“I don’t have time.”

When I encourage clients and colleagues to participate in social media the response I get is, “I just don’t have time for that sort of thing.” Such a response comes from people who don’t understand the tools available or the reason for their existence – especially when it comes to healthcare.

Much of the technology in healthcare exists to make it more efficient for healthcare professionals, thereby offering better care to consumers. EMRs, as difficult as they may be to implement, allow caregivers quicker access to crucial patient information. Point-of-care testing (POCT) devices allow physicians to have test results sooner. More hospitals are embracing ceiling boom systems in their operating rooms to minimize set-up and turnaround time. The list goes on and on. Who knows what lies on the horizon that will have a profound effect on the healthcare industry? If such advancements are embraced for better care of patients why not also accept the advancements in communication as well? The technology that makes social media viable is both easy to use (anyone can come up with 140 characters for a Twitter exchange) and affordable (LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are all free to use). The only true cost is time and, more importantly, a passion for being a thought leader in the healthcare arena.

Social Media helps patients and doctors both

Part of the Hippocratic Oath reads that that a physician will strive “To keep the good of the patient as the highest priority.” What better tools exist than those available for social media to help you touch your patients where they are? There are healthcare professionals who have an unquenchable thirst to help others. Those are the caregivers who are in a position to be thought leaders in their respective specialties. They are the ones who can utilize the interactive technologies of social media to educate and inform a larger audience of medical advances, techniques, and even treatments that are available. For instance, healthcare practitioners who can take just a little bit of time to write a blog can effectually alleviate unnecessary fears in their audience while instigating those fears which are needed. It’s a matter of taking the time to participate in the growing multitude of healthcare consumers who are asking for input from professionals who aren’t where they are.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you already know about the Motrin ad fiasco. Johnson & Johnson’s McNeil Consumer Healthcare unit, who manage the Motrin brand along with their ad agency, created what they thought was a great ad campaign. The creative work they did wasn’t bad. Here’s the broadcast advertisement in question:

Apparently the campaign had been running since September 30 and was unaware that anything was wrong. Then it hit. The social media mavens come crashing in like a tsunami. Advertising Age credits Los Angeles blogger Jessica Gottlieb with starting the backlash via her blog and then posting about it on the widely used microblogging platform, Twitter (Jessica has 1,150 followers at the time of this writing). From that spark the wildfire fury started and the Motrin Moms collectively made a major pharma company pull back the campaign. Welcome to the power of social media.

On her blog, Jessica notes that she has caught both praise and persecution for her actions: “The more I speak, the less you listen. So I’m whispering now. I’m not doing the Mommy Wars. I won’t have it and I won’t feed the machine. Because the real Tsunami, the only thing that could knock me off my feet is if I engage in the most ridiculous of all arguments. And that’s where this is headed.”

As the story fades into history the incident is still a lesson in the power of social media. Whether you believe that Jessica Gottlieb is a victim or villain is up for debate. I can see both sides of the coin. I don’t think Motrin brand managers meant anything by the campaign, but I also see where moms could get offended. Regardless, the healthcare sector, those slow to adopt technology like social marketing, need to take note. Joe and Jane Consumer are paying attention to your moves, your services and, yes, your sensitivity. If you think that there isn’t power in the masses gathered in the Twittersphere then you might want to Twitter “MotrinMoms” again and just see the simplistic yet powerful potency of social media.

I joined my dad on a follow-up visit to a neurosurgeon who had recently removed a blueberry-sized benign tumor that nearly killed him from the base of his brain. As the physician’s assistant examined my dad he made a side remark that he had to go see the doctor himself soon. As a healthcare marketer, my research side got the better of me and I asked, “What is it like for a doctor to go to the doctor?” The PA said something that really impressed me. He said healthcare providers need to take off their lab coats and go sit in their own waiting rooms as patients. This was a suggestion that was as profound as it was simple.

Many healthcare professionals spend week after week parking in designated spots, going through entry doors meant for only them, and slipping into the their offices without having to walk through the waiting rooms. How much better of an experience would patients have if their healthcare providers would stop to look at their brand as their patients do?

For example, how clean is the waiting room? Do the walls need a fresh coat of paint? Are the magazines outdated? Are the chairs comfortable? What do the restrooms smell like? Is the staff warm and friendly? How easy are the necessary forms to fill out? Do the examining rooms create more stress for the patient or put them at ease? The list of questions goes on and on.

The good news is that this “market research” is so simple to do and costs little to understand. Healthcare will always be about people helping people. Why not take the lab coat off, see your healthcare brand as your patients do, and fix what you don’t believe works well for them? You and your patients will be better as a result.