Employees Seek Health Care Information 24/7

Social Media Plays Key Role 

By Piotr Zygmunt, Benefits Consultant

More and more consumers are turning to social media for health care decisions. According to the Dayton Business Journal, 41 percent of people said they use social media as a health care resource.  In fact, 94 percent said they turned to Facebook for medical content for diet and exercise tips.  In addition some respondents even said the information was likely to impact their future health decisions.   In response to this, companies in the health care industry are taking the appropriate steps to make their social media presence known.

Consumers are using these social media sites for multiple purposes, such as:

• Viewing health education videos;
• Getting diet and exercise tips;
• Learning about upcoming health events;
• Increasing awareness of diseases, and
• Discovering health statistics.

In a new survey that was conducted by the National Research Corporation, one in every five Americans use social media for healthcare information, specifically Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter. What can companies do to help their employees access health care information?  Think electronic media.  Here’s a few things to consider:

• Develop a company-customized web portal for benefit plan information;
• For multi-site locations, use video for sharing enrollment processes; 
• Use company-sponsored social media tools to promote wellness initiatives;
• Consult with your broker for other ideas, and to help ensure the necessary privacy/legal parameters are in place when sharing health-related news.

Industry experts agree that the use of social media for delivering information 24/7 to individuals will continue to grow.  Companies will be ahead in the health care communication game by planning a social media strategy for their employees as well.