterprise! No charge for select VMs (only till May 28). More Details >> http://t.co/2LEzOUZC #ibmcloud
about 7 hours agoRT @HansMoen: See this video from @IBMCloud to learn how to cut costs in building innovation in your business http://t.co/XOyJoFn6 #clou ...