A millennial generally refers to a person born between 1981 and 1997. In 2016, the Pew Research Center found that Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers to become the largest living generation in the United States. “Digital Native”. More likely to use the internet for research. How can social media help specialist medical practices stay competitive.

1. The Use of Social
Media for Patient
Empowerment
Jessica Chapman, M.D.
June 20, 2017

3. Social Media Networks
 Facebook
 Twitter
 Instagram
 Google+
 Pinterest
 LinkedIn
 Youtube
 Tumblr
 Reddit
 WhatsApp
 Snapchat
 StumbleUpon
 Vine
 Periscope
 Quora
 Flickr
 Etc…

4. Social Media Networks
 Facebook = 1.59 billion users
 Twitter = 320 million users
 LinkedIn = 400 million users
 Google+ = 418 million users
 Youtube = 1 billion website visitors per month
 Pinterest = 100 million users
 Instagram = 400 million users

5. The Millennial
Patient
 Generally refers to a person born between 1981 and 1997.
 In 2016, the Pew Research Center found that Millennials surpassed Baby
Boomers to become the largest living generation in the United States.
 “Digital Native”. More likely to use the internet for research.
 Many are entering their 30’s, the age where autoimmune diseases tend to
start emerging.

6. Correlates of health-related
social media use among adults
How are people using social media for health care
related activities and who?
Thackeray R, Crookston BT, West JH. Correlates of health-related social media use among adults. J Med Internet Res. 2013 Jan
30;15(1):e21. doi: 10.2196/jmir.2297.

7.  Online rankings or reviews (41.15%)
 SNS for health (31.58%)
 Respondents with a chronic disease were nearly twice as
likely to consult online rankings
 Older respondents were less likely to use SNS for health-
related activities
 Respondents with a regular provider had nearly twice the
likelihood of using SNS for health-related activities

8. Dangers

9. Privacy,
confidentiality, one-
on-one interactions,
formal conduct
Sharing, openness, connection,
transparency, and informality

10. Dangers
• Liability
• Litigation
• Privacy/HIPAA
• Lack of time/compensation

11. AMA Guidelines
• Need to maintain patient confidentiality
• Utilize privacy settings
• Maintain appropriate patient-physician boundaries
• Provide accurate and truthful information
• Act with collegiality
• Avoid anonymity
• Declare conflicts of interest
• Maintain separate personal and professional profiles
Guidelines PDF
https://www.law360.com/articles/743560/a-checklist-for-avoiding-hipaa-violations-on-social-media
Kind T. Professional Guidelines for Social Media Use: A Starting Point. AMA Journal of Ethics. May 2015, Volume 17,
Number 5: 441-447.

12. Opportunities

14. Opportunities
 Improve patient-physician interactions
 Enhance patient motivation
 Drive awareness
 Provide accurate information
 Raise timely issues
 Facilitate the exchange of ideas
 Frame and reframe health-related questions
 Engage a larger community
 Improve outcomes across health systems

15. Examples
 Provide general information regarding cardiovascular disease and rheumatoid arthritis. Guidance on keeping blood pressure low.
 Provide information regarding seasonal vaccinations
 Provide information regarding osteoporosis screening
 Provide healthy recipes
 Provide general information regarding health insurance coverage.
 Provide up to date research data
 Healthcare law changes
 Post stretching exercise videos
 “When to consult a rheumatologist?” series
 “I just got diagnosed with” series
 Keep patient’s informed with community events: farmers’ markets, 5K runs
 Mobilize the community around local advocacy measures: walking paths, increased funding for free clinic
 Increase awareness: e.g., Ice bucket challenge – ALS, Organ donor – Facebook
 Health research recruitment – IRB compliant