healthcare social media and physicians waste of timeHealthcare Social Media is a Waste of Time (or worse) for Most Physicians

Healthcare Social Media is all the rage these days. You can’t visit even one physician-oriented website without someone breathlessly advising you to be on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube … and now Pinterest. Yet the only reason these talking heads can give you is, “because they are really popular and everyone is doing it.”

Healthcare Social Media Consulting is a bubble economy at the moment. I suspect there are far more healthcare social media consultants in the marketplace than doctors who can point to ANY Healthcare Social Media activity that has shown a measurable positive effect on
- their Bottom Line
- Or their Enjoyment of Medicine.

Don’t listen to the healthcare social media flavor of the month … because here are …

3 Reasons Healthcare Social Media is a Bad Idea for the Average Practicing Doctor

1) There is NO Return On Investment (ROI)

If you are a clinician who is paid by your patient’s insurance company for the services you provide … I challenge any healthcare social media consultant to show you how a Facebook post or Twitter Tweet produces any additional income for you.

Remember, no one pays you to login and post on Facebook. You would have to be posting something that actually causes more patients to come into the office where you can see them and charge for your services.

Here is a link to a healthcare social media article on KevinMD.com where a doctor is singing the praises of his online presence with no clue whether he is making a single additional dollar from all the blogging, tweeting and updating.

Here are some important questions:
How much do you bill in an average hour? If you spend two hours a week on your healthcare social media maintenance (a minimal amount) you have cost your practice as much as several thousand dollars in gross billings. Did your tweets drive that much business through the door?

Before you do anything on Healthcare Social Media … I encourage you to understand exactly how you generate a return on that investment of time and energy. If no one can show you an ROI … don’t do it because …

2) Healthcare Social Media is DANGEROUS IF …  it’s just one more “SHOULD” to Burn You Out

With studies consistently showing 1 in 3 doctors burned out on any given office day, adding the learning curve of just one of these healthcare social media sites could be the last straw in your workload. And the social media consultants never recommend you do just one … nope. They always recommend a “strategy” and list the sites in groups of three and four as I have above. These are all the places you “SHOULD” have in your healthcare social media strategy.

I can tell you from direct experience that each site has its own learning curve, technology and culture. It is a piece of cake to waste dozens of hours just getting up to speed on just one site.

Facebook is VERY different from Twitter or Pinterest … and any one of them can be overwhelming to an already busy physician.

If you are bordering on overworked … like most docs I know … and you get a spare hour in your schedule … my suggestion is you go have a nice lunch with your significant other (or your kids) and leave Twitter to Ashton Kutcher.

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3) Healthcare Social Media is a Fad, it’s a Bubble … it’s not worth it … Unless one of these apply

a) One situation where Healthcare Social Media outreach might be worthwhile is if your practice (or a significant portion of it) consists of products or services the client pays cash for.

In this instance, your Facebook post of a special offer might just drive more clients and dollars in the door. This is exactly how a restaurant uses Twitter and why social media makes a LOT more sense for a restaurateur than an MD.

The more entrepreneurial and cash-based your practice is … the more likely you can come up with a healthcare social media tactic or two that makes business sense. AND watch the time you or your staff spend on the computer hoping to “Go Viral”. Do your very best to measure the ROI of any investment in Healthcare Social Media.

b) Another situation where Healthcare Social Media can be OK is if you have a lot of spare time and don’t care about money. In other words, it is a Hobby. If you are using your social media avatar (who you pretend to be online) for kicks in your spare time … go for it.

=====================

If you are the typical doctor in the typical medical practice … there is no business case for Healthcare Social Media, there is no ROI … and the additional workload and expectations could worsen the amount of stress you are under.

That’s three strikes by my reckoning.

So the next time a “guru” of Healthcare Social Media tells you the five sites you should be on (and there will be two more in the next 18 months … I guarantee it) … you can say, “Thanks, but no thanks” and get back to taking good care of your patients and spending time with your family instead.

PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW on your experience with Healthcare Social Media.
I would especially love to hear if you have made measurable cash off healthcare social media and your practice is 100% insurance based.

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  • http://www.pathcare.co Danny Lieberman

    Dike

    Right on. Tell it like it is.

    Social media is about advertising and lead generation – not about improving doctor ROI.

    In my post (on http://www.pathcareblog.com) “Is there a business case for healthcare in social media?”, I discussed the use of social media in marketing pharmaceuticals. I show that the use of social media in pharmaceutical marketing has regulatory constraints but also value in CME for doctors.

    But obviously what is true for pharma marketing is not true for doctors.

    I want you to consider how private social networking for healthcare can help you improve the data you get from your patients, how it can save you time and how it can improve patient trust by using social networking for secure connectivity.

    Let’s discuss private social networking and the benefits for you and for your patients:

    Private social networking for healthcare has 4 business requirements:

    A private and secure user friendly messaging system which enables the exchange of private messages between doctor and patient without the privacy exposure and time consuming distraction of email and Facebook.

    Make it easy to distribute guidance directly and discreetly to the patient and care givers. Guidance may include information such as medications, treatments, tests, follow ups etc.

    Make it easy for your patient and caregivers to update you with relevant data on a timeline such as: blood pressure, pulse, dizziness, general feeling, appetite, clarity of speech, movement stability as well as classified events such as falling, nausea, blood pressure drops/peaks, medication taken (what, how much, when, who gave) and treatments performed (what, when, who gave).

    Make it easy to identify the differences between what you instructed and what the patient /caregivers actually did. Think of it like balancing your checkbook.

    This is a profitable business model because it provides benefits on the supply side (you – the doctor) and on the demand side (your patients/caregivers).

    Benefits for doctors

    You save time collecting and guessing at data since you can use data received directly from patient in-between office visits. Better data means easier and faster decisions.

    Better data helps achieve earlier and more consistent diagnosis and reduce the cost of taking the wrong path of treatment.

    Easier and faster decisions means that tou can treat more patients without sacrificing quality of care and responsiveness.

    Benefits for patients

    Helps patient / caregivers better understand the patient’s condition and the therapeutic plan.

    Improve execution of the plan and management of the patient’s disease or clinical issue.

    Provides intangible advantage for the patient: Knowing that someone is listening and that treatment can be improved using the latest data on their condition which may save unnecessary visits to the office.

    But above all – better data and understanding of the issues on both sides heightens patient trust and confidence which contributes in itself to the quality of the doctor-patient workflow.

    Be happy to hear what you think

    Danny Lieberman

    • Dike Drummond MD

      Danny,

      Thanks for the comment. Here are my thoughts.

      Anything an overworked and stressed out doctor spends Time and Energy on MUST HAVE AN ROI … and the doctor must KNOW THE ROI BEFORE they invest the time and energy.

      Otherwise the time and energy they are wasting could be put to more productive and healthy use spending time with their spouse and children.

      Dike

      • http://www.pathcareblog.com Danny Lieberman

        Dike,
        Apologize for the late reply – missed a notification on your comment.

        Yes you are right. A doctor must know the ROI before investing in anything.

        We are working on a project called Pathcare – which is a simple online tool where a doctor provides guidance to the patient and patient provides feedback to the doctor. It is essentially a private social network in a box for a busy doctor. No IT, no training. Doctor posts guidance, patient posts status update.

        The ROI we are seeing with doctors in Israel relates to specific use cases in diabetes and Parkinsons patients where having up to date data from the patient before the office visit – saves time in the interview.

        Let’s say a doctor typically has 7′ for a visit. He spends 5′ interviewing and 2′ recording the encounter/prescribing. Having patient-mediated data in advance can slash the interview time in half. Less stress, more time for asking the patient how they’re doing. P

        Is this a good ROI?

        You tell me.
        Thanks for the feedback!
        Danny

        • Dike Drummond MD

          Hey Danny – you are the first person to actually post a case study of a possible ROI – THANK YOU.

          My answer to the question “does this have an ROI?” is “Maybe”. Remember too that I come from a perspective of maximizing the quality of life of the PROVIDER and the quality of care they provide. Let me start by saying I don’t know how doctors get paid in Israel. Here … if a social media encounter is a replacement for an office visit … it is a double waste of time.
          The Doc spends time on social media
          The Patient does NOT come in so the doc does NOT get paid
          More work for less pay
          While the spouse and kids sit at home waiting for you to come home and spend some time with them

          If a social media encounter prior to the office visit makes things go smoothly and INCREASES office visits or allows you to see MORE patients in a day. That is an ideal situation. More pay for the same work.

          And I would be very interested in the patient’s perspective on quality of these hybrid visits. I don’t think anyone wants to spend LESS face time with their doctor. If you are rearranging your schedule to make an office visit … you don’t want 3 minutes and out … no matter how much you texted each other prior to the visit.

          Your thoughts?

          Dike

          • http://www.pathcareblog.com Danny Lieberman

            Dike,

            Doctors in Israel are paid by the visit. The patient has a magnetic card and the doctor swipes it. More swipes is more money for the doctor. Visits are a fixed standard time.

            Having a direct “digital” connection between doctor and patient yields ROI for both sides:

            ROI for a doctor is more patients with less stress in less time.

            ROI for the patient is more face time with the doctor to talk about them and their issues, by reducing time devoted to data collection and analysis.

            A geriatrics specialist we work with says that having patient-mediated data before the visit makes her decision making easier and reduces her stress.

            It’s early for us to draw conclusions, but we believe that once a patient has a direct connection with the doctor and knows that the doc is listening to them, trust in the doc goes up. Higher customer trust translates into higher customer retention. This is a good thing.

            BTW – we create a “direct digital connection” between patients and doctor, not “social media encounters”. Pathcare is a “private network in a box” – and the doctor/patients don’t waste time on Facebook messaging and email.

            Israeli doctors (except for a few in the cosmetic medicine space) are not interested in social media encounters – they want ROI – more patients, less stress (more “cognitive ease”) and less time on non-value added/non-billable activities like email.

            Regarding email – it’s striking that over 10 years ago the IT industry grasped that email is a horrible tool for collaboration. I personally think that social media is a terrible tool for collaboration today because of the distraction factors.

            Our work is to take the best of social software (groups, private messaging, file sharing , status updates, commenting) and wrap them into a single very effective interface in a private setting.

            What you think?
            Danny

          • Dike Drummond MD

            Hey Danny … thanks so much for the thoughtful post.

            The doc wants more patients and less stress for sure. AND perhaps the direct connection can facilitate that. AND it is a slippery slope if it actually leads to LESS visits. AND I don’t think many patients want shorter visits with their doc. So … if an email/text is also of value … I would be upset as a patient if my “face time” got cut to 90 seconds once I take the effort to get to the office.

            Here’s where I think it makes enormous sense. If you are capitated for that patients care. That way you make the same money no matter how many times you see or text the person. You and they decide. AND if a text is used in place of a visit … so be it. There is no effect on your income.

            As long as you are paid by the visit there is a risk of shooting yourself in the foot with electronic communication.

            My two cents,

            Dike

          • http://www.pathcareblog.com Danny Lieberman

            Dike

            I agree.

            A gym membership model is a perfect fit for a doctor treating patients using a private social network for healthcare.

            Having that direct 2-way connection (btw without the intermediation of IT organizations) enables a doctor to care for more patients and with less stress. That is a good value proposition any day of the week.

            There is no reason not to use a private social network for healthcare just because you’re afraid of shooting yourself in the foot.

            Big deal – just don’t shoot yourself in the foot.

            And in the meantime – enjoy more time with the family.

            Outstanding thread by the way

            Danny

          • http://www.pathcareblog.com Danny Lieberman

            Dike

            Connecting the doc with a patient in a 2 way connection produces better quality visits. In 2 of our early adopters; geriatrics and neurology (treating Parkinsons and MSA patients) – we see that having data/personal experiences from the patient/caregiver makes a huge difference in the quality of the relationship with the physician.

            Another point to consider is that in many cases, patients can’t come to the office. They would gladly send a caregiver – but without the data – it’s shooting in the dark. Using the Pathcare private social network, the doc now has good data to work with and can talk to the caregiver as a proxy.

            Danny

          • civisisus

            Dike, no offense, but your incessant incantation of ROI makes you read like you just awoke from the 1990s.

            Re-read Dave Chase’s thoughtful comments. From your posts subsequent to his, and despite your own words to the contrary, it does not seem like you get that

            1) ROI is a more nuanced calculation than you seem to understand
            2) where you get your revenue is going to change, and change hard, in the next few years.

            It’s not going to be a matter of seeing more patients and generating more fees. That’s done. And it’s a much bigger issue for you and your colleagues than whether they sign up for a Facebook account.

          • Dike Drummond MD

            Whoever you are “civisisus” … it is clear you don’t have a direct ROI case study or I am assuming you would publish it.

            I work with burned out doctors … who don’t have the time or energy to devote to ANY activity that has no direct and measurable ROI for them. When the revenue source changes and you can show an ROI … I will most definitely share your case study with my subscribers.

            Until then I am advising all docs to ASK FOR AN ROI CASE STUDY before listening to any so called social media expert tell them how often they should be tweeting.

            I heartily invite you to identify yourself and provide the case study if you have it … otherwise it is you, my friend who are missing the point.

            Dike

          • http://www.pathcareblog.com Danny Lieberman

            I disagree.

            For a doctor, any service he buys has ROI.

            An ROI calculation is actually quite simple.

            The service may be cost reduction, revenue increase, stress reduction, faster decision making or a combination of all 4 factors. Since any service has fixed and variable costs ( how much it costs to buy and implement, operate and maintain ), the doctor needs to quantify the benefit in dollars and cents. If the outcome of a private social networking service for healthcare is the physician migrating his practice to a gym membership model and having more time with his family – it’s just a question of counting the dollars that come in and the dollars that go out.

            If you cannot quantify the ROI for social media, then you don’t have a business case.

            Danny

          • Dike Drummond MD

            Totally agree Danny. ROI is simple to calculate … never seen a social media consultant set up a tracking metric though. And still don’t have a case study of an ROI for the kind of social media presence the wave of gurus is advocating.

            I can state my premise in your language if you wish … in the majority of cases there is no Business Case for Social Media.

  • Charles Delcambre MD

    I hear your points and agree. But, Henry Dorn MD, a private solo practice OB/GYN in High Point, NC, has a very successful practice presence on Facebook. Really, it can be done in some situations.

    There is no all or none.

    Chuck

    • Dike Drummond MD

      What do you mean by “very successful”. I have been very specific. I am looking for a positive financial ROI on social media for a doctor who is paid by the patient’s insurance. Not a nice looking Facebook page. That is what all the consultants are selling … a nice looking page. I want to know DOES IT MAKE Dr. Dorn MONEY?

      If you are on fumes in your practice and ready to quit, the last straw is an all or none deal. I maintain that social media is a danger to your career in that setting if it pushes you over the edge.

      So Chuck … does he make money off the site?

      Dike

  • http://mdwebpro.com/ Erick Kinuthia

    Interesting topic. Social media will help the doctors to explain more about health conditions to their prospective customers.This is especially made easier by use of tools and templates which would also help the doctor know the response of the users.This wins the confidence of the patient about how the doctor understands the topic in question.

    Erick Kinuthia
    Team MDwebpro

    • Dike Drummond MD

      Hey Erik … sure … I buy that. Where’s the ROI for the doctor’s time and energy. In an ensured payment system any time the doctor explains medical issues in a way that avoids an office visit … costs them money. The financial incentives are crossed. If I am paid by insurance on a fee for service basis … every time I DON’T see a patient I lose money. That is exactly what the “answering patient questions” activities do AND they set the doctor up to be liable for that very same advice.

      Show me an ROI … otherwise I say the doctors spend their twitter time with whoever is the most important person in their lives … probably sitting patiently at home waiting for you to get off work.

      Dike

  • http://impyre.com Sophie

    Social Media Healthcare is not a waste of time. At least not when the purpose is humanitarian.

    • Dike Drummond MD

      Hey Sophie … agreed. If you only objective is to be a humanitarian and supply information for the betterment of all, it may be worth your while to post away. My concern is that the time you are using to post in social media could be better spent with your family or on your own self care if you are on the edge of burnout in your practice.

      Dike

  • http://www.avado.com Dave Chase (@chasedave)

    This doctor lays out a clear ROI story – http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/08/social-media-changed-medical-practice.html.

    My advice to MDs is to be wary of anyone who breathlessly espouses the virtues of social media, however be mindful of the big picture. It’s clear that the days of the pure “do more, bill more” (aka fee-for-service) model are numbered. My company spends time with those who have shifted or in the process of shifting to a fee-for-value model that is the wave of the future. Consider that half of the Fortune 100 and the Office of Personnel Management (i.e., the HR dept for federal workers) have already strongly spoken that they aren’t going to tolerate anymore the flawed reimbursement model. They are literally saying to health plans/providers “we aren’t buying what you are selling…this is what we will buy…if you offer it, we’re happy to buy it at a reasonable price.” Incentives literally are flipped on their head and things that didn’t make sense before suddenly make sense.

    I tend to believe, like a commenter before, that a private social network has greater value than Facebook. However, there are a subset of items that you’d communicate with cohorts of patients that you may as well communicate to the broader populous. It’s why we (Patient Relationship Management software company) have a one button publish to FB/Twitter option if the practice (note I didn’t say MD — oftentimes it can be someone else in the practice) also wants to publish externally in seconds.

    Anyone who doesn’t think we are entering a deflationary period in healthcare is in denial. Thus, smart and efficient marketing/communications always has an ROI. When you see practices get more than 20% of their new patients through social media activities, it’s pretty clear there is an ROI. Just be aware that social media is about a lot more than FB/Twitter. My anecdotal observation of what pays off is in this rough order – private social network, blog, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter. In other words Facebook doesn’t equal “social media” — it’s just one of many tools. Also be mindful that different areas of medicine make more sense than others. The example I linked to above is a pediatrician — that specialty is a no-brainer. I’ve seen oncologists and orthopods have success as well. Regardless of specialty, having a plan/goal is key. Many things can’t be measured in a pure ROI terms. E.g., define the ROI of that last study you just read. It’s pretty tough at a micro level but pretty easy at a macro level. I think you’d find the same thing with social networks/media in the aggregate if one takes a thoughtful approach.

    • Dike Drummond MD

      Hey Dave … thanks for this thoughtful post.

      The place an electronic communication channel makes the most sense is in a capitated environment. If I am paid a PMPM for my patient population then the patients and I can work out what is the best way to connect and I actually make money by using an digital connection in place of an office visit.

      Even then I agree that social media is NOT the connection you are looking for.

      Dike

    • http://www.pathcareblog.com Danny Lieberman

      Dave

      That’s really outstanding stuff. I love the idea of Patient Relationship Management.

      We (at Pathcare) have gone the private social networking route.
      A “one button publish to FB/Twitter option” is something we have not considered due to the privacy issues.

      We have always felt that privacy was a hinge factor in the doctor-patient relationship – face to face or online.

      For this reason (and perhaps because we are security and compliance folks…) we architected Pathcare to be private.

      I talked about this at length here http://pathcareblog.com/the-private-social-network/

      I’d love to hear what you think

      Danny

  • http://www.quantiamd.com Karl Bucus

    As a point of order, I would like to point out that you have restricted yourself– in this conversation– to social media marketing. Not social media.

    There are lots of social media outlets for doctors– whether they are interacting with the public at large, or exclusively with other physicians– that simply make them better doctors.

    That, I hope, is a goal of every doctor.

    Examples: Working with people in your Church congregation to help them navigate the healthcare system makes you a better doctor as you become more aware of barriers. Going to a conference brings you up to date on different guidelines connects you with your medical specialty community. That makes you a better doctor. Being available to provide informal second opinions for friends and colleagues exposes you to more interesting cases. That makes you a better doctor.

    All of these things can be facilitated with social media, have nothing to do with maximizing ROI out of a patient population, and are nevertheless worth doing.

    [I don't mean to imply you are unaware of this, btw. You were narrowly focused on one part of healthcare social media. I just felt it needed saying!]

    • Dike Drummond MD

      Agreed Karl,

      I work with over stressed and burned out docs who are being bombarded by social media consultants telling them they “should” be on at least four sites like Facebook, Twitter and such or they are missing the boat. My comments article is a limited response to that flavor of additional overwhelm many docs are feeling.

      When you are over stressed with the normal work load of your day and now try to fit tweets and updates in the cracks … overwhelm is right around the corner and your family is being neglected at home. So my message is … unless there is an ROI … don’t do it.

      There are indeed LOTS of other ways to be on the web … and lots of other communities to communicate with … as long as you have the time and energy and there is some kind of an ROI for you. If your kids have trouble remembering who you are … drop everything and take them to the park … THAT will be good for everyone.

      Dike

  • http://mdwebpro.com/ Erick Kinuthia

    Good article.Doctors need to realize the importance of social media and move above the odds and market their services.Social media provides a great opportunity for marketing of medical services.

    Erick Kinuthia
    Team MDwebpro.com

    • Dike Drummond MD

      Thanks for your comment Erick. I will ask you the same question I have asked all the others who tout social media as useful in healthcare.

      Do you have a case study for a doctor who is compensated through insurance payments for services rendered that shows an ROI on their investment of time and energy? If you do – please post it here in a follow up comment.

      I have not seen one yet. Until then, I recommend docs invest that time with their families and on their own health.

      Dike

  • http://packerlandwebsites.com William Koehne

    I’m curious how you would relate social media to a medical facility like a hospital versus the individual doctor. What exactly are you defining as a physician-oriented website?

    Given our local hospital community involvement, educational public seminars and more, the social media becomes the most viable outlet of letting people know what is going on.

    ROI would then be measured (if possible) upon participation, interaction and community loyalty and use. I’ve seen a few blogs with this topic that blur what a physician-oriented website with social media is.

    • Dike Drummond MD

      Hospital is a whole different animal. You have staff and resources an individual doctor does not. AND you still must be able to show an ROI or you are wasting the hospital’s money. You can ALWAYS measure ROI … just have to get creative sometimes.
      Dike

  • Tracy (@tgranz)

    Hi Dike,

    Just posted on ETY, The Future of Health is Social — :) (http://educatetheyoung.wordpress.com/2013/04/25/the-future-of-health-is-social/)

    I think healthcare social media when viewed as a sales tool, is a set up for disappointment all around. Real benefits to hcsm are the many connections now being made virtually–giving patients reach, support and knowledge they wouldn’t normally have access too. Providers as well. Read Connected by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler to learn more about the science of social media and it gives depth to the real value in using social media tools to solve real healthcare challenges. Thoughts?