Implication of Social Media in Health Care Practice

Technology advancements have transformed our way of living, way of working, and way of interacting. E-health can be defined as the promotion of the health, comfort, and well-being with every individual and their families to develop the proficient practice with the utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) ⁽¹⁾. Social media (SM) is considered as the commonly used form of e-health that consists of mobile based and web based technologies, providing an opportunity to communicate, dialogue, and exchange health related information⁽²⁾.

The objective of this paper is to review the literature and provide briefing about the use of social media by health care professionals while providing health care.

The literature review was done from the period of October-December 2012 from various online databases such as PUBMED, CINAHL and Allied Health Literature. Key words used: ‘Social media’, ‘eHealth’, and ‘health care professional’ using Boolean (AND, OR) words. The final reference list consists of 20 relevant articles ranging from 1995 to 2012, which include qualitative and quantitative researches, literature reviews, peer reviews, and index articles.

Literature review suggested that E-health provides variety of clinical care, health content, vast connectivity, and easy accessibility through health associated internet application. The utilization of information and communication technology (ICT) through SM continues to expand worldwide. It is also attaining fame among health care professionals (HCP), including nursing. It is realized that SM can be a powerful tool for educating, communicating, and influencing. Therefore, there is much to be gained in terms of its utilization in health care particularly in nursing. Nurses can use SM technology to improve the quality of care provided to clients and their families.