Social Media: What Consumers Need to Know About Online Health Information

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA It’s an exciting time in health care today. The health care landscape is rapidly changing and digital technology has transformed the way we communicate, interact and search for health information. Social Media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube, to name a few, are powerful and phenomenal platforms to educate the public, raise awareness of health issues and collaborate and engage in conversations. Social media platforms gives a voice…

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List of Health Care Social Media and Digital Influencers on Twitter

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Marie Ennis-O’Connor (@JBBC) is a healthcare writer, public relations consultant, and digital media strategist. Marie recently compiled a list of 84 health care social media and digital influencers on Twitter. Twitter is a powerful social networking platform and it allows health professionals to deeply connect and engage with the community. Health care professionals can help educate consumers, raise awareness of health issues and collaborate. This phenomenal platform gives a…

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Are Healthcare Consumers at the Forefront of Digital Health?

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA and Ben Heubl Simply put, healthcare is about the patient. Healthcare is a multidisciplinary team approach and patients are at the center of healthcare. The urge to understand healthcare and medicine from the perspective of the patient, or consumer, is something that even key stockholders fail to understand, writes David Shaywitz in a Forbes piece. The author refers to an article from The Journal of the American Medical Association…

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Sharecare Helps to Engage and Empower Consumers with Mobile Health App-AskMD

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA From digital to doctor with a click on your iPhone or iPod touch Self-diagnosing is not a good idea, but arming yourself with accurate, credible and trustworthy information is a great idea. It’s such an exciting time in health care today. Digital technology helps to empower and engage consumers to take charge of their health, and it fosters consumers to be active participants in their healthcare. One way to…

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Health: Online Health by the Numbers

By Barbara Ficarra, RN, BSN, MPA Digital Technology has changed the landscape in health care, and it has changed the role of the consumer, patient, caregiver and health care professional. The internet has empowered patients and consumers to take charge of their health and to be proactive.  Consumers and patients are active participants in their health care. The Pew Internet and American Life Project explores the impact of the internet and “provides information on the…

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