The Shape of Digital Engagement Health Care and Social Media

Health care lags behind other industries in engaging with customers via social networking. In part, this reflects concerns regarding health information privacy concerns, organizational fears regarding employee time mismanagement, and the real challenge that health care providers face with multiple and competing demands on time. Despite these fears and concerns, our patients are spending more and more of their time online seeking health care information, more often in social networks. Our greatest capacity for health care change management at present may well center on our strategic capacity to meet our patients where they spend the majority of their time online.