Very interesting report just publised by PwC: ‘Social media “likes” healthcare, From marketing to social business‘.  Can be downloaded from their site.

Embracing social media must make sense for healthcare operators for any number of reasons:

• The users/ buyers of healthcare are using social media on a daily basis
• Patients are using social media to discuss/ research conditions
• Patients are participating in sites where they record their conditions/ treatments/ assessments of operators/ physicians
• Social media offer another way to develop more complete profiles of patients e.g. over longer period of time
• Social media offer platform for greater collaboration between physicians, healthcare providers and patients

There is an expectation in the buying community that the suppliers will participate in social media.

The report includes some excellent examples of operators (hospitals and insurers) and patients using social media.  www.patientslikeme.com is a great example on the patient side.

The hospitals who ‘get it’ now realise that social media is not something to be looked after by marketing or IT.  Social business/ social interaction is now part of day to day operations for a modern operator.