Researchers from Canada and the United States formed a collaborative to explore healthcare applications for social media, with plans to generate a practice roadmap, according to Healthcare IT News.
Here are five observations:
1. The endpoint of this research is to enable public health entities to harness social media to better help deliver effective intervention strategies.
2. Susan McBride, a professor at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center School of Nursing in Lubbock, will discuss these tools at the HIMSS 2016 conference, along with assistant professor at Western University Arthur Labatt Family School of Nursing in Ontario, Canada, Richard Booth, RN, PhD.
3. Mr. Booth explained that unlike traditional clinical or health IT, the type of health IT driven by consumers allows for immediate two-way communication with service recipients, therefore, making it unable to be controlled or managed like traditional health IT.
4. While the term "social media" may fade in terms of its relevancy and usage, said Mr. Booth, the communication modality offered by social media will become infused into the everyday way of doing things, including delivering healthcare.
5. The session, "Building a Road Map for Social Media in Public Health," is slated for Fri. March 4, 2016 at the Sands Expo Convention Center in Las Vegas.