Healthcare and Social Media

Healthcare and Social Media
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Healthcare and Social Media
The adoption of social media by a majority of the population has contributed to the widespread use of social media in healthcare. One of the key healthcare areas that have benefited the most from social media is patient-to-patient social support and information sharing. According to De Martino et al. (2017), social media platforms have become integral in creating online virtual communities where patients share information and support each other. Specifically, patients post questions about a specific disease or health topic on social media platforms, and other patients respond by sharing information, their experience, and sympathy. Patients also seek support by posting what they are going through, and others respond by posting words of encouragement, relevant information, and so on (De Martino et al., 2017). As a result, social media has become a go-to tool for online social support and information. It has empowered patients with information about their health conditions.
Healthcare providers need to ac...