Most Health Workers Use Social Media for Professional Purposes
Sept. 12, 2011, Healthcare IT News
About 75% of workers at U.S. health care provider organizations use social media tools for professional purposes, according to a survey by Frost & Sullivan and the Institute for Health Technology Transformation, Healthcare IT News reports.
About the Survey:
For the survey, which was conducted between April and May 2011, researchers interviewed 63 individuals working at different health care provider institutions. Of the survey respondents:
• 42 worked at private or public hospitals;
• 11 worked at various patient care settings; and
• 10 worked at physician offices.
In addition:
• 33% of respondents were IT professionals;
• 13% were administrators;
• 7% were physicians; and
• 6% were other health care professionals.
Survey Findings:
Of the respondents who reported using social media for professional purposes:
• 74% said social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter are the most popular types of social media used for professional reasons; and
• One-third said they are required to use social media as part of their professional duties.
According to the survey, the most popular reasons for using social media tools were related to brand awareness, business development and marketing.
The survey also found that:
• A majority of health care provider institutions have an electronic communications policy in place;
• 60% of organizations say their social media use met or exceeded institutional expectations;
• 38% of institutions use dedicated staff for their social media campaigns;
• 33% of institutions do not allow employees to access social media, mostly because of security issues and concerns about productivity; and
• 19% of institutions use external parties to manage social media communications (Merrill, Healthcare IT News, 9/8).
