More than 41 percent of consumers said information or reviews gathered on social media would affect their choice of physician or hospital, according to Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group.
Currently, 26 percent of U.S. hospitals are active on social media networks, according to Demi & Cooper Advertising and DC Interactive Group. To reach patients, the most popular platform is Facebook, according to a report form the Wisconsin Healthcare Public Relations & Marketing Society. Facebook has been shown as a go-to destination for health information for consumers — 22 percent of parents and 14 percent of nonparents use Facebook to find medical information, according to Mashable.
However, YouTube is rising in popularity. Traffic to hospitals' YouTube sites has increased 119 percent since last year, according to Google Think Insights.
Consumers are also increasingly willing to interact with hospitals on social media sites. According to Fluency Media, 43 percent of adults would be willing to share health information with a hospital on social media.
"The avenues through which patient voices can be captured and heard are expanding in rapid and creative ways," Jason Wolf, president of the Beryl Institute, a membership organization focused on helping hospitals improve patient satisfaction, told The Wall Street Journal. Avenues like social media "provide great reach, more rapid feedback and a process for engagement that can have significant impact on efforts to improve the patient experience," he said.
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