Presentation from Bridget M. Forney.

At one point or another, 80% of Internet users have looked online for health information.  Social networking sites, blogs and podcasts have opened up two-way communication lines for patients and providers.  The days of patients merely listening to doctors, associations or even print advertisements appear to be diminishing.

But patients aren’t the only users benefiting from social media.  Hospitals and healthcare providers can and should us social media to their benefit, as well.

Innovative hospitals are using rich media and social media channels to increase awareness amongst the media and patients. Here’s a video from Ragan TV that features Jill Fazakerly, marketing director for Methodist University Hospital of Memphis, talking about how a brain surgery webcast resulted in a New York Times article, new patients, speaking engagements and increased their sphere of influence:

If your hospital has developed innovative social media marketing methods or strategies, please share your stories with us. We’d love to write about you. Email us at: buy drugs tips at healthcareos dot com