Social Media and Medicine
As technology advances and social media continues to fundamentally change the way we communicate, the medical industry trails with a few of the current innovations because of the complex and highly regulated nature of the field. Medical practices around the country are beginning to adopt EMR (electronic medical record) technologies and even social media, but many still hold back in fear of liability and lack of compensation for time invested (according to Dr. Jeffrey Banabio, MD - getbetterhealth.com). The conflicts of social media and new technologies in health care are holding back the potential that could help the medical field in a plethora of ways.
Josh Herigon, blogger for KevinMD.com says, "Health information technology seems to be steadily progressing towards this type of system [EMR]. However, the speed is pedestrian at best."
21st Century Medicine
After searching the Internet for more information on the topic, I found it amazing how much buzz actually surrounds technology/social media within the medical field and also, how many medical professionals are voicing their opinions and desires for a more innovative approach to their practice. Think about the medical graduates of 2011, I'm sure majority of them, if not all, utilize social media in some way. If you combine their education and practice with the speed and functionality of social media and other Web 2.0 technologies (which they grew up with) doctors and health care workers could practice medicine, share vital information, keep track of medical records and even spend more time with patients in a whole new way.
Doctors who Blog
Brian Vartabedian, MD, has a strong voice in the medical blogosphere (33charts.com) and informs his readers on the convergence of social media and medicine. Exploring the possibilities of what could be, Dr. Vartabedian highlights in one of his blog posts last year, the ideal tech-savvy medical workplace.
"I see a patient and record basic information to a tablet at the bedside. I complete my record at my workstation which syncs with my tablet. At my workstation I have a large flat screen monitor with my EMR occupying the left side. On the right is a communication portal that consists of a real time stream of direct professional communication with my local pediatricians. Think Twitter with encrypted, HIPAA compliant dialog."
Dr. Vartabedian captures the advanced opportunities in a nutshell. The convergence, once fully-functioning, would allow doctors to spend more time with patients, while medical scribes (a growing position in the health care sector) take notes and update patient records in real-time on perhaps...an iPad! The time saved in obtaining medical records and retrieving relevant medical literature could also yield an increase in saved lives.
A Work in Progress
At this point it's still a work in progress, as the medical field attempts to connect the dots and develop ways to leverage social media without over-stepping regulations. Other factors, such as online literature must also be scanned and the "junk" should be eliminated to avoid misdiagnosing or panic. Have you ever "Googled" your symptoms? The Internet could make anyone a hypochondriac with medical information (both true and some VERY false) swarming the Web. Does this mean that social media is not as ready for the medical field as we thought?
It might take time, a lot of money and trust in the power of social media, but once implemented and running smoothly, full integration of social media in the medical field will undoubtedly yield everlasting results that will put paper medical records on the shelf, along with the dusty CD player, floppy disc and cell phones that only call people.
"We need an increased pace of innovation and adoption to ensure health information technology keeps up with technological innovations outside the medical world. Ideally, the medical world could become a place where such technological innovations are pioneered, and it's the rest of the world trying to keep up. Keeping pace would be good for now." - Josh Herigon, MPH (KevinMD.com)
Although fictional, watch as the doctors on Grey's Anatomy use Twitter in the operating room.
You never know...