Social Healthcare Networks - Leveraging Social Networking Technologies and Approaches to Connect Patients and Clinicians
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Abstract
A number of key market trends create a “perfect storm†for a ground shift in the way that healthcare is delivered to the global population. These include global growth in the 65+ age group; increased prevalence of chronic disease; growth of the middle class; severe healthcare workforce shortages; decrease in family support networks; and the increasing financial burden of healthcare for governments.
As well, an increasing number of countries now have more mobile phones than people. At a global level, around 80% of the world's population enjoyed mobile phone coverage as of 2006. This is projected to increase to 90% by the year 2010.
International health studies show people with long-term conditions who have direct, self-managed interactions with their own care plan are more likely to sustain their adherence to interventions. There is a huge potential in utilizing social networking, mobile phones and other social networking technologies to facilitate better self-management.
This confluence of a growing patient base with increasingly sophisticated and ubiquitous social networking provides the healthcare industry with an opportunity to deliver those improved outcomes on a global scale.
This presentation will cover three major areas:
1. Text messaging as a clinical intervention – HME-STOMP as an example.
The use of text messaging in the healthcare industry has become increasingly commonplace. SMS messages are now a well-accepted means of communication between patients and care organizations. For example, the National Health Service in the United Kingdom has piloted the use of SMS for sending outpatient appointment reminders to patients’ mobile phones and to inform bank nurses of shift availability.
HME - STOMP (Healthphone Messaging Engine - Stop Smoking Over Mobile Phone), is an SMS text messageâ€based smoking cessation service based on published clinical research conducted by the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University Of Auckland, New Zealand. This research showed that an SMS-based intervention can double the success rate of smokers trying to quit.
2. The need for a Software-as-a-Service business model for healthcare that incorporates social networks, mobility and wireless services at the grass roots, removing the barriers to entry for smaller organizations and individuals.
This model allows applications to be delivered to healthcare providers with less upfront investment and cycle time to implement than traditional IT. There are numerous examples of this in the prevalence of free hosted blog services such as Wordpress.com, MySpace etc and also examples in healthcare such as Microsoft’s Healthvault.
Mobile phones are the ideal health improvement tool: portable, accessible, and personal. Targeted personal information and support can be delivered directly to a person’s mobile.
3. Joining the dots - Public Health Impact = Efficacy x Reach
In healthcare there is often a tradeoff between the frequency of interaction and the cost of delivery. We believe that leveraging social networking technologies and approaches in connecting patients and clinicians represents a viable and effective way to achieve significant positive health impact. Using social networking technologies, appropriate clinical interventions can be delivered at relatively low costs to huge populations and social segments.
As well, an increasing number of countries now have more mobile phones than people. At a global level, around 80% of the world's population enjoyed mobile phone coverage as of 2006. This is projected to increase to 90% by the year 2010.
International health studies show people with long-term conditions who have direct, self-managed interactions with their own care plan are more likely to sustain their adherence to interventions. There is a huge potential in utilizing social networking, mobile phones and other social networking technologies to facilitate better self-management.
This confluence of a growing patient base with increasingly sophisticated and ubiquitous social networking provides the healthcare industry with an opportunity to deliver those improved outcomes on a global scale.
This presentation will cover three major areas:
1. Text messaging as a clinical intervention – HME-STOMP as an example.
The use of text messaging in the healthcare industry has become increasingly commonplace. SMS messages are now a well-accepted means of communication between patients and care organizations. For example, the National Health Service in the United Kingdom has piloted the use of SMS for sending outpatient appointment reminders to patients’ mobile phones and to inform bank nurses of shift availability.
HME - STOMP (Healthphone Messaging Engine - Stop Smoking Over Mobile Phone), is an SMS text messageâ€based smoking cessation service based on published clinical research conducted by the Clinical Trials Research Unit at the University Of Auckland, New Zealand. This research showed that an SMS-based intervention can double the success rate of smokers trying to quit.
2. The need for a Software-as-a-Service business model for healthcare that incorporates social networks, mobility and wireless services at the grass roots, removing the barriers to entry for smaller organizations and individuals.
This model allows applications to be delivered to healthcare providers with less upfront investment and cycle time to implement than traditional IT. There are numerous examples of this in the prevalence of free hosted blog services such as Wordpress.com, MySpace etc and also examples in healthcare such as Microsoft’s Healthvault.
Mobile phones are the ideal health improvement tool: portable, accessible, and personal. Targeted personal information and support can be delivered directly to a person’s mobile.
3. Joining the dots - Public Health Impact = Efficacy x Reach
In healthcare there is often a tradeoff between the frequency of interaction and the cost of delivery. We believe that leveraging social networking technologies and approaches in connecting patients and clinicians represents a viable and effective way to achieve significant positive health impact. Using social networking technologies, appropriate clinical interventions can be delivered at relatively low costs to huge populations and social segments.
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