Social media agency, RMM, has been working with Capita Healthcare to show how social media can improve the patient experience and deliver more efficient internal working practices.
At the heart of this work is a project which identifies how NHS Choices can use social media not only to provide trustworthy information and guidance on all aspects of health and illness, but also to help the public share that information with their families, friends and colleagues. This activity is to help NHS Choices make the best use of social media to reach and engage greater numbers of the population with content designed to help them make informed decisions about their health and healthcare.
Central to RMM’s approach to social media is the fact that it helps people share, create, recommend and filter information. When it concerns information related to an organisation, RMM believes that it influences people’s relationships with, and level of trust in, that organisation. To build strong, trusting relationships with customers, partners and the media, organisations should facilitate or get directly involved in activities that share, create, recommend or filter information.
In the context of the healthcare sector, RMM’s research has indicated that healthcare organisations may become trusted sources of information on particular topics – topics on which they have clearly identifiable and acknowledged expertise. They may share this expertise where it is sought after, but should also conduct appropriate research around conversations, language and behaviour in social media before engaging with patients and stake-holders seeking healthcare advice and information online.
ENDS
