Social networks and health have established a strong relationship in recent years. And there is no doubt that social media is affecting the way we manage our health. In this post we review what social networks are in the field of health, including their advantages and dangers, the favorite networks for doctors and patients and some tips for health professionals to get more out of their presence on sites like Facebook. or Twitter.In the field of health, the patient finds three main uses in the use of social networks.
What are social networks used for in health
Consultation: With the arrival of the so-called health 2.0, more and more health professionals have decided to “open a consultation” in places like Twitter or Facebook. Both platforms provide the telemarketing leads for sale possibility for these professionals to put their knowledge – and their free time – at the service of their followers, resolving the doubts they raise.
Information: If we have already talked about Dr. Google, that is, the use of the Google search engine to resolve doubts about health, the use of social networks for the same purpose deserves special mention. Here, rather than doing isolated searches, what is common is to become a follower of profiles that talk about more or less general health topics that may interest the user.
Health and Social Networks a positive or negative relationship
So, for example, a new mother will surely become a follower of a pediatrics page to receive advice on how to care for her child; Someone who wants to lose weight will look for pages that frequently publish weight loss tips.
Support: One of the advantages of social networks most exploited by patients is the possibility of creating groups of people grouped by common interests. Many patients have taken advantage of this feature to create support groups on networks such as Facebook where BO Leads they can talk with other people in the same situation and share material of interest about their illness.
If two dangers of social networks for health had to be highlight, they could be excess noise and lack of authoritative voices.
