In 2012 Social Media and Health IT Are Set to Converge

According to recent studies and multiple predictions by medical and technology experts, 2012 may be the year that social media and healthcare IT finally integrate.

Social networking figures prominently in the lists of healthcare IT predictions formulated by a variety of sources.

• Tech Crunch
• Information Week
• Science Roll
• Read Write Web
• Practice Fusion

 

The global push for EHR adoption combined with the explosion of cloud computing and healthcare related mobile and tablet apps appears to be opening the door for social networking to enter the healthcare space.   While this convergence may present many exciting opportunities  organizations will face unique challenges regarding balancing patient care, privacy (HIPAA) and the demands of their stakeholders.

Dr. Bart Collins, Drury social media certificate faculty member and healthcare IT researcher, discusses some of the hurdles providers may face when considering the adoption of social media as a channel for data exchange.