Social media for developing health services

Abstract

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore in depth how Web 2.0 (focusing on social media) contributes to create a better communication channel to provide information, support and assistance to patients. Social relationships of individuals on the Internet through social media have created added value for many industries. This phenomenon can be an opportunity for the health care industry, which has encountered huge challenges such as increasing demands, budget cuts, growing numbers of patients and more demanding patient expectations. Web 2.0 and social media have the potential value to make possible an increase in the productivity of modern health care and a reduction in cost to the central government. Social media introduces better channels of communication with patients to increase the value of e-health. Social media are building more social communities that empower patients to share their personalized health information and treatments. Design/methodology/approach – Grounded on social support and transaction cost theories, this paper evaluates the current potential of social media to discuss values it can offer for the overall benefit of the health care industry. Findings – The results show how the social relationship of individuals provides online social support and reduction of cost through social media, leading to the development of modern health care. Implications and limitations are discussed at the end of the paper. Originality/value – The analysis results indicated that social media provides strong social support for patients who seek help online. Informational support and emotional support have been confirmed as two main dimensions of social support in online health care. It makes a contribution to the health care literature by extending it to online health care support in the context of social media. It may inform and provide some initial understanding to guide future research. In addition, this study indicates that social support theory and transaction cost are appropriate theoretical foundations for studies of online health care. This finding is very valuable, as it helps researchers to advance the understanding of how social media support online health care.