Social media provides an excellent platform for businesses to grow – but only when used properly. Many medical providers are hesitant about implementing social media into their medical practice. Many choose to implement social media without a strategy – virtually guaranteeing failure.

According to the Pew Internet and American Life Project, consumers use the Internet to find information about healthcare options. In fact, Healthcare is one of the primary reasons people use the Internet. People with chronic illnesses are more likely to act on the information they find on the Internet. This is frightening when you consider the amount of inaccurate information available online.

Many patients arrive at the doctor’s office armed with printouts from their Internet research in hand. Oftentimes, the information they bring is inaccurate because it does not address the specific needs of the patient or is just plain wrong. Now the healthcare provider has to address the misinformation that accompanied the patient. Considering the decrease in medical reimbursements and the need for providers to see more patients in the same amount of time, this has caused increase patient wait times for many practices.

So how can medical providers help? In short, they need to join in the conversation. By creating content that is accurate and informative, medical providers can help not only patients within their community; they can help patients around the world. That is how amazing the Internet has become.

Social media has changed the way we communicate. For social media communication to be successful it must be personal and the reader must have the ability to join in if desired.  The best way to get started is by blogging. Create content about various topics that your patients care about and publish them online. We are here to help if you need us.