Social media utilization for both health and personal usage is on the increase. It incorporates social networking sites ranging from Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and LinkedIn, and blogs, among other platforms. Social media plays a vast and crucial role in serving patients. For instance, it enhances their autonomy by complementing the information given by the healthcare professional and offering psychosocial support. In addition, social media usage by the patient can help healthcare professionals give patient-centered care through virtual sharing. According to DeBronkart’s (2014) Ted Talk, social media offers patients a platform to interact in real-time around various health-related topics. The patient group has greatly benefited from social media use for health purposes. According to Chen &Wang (2021), about 67% of all internet consumers in the United States use platforms of social media to consume health content. Patients can utilize social media for various purposes, such as engaging with peers for support, sharing their experiences, information networking, tracking personal progress for their health, goal setting, and patient education, among others. Hence, digital strategies, including crowdsourcing, social media, and mobile phone devices, can offer patient health information in real-time, anywhere, and in specific contexts.
Nevertheless, social media use by patients does not only provide beneficial effects. It may incorporate a challenge within the healthcare system ranging from misinformation, patient privacy concerns, and subject on ethical issues. Thus, therefore this essay will focus on the role social media utilization has on patient care by reflecting on various Ted Talks.
Patients utilize social media as a tool to share medical information online. Today, social media are offering a platform to discuss medical conditions remotely. According to Heywood (2014), most patients and their families establish interactive communication online where they share information concerning their medical conditions, symptoms, and recommended treatments which help offer education and encourage patient empowerment. The patients tend to share their medical information by establishing forums encouraging discussions and knowledge discovery on various conditions. Drawing from the TedTalk titled “The big idea my brother inspired,” Heywood has developed a website called PatientsLikeMe, which contains 45000 patients with various health problems. Heywood utilizes the website by sharing the story and health experience of his brother, who succumbed to ALS. The interactive forum fosters patients to share their medical data in real-time, such as symptoms, treatments, experiences, and other recommendations, encouraging other patients and improving their wellbeing. When patients learn that other individuals are suffering from the same ailments, they tend to have lower anxiety levels, and their overall health improves. Therefore, the multiple social media platforms utilization in health is mainly for accessing education and resources by patients and providers.
Social media also provides a platform for patients requesting medical advice, feedback, and reports on personal experiences from individuals with similar illnesses. According to Giustini et al. (2018 there have been increased support initiatives online that assist patients in seeking social support, consolation, and connectivity with the rest, which improves patients’ empowerment and awareness. Research depicts that over 1 million members with breast cancer exist in a Facebook group where they help with social support. Numerous patient group says that social media is a powerful tool for patients with cancer, weight management, and depression, among other conditions. Drawing the Ted Talk titled “Meet e-Patient Dave” summarizes the need for the patient to seek answers online, seek peer support and utilize the recommended healthy practice to improve their health and wellbeing by utilizing their medical data. DeBronkart offers a brief history of his kidney cancer and how the doctor concluded that he would only live for 24 weeks. This prompted him to seek information online from credible sources on the prognosis of kidney tumors and available cures. Unfortunately, no cure was found for the disease. His daughter helped in the search for help in an online community that deals with cancer patients. She found helpful help that would be effective in improving his lifespan through the use of a particular medication. Through that information, his lifespan improved as the tumors’ levels kept decreasing drastically.
Furthermore, DeBronkart (2014) emphasizes the need for healthcare professionals to provide data information to patients. Patients using this medical data can seek vast information from the e-patients and better information that would save their life. Dave gives an example of a particular woman whose husband succumbed to kidney cancer. To help advocate for other kidney patients, she paints a picture of an individual and writes down some basic data about the patient since she argues if doctors provide data of what the patients might e-patient, they could use that data to their advantage, which would save lives through patient sharing information in e-patients lab. Dave also stresses the need for software engineers to develop a full body scan in 3d that would help patients do a thorough body check to determine any abnormalities that would make them seek medical attention on time. Therefore, using e-patient online sharing platforms can assist patients in getting better alternatives to medication and practices, improving their wellbeing and quality of life.
Social media aids patients in seeking online medication care, which improves patient-centered care. Patient empowerment has greatly influenced patients to seek quality care. According to Dishman (2013), nowadays, patients use social media to communicate their condition with the doctor virtually, seeking online consultation and seeking advice, and health information. Drawing from the insights from Ted Talk titled “Healthcare should be a team support”, Dishman stresses the importance of reinventing the healthcare system through disruptive innovations. Dishman offers an example of how online medication and diagnostics have helped him improve his quality of life. He says that when he was first diagnosed with kidney problems, doctors gave him a living schedule of three years at maximum. However, when he decided to take control of his life, he was able to seek online care and accurate diagnostics using innovative scanning devices. He argues that traditional healthcare is founded on traditional diagnostic frameworks involving passive patients, diagnosis assumptions, and incorrect medication and treatment plans. He stresses the need for current healthcare that involves care anywhere, care networking, and care customization. Dishman (2013) advocates for care anywhere, which means a patient does not necessarily need to be taken to a hospital clinic for diagnosis and patient, but the use of technological devices and hand-held devices such as mobile phones with ultrasound scanning apps may serve the purpose of the diagnostic accurately and in real-time. This would reduce bacterial infections that one may contract in a hospital clinic setup and transmit to others, which necessarily implies expensive costs in seeking care, unlike when the care is given at home.
Dishman (2013) also emphasizes care networking in reducing patient medication errors. He gives an example of how one day he developed increased heart palpitations which several doctors, after checking-, ruled out to be heart problems and prescribed medication of the same treatment thrice. But upon seeking the help of an online doctor, the physician determined that Dishman had no heart problems, but the palpitations were due to a case of an overdose. He, therefore, argues that if the healthcare system were reinvented in such a way that care networking would be available through the coordination of caregivers, many patients would not receive wrong diagnoses and medications, ultimately improving their wellbeing and health. This kind of care would also include social care, which encompasses even care provided by family members. Care customization is another essential thing in reinventing the healthcare system. Traditional healthcare depends on guesswork in diagnosis and treatment since the clinical trials performed on a population fail to target a specific patient but represent diverse patient needs. Dishman argues that through technology such as AI, data mining, and data analytics, the diagnosis and invention of medicine will target individual patients depending on their specific needs, thus improving care customization. For instance, the technological use of genome sequencing helps offer a computerized diagnosis and correct medication for a specific patient’s illnesses. Social media can increase innovations through the recruitment of clinical trials and research collaboration. Therefore, with the unveiling of multiple healthcare technologies, it is worthwhile for all individuals to save the lives of one another.
Lastly, social media utilization can serve as a tool for social mobilization. Social mobilization of available online resources, especially AEDs for cardiac arrest patients, can help improve emergency cases. According to Rumsfeld et al. (2021), crowdsourcing, social media, and mobile phone applications can play a significant role in resource social mobilization as they give information in real-time, personalized geography, and specific location with specific location relevant health content. Drawing from the Ted Talk titled “Crowdsource your health,” Engelen (2014) emphasizes the need to crowdsource in the healthcare system. Crowdsourcing helps engage a wide array of the population in network connectivity in emergencies and increases understanding of health conditions, especially in cardiac arrest patients. Mobile devices can help improve emergency care, such as providing support in terms of patient education and crisis communication in emergency medical events. Engelen (2014) poses a sample of quizzes on where one can find AEDs to save a life, but the audience needs to learn. He, therefore, continues to elaborate on how crowdsourcing of information through the use of a website and an iPad application for augmented reality helped locate the nearest available AEDS within the Netherlands that could help in saving lives. Therefore, more innovations in mobile applications utilize AEDs registry data to locate AEDs that are near the bystanders or new ones through augmented reality.
Nevertheless, social media increased usage by patients in seeking answers, sharing information, sharing experiences, and peer-to-peer support has brought several challenges. One challenge patients experience is misinformation. Patients, when using social media platforms for purposes of health, may encounter misleading information about their health conditions (Rumsfeld et al., 2021). Since the internet is accessible to everyone and anybody can post any information on various health topics, patients may consume misleading content from individuals who may pose as professional healthcare. Unqualified individuals can give out false information on a certain illness which may have a different perspective and vary based on culture and location. Therefore, false information may affect the patient’s well-being and can lead to adverse patient outcomes. The other challenge is concern about patient privacy. Several patients may hesitate to share their personal stories, experiences, and medical data for fear of confidentiality. Drawing insights from the Ted Talk titled “Let’s pool our medical data,” Wilbanks raises a concern about patient privacy regarding the use of patient data in research hypothesis anonymously. Wilbanks (2014) wonders why a patient is urged to sign informed consent to protect the patient’s privacy. However, the same content can be found on the online platform and in research cases, meaning patient privacy is violated. He, therefore, argues that patients need to be empowered with accurate and updated information about their health to make fully informed treatment decisions, as their autonomy should be valued. Therefore, patients need to be educated on how the internet works in adhering to social media HIPAA guidelines to protect their consent and medical information.
Social media utilization for purposes of health or personal usage has increased since its emergence. Patients can now use social media platforms to interact, share experiences and stories, seek support, and educate one another on health conditions. Patients and families with specific health issues can get and offer information content that supports those with similar conditions, such as learning about others’ symptoms, diagnoses, and medication. This helps in creating patient empowerment that has positive overall benefits in improving health and quality of life. The use of mobile phones, crowdsourcing, and social media are among the disruptive innovations modernizing the healthcare system for improved patient-centered care outcomes. However, the challenge of misinformation and patient privacy is not exceptional in the use of social media. Patients are educated on the responsible usage of social media for better outcomes. Therefore, social media helps patients engage in patient interaction, patient empowerment, and social support, among other benefits that improve their overall care.
Chen Junhan & Wang Juan. (2021). Social media use for health purposes: Systematic review. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8156131/
DeBronkart Dave. (2014). Meet e-Patient Dave. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. https://www.ted.com/talks/dave_debronkart_meet_e_patient_dave
Dishman Eric. (2013). Health care should be a team sport. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. https://www.ted.com/talks/eric_dishman_health_care_should_be_a_team_sport
Engelen Lucien, L. (2014). Crowdsource your health. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. https://www.ted.com/talks/lucien_engelen_crowdsource_your_health
Giustini Dean et al. (2018). Effective uses of social media in public health and medicine: A systematic review of systematic reviews. PubMed Central (PMC). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6194097/
Heywood Jamie. (n.d.). The Big Idea My Brother Inspired. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. https://www.ted.com/talks/jamie_heywood_the_big_idea_my_brother_inspired
Rumsfeld John et al. (2021). Use of Mobile Devices, Social Media, and Crowdsourcing as Digital Strategies to Improve Emergency Cardiovascular Care. AHA Journals. https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000428
Wilbanks John. (2012). Let’s pool our medical data. TED: Ideas Worth Spreading. https://www.ted.com/talks/john_wilbanks_let_s_pool_our_medical_data