The Social Media Sphere

Most people I know, while not exactly secretive about their personal health issues, are at least selective about who they share with. I mean, I don’t see people with t-shirts or bumper stickers that say, “I’m a diabetic” or “Ask me about my gall bladder operation.”

That’s why I was a little taken aback by some of the data presented in a recent article in MEDCITY News headlined, New report finds one-third of U.S. adults use social media to discuss health issues.

In some aspects, I totally get it. Monitoring Internet social media is simply making it easier to see something that has always existed:  patients comparing notes on physicians and healthcare services. We see in the article that 42 percent of consumers have used social media to check reviews of treatments and physicians. More interesting perhaps is the high degree of trust consumers put in the information they find through social media, with 40 percent claiming what they read there would affect how they manage their conditions.

“…hardly a day goes by without news of privacy concerns…”

What stood out to me was that fully one third of those surveyed indicated they would “allow monitoring of their social media conversations if data could be gleaned to improve their health or better coordinate care.” This seems remarkable in light of the fact that hardly a day goes by without news of privacy concerns relating to Facebook, Google+ and others.

One more thing that stuck out to me:  Not only are many people willing to share their health concerns on social media, their expectations for reciprocation are high. More than 75 percent reported they “would expect healthcare companies to respond within 24 hours or fewer to requests for appointments via social media.” Nearly half expected a response within a few hours.  Now that’s something for medical device, medical technology and healthcare companies in general to take note.  Expectations are rising but I don’t think most companies in the healthcare sector are prepared for it or resourced to support it, the way patients and healthcare consumers expect.

Effective Targeting

In America, more money is now spent on online advertising than on radio or print. The heavy hitters here are auto manufacturers and big packaged goods companies. Their dollars are gravitating in that direction because expensive research is showing them it’s money well spent. Many other businesses can read the signs, and are redirecting their advertising budgets accordingly.

Significantly, online budgets are being further delineated between ads delivered to those using computers versus searching on mobile devices. Use of mobile devices, of course, is skyrocketing.

Health care companies have ventured into online advertising quite slowly, making up only one percent of all online ads. Pharmaceutical companies in particular have to wrestle with presenting required side-effect disclaimers on small screens.

To my mind, however, the greatest challenge to mobile health advertisers is accurate targeting.

I don’t want an ad for an AED served to me on my iPhone when I’m searching for an emergency room to bring a loved one.

One trend that helps better define delivery targets is the growing disparity in age between users of home-based computers and those who are coming to rely on Smartphones and tablets for searches. Folks above 50 years old or so have settled in with their desktops, while younger people are going mobile. Young people research health-related issues such as STDs and pregnancy; older (computer-using) Americans want to know more about heart attacks and IBS. Further, studies show that 18-40 year olds are far more likely to download and use apps that aid in monitoring diet and exercise than are older people.

Every company will have to address the targeting issue, and it’s not going to be easy to make the fine delineations that can make the difference between making a sale and wasting money. For example, I’m working currently with the orthodontic device company OrthoAccel and their product AcceleDent (which accelerates tooth movement so braces can come off faster). OrthoAccel may have an opportunity to effectively advertise their products to potential patients by targeting adults, teens and parents of teens who are searching for local orthodontists. But the company shouldn’t advertise to those searching for information on dental implants – an entirely different category of patients.

Of course, any discussion of targeting advertising through analysis of web browsing behavior and online profiles brings up vexing privacy issues – a subject for another blog.

AdAge recently published a fascinating and potentially very valuable graphic. As part of their American Consumer Project, AdAge commissioned GfKMRI to combine their data on 25,000 American households through the Patchwork Nation segmenting system, which breaks down areas of the country (in this case, counties) in to 12 different kinds of community. This categorization, which includes factors such as economics, culture and politics, goes far beyond overly simplistic terms such as “blue and red” in an attempt to bring more detail and nuance to demographic information.

In this case, the result was a map of the United States that shows the prevalence of major illnesses by county. I’ve reproduced a static version of the map below. For an interactive version that reveals data by county, click here.

Prevalence Map Major Illnesses by County

I, for one, was surprised at the irregularity of illness distribution. What’s with the apparent prevalence of cancer in Northern Iowa/Southern Minnesota? I didn’t know Mormons in Utah suffered so much from ulcers. And speaking of irregularity, look at the pattern of those suffering from Irritable Bowel Syndrome that follows a swath from Virginia through the Deep South.

The information in the map has been further augmented by a partnership with Modern Healthcare that examines how different generations want to receive health care marketing messages and the increasing relevancy of cross-generational caregivers. A summary is included in white paper available here.

This data should prove extremely useful for medical device and medical technology companies (i.e. digital health/mHealth) in their efforts to more effectively target their efforts in prevention and disease treatment.

Digital health saturation point?

Each time I’m tempted to prognosticate, I recall the observation often attributed to Yogi Berra:  “It’s tough to make predictions, especially about the future.” Alas, I’ve chosen to be in a field – mobile healthcare technology – that seemingly compels speculation. How else to anticipate market trends and prepare accordingly? We all do the best we can.

Exacerbating the difficulty of accurate prediction is the astonishing speed at which the industry is growing. According to MobiHealthNews’ 2011 apps reports, over 13,000 consumer health apps for the iOS platform (used by the iPhone and iPad) will be available by this summer, along with 6,000 professional medical apps. About the only thing one can say with certainty about medical apps is, like ants at a picnic, more will be coming.

In the very near future, using mobile health applications will be nearly as common as playing Words With Friends is today

Of course, every app developer is making predictions as well, leavened with great hope that theirs is the “breakout” app that will be embraced by the public. But such an outcome assumes the public will first embrace the concept of using mobile health applications at all. And that’s where I’m going to go out on a (admittedly very sturdy) limb and say, “Yes. In the very near future, using mobile health applications will be nearly as common as playing Words With Friends.” But I will not be so foolhardy as to predict which applications will achieve lasting popularity.

In fact, I’m more interested in speculating – not on the popularity of mobile health applications – but rather where such use will reach its saturation point. At what stage will physicians and the patients for whom they provide care come to a common agreement as to threshold where the use of the app is insufficient at advancing care, and the patient will be compelled to visit the doctor in person.

This threshold is anything but well defined. You might, for example, feel that tests that require bodily fluids would necessitate an office visit. But it’s reported that a team of South Korean scientists has developed technology that reliably diagnoses some diseases from analysis of a drop of blood or saliva on the touchscreen of a smartphone.

Instantly accessible online health information and personal monitoring (and even diagnosis) is having a profound and permanent affect on the patient/doctor relationship. My take is that both parties will arrive at consensus on a case-by-case basis. Mobile health apps will become a vital part of an equation where patients and caregivers will determine if use of an app is as good as (or even better) than an office visit.

When seeking permission from their mothers, children often employ the argument, “But everyone’s doing it!”

To which the mother automatically replies, “If everyone was jumping off a cliff, would you want to do that too?”

Today, many of us are faced with a situation where seemingly “everyone is doing it,” but we’re still uncertain if simple popularity is a good enough reason to join the trend. What if it’s a cliff?

That situation is called social media. And, especially if you’re considering using it to promote your business (rather than just share photos with friends) it’s all together worthwhile to look before you leap. By now, we’ve all heard horror stories about public relations disasters related to inappropriate use of social media such as Twitter and Facebook. These risks can be even greater in the field of healthcare, where unsubstantiated claims and “loose lips” can quickly spiral out of control. Nobody wants that, but everybody wants customers.

…be assured, your customers and potential customers are indeed using social media

And, be assured, your medical device customers and potential customers are indeed using social media – and not just person-to-person. Everyday, millions are turning to social media to get the latest information from and about product and services providers.

So, the short answer:  Join in. But you don’t have to go in headfirst. You can stick your toe in water first, to see how you like it. That minimizes risk while giving you ample opportunity to learn what works and what your customer (and the medical professional, patient/caregiver community) wants from you.

Here are some ways to stick your toe in the water of social media:

• Post videos to YouTube. Record the presentation you’re giving at the next industry event (professional production standards, please). If it’s long, edit it into smaller segments and post to YouTube. Put links to the videos on your web site.

• Start following other companies on Twitter and Facebook, including (perhaps especially) your competitors. Watch for comments. See what they do right and wrong.

• Start your own company Facebook account. Again, the key here is to remember this is social media, not a place to put overtly self-serving comments or commercials. (You can advertise on Facebook, but that’s a different subject.) Always think of your followers first. Give them something of value. Play it safe. Pretend it’s Thanksgiving Dinner. No politics or religion.

Once you find out the water’s fine, you’ll soon be swimming on your own.