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Why some hospitals keep missing the web bandwagon
Concerns about new technology hobble industry
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| C. Martin | ||
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These days, it seems just about every business around has jumped on the Twitter bandwagon. Fast food restaurants send pithy updates about new menu items and ad campaigns. Hotel chains tweet about discounted room rates and continental breakfast specials. And certain professional football teams beam faint-hearted explanations of blown passes and tackled runners on Sundays.
But of all the factions that have embraced Twitter and other social media tools, one is largely absent from the mix, even though it relies heavily on making sure resources are available for customers: the hospital.
The reason, hospital and regulatory officials said, is because of the health care industry's complex nature, difficulties pegging emergency room wait times and even concerns about private information. For them, the social media tools that have been so widely lauded for improving lines of communication present largely uncharted waters, something few are ready to test.
"I still run into many hospitals that aren't interested," said Chris Martin, a Chicago public relations consultant who helps health care groups across the country.
Even though some hospitals are wading into the social networking pool, he said, many remain wary, part of an overall resistance to new marketing technologies. Martin said many health care groups, for example, did little television advertising until the 1990s.
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In the Internet era, many hospital management boards worry about patients leaving unflattering comments about facilities on the sites, he said, especially Facebook, the most popular social networking portal.
"They think it's too risky," Martin said.
The impact is that few hospitals have delved in social networking. In the Metro East, no hospitals have Facebook or Twitter accounts.
"We are not doing anything with Twitter or blogs at this time," said Kelly Barbeau, a spokeswoman for St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Belleville, which has operations in St. Clair and Monroe counties.
Further north, Anderson Hospital in Maryville also doesn't use the technology, although that could change in the future.
"We do have a team looking at the uses of social networking opportunities like Twitter, but just looking at this point," said spokeswoman Natalie A. Head, who would not elaborate about the plans.
So far, the only hospital in the region using Twitter is Progress West Hospital, in O'Fallon, Mo. The site is mainly used to post details about emergency room wait times, something of a trend with health care facilities across the country, peppered with general health advice. On Wednesday, for example, the page showed "less than a 15 minute wait in the ER" at 1 p.m., along with safety tips for Halloween costumes ("choose costumes without masks so vision is not blocked").
Progress West spokeswoman Barbara McLaurine said the idea is to connect with people and provide "something they can really use." Twitter allows the hospital to communicate with potential patients in a way it couldn't before, she said.
But others aren't so sure.
Melanie Arnold, a spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Public Health, said tweeting ER wait times presents all sorts possibilities for misunderstandings among patients. One big worry: wait times fluctuate widely, often because staffers have to care for people with more serious injuries, which means patients with less pressing problems are bumped. All of that's hard to convey in short messages online, Arnold said.
"There is some concern that someone is being irresponsible because they're putting information out there to people who don't understand the triage process," she said. "Someone who has a gunshot wound is going to get in a lot sooner."
At the same time, there's concerns the wait time clock will discourage patients who need care from showing up.
McLaurine, however, said that misses the point of Twitter, which the hospital is using the keep patients informed.
"It's not even so much about wait times other than trying to help consumers be more educated about where they can go," she said.
Richard Watters, a St. Louis attorney who advises Illinois hospitals, also questions what impact, if any, discloses wait times would have.
He discarded the idea that someone in a serious emergency would even be checking Twitter.
"I think it's a good service," Watters said.
Despite the worries, health care professionals are adamant that social media sites are important tools in sending out vital information to the masses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, for example, has been using Twitter for updates on the H1N1 flu. Anderson Hospital and Gateway Regional Medical Center in Granite City have also been posting details about stemming the flu and general health care tips online.
All told, the technology helps health care groups touch far more people than a generation ago, something hugely important to the industry, said Kate Hayes, a spokeswoman for St. Joseph Hospital West in Lake St. Louis, Mo.
"We can reach a lot of different audiences," she said.
Chris Coates contributed to this story.
Twitter: At a glance
What is it: Created in 2006 by a St. Louis native, Twitter is a free service that lets users send short messages that others view on cell phones or online
Who uses it: Initially a social tool to stay in touch with friends and family, Twitter has been embraced by many businesses and nonprofits to send updates on new services
The future for public agencies: Some local school districts are sending school closures via the service; at least one hospital is also beaming updates on emergency room wait times
More online
Twitter: twitter.com
Journals page: http://twitter.com/metroeastjrnls
Progress West page: http://twitter.com/progresswester
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: http://twitter.com/cdcemergency
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2 comment(s)
suzyjax wrote on Oct 19, 2009 10:52 AM:
Don't get me wrong. I love Twitter. I just don't feel it is an effective use of social media for the healthcare industry to post ER wait times. "
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willster73 wrote on Oct 19, 2009 11:09 AM: