In this post  I noted that patients want more online access to their doctors.
Most of the suggestions dealt with interactions like turning in paperwork, securing an appointment and email access.

A first step toward enhanced patient communication could be accomplished with a social media tool like Facebook. It not only provides a way to interact with patients, but can also help streamline hiring practices, conduct informal research, and strengthen referral networks.

1.  Research job candidates

Whether you want someone to answer the phones or be a business partner, a candidate's Facebook profile provides an invaluable window for peering into professionalism, decorum, and discretion. This is stuff that you just can't glean from a traditional interview.
A 2008 article in the Journal General Internal Medicine found that some medical student profiles included unprofessional comments, foul language, overt sexuality, patient privacy violations and references to excessive drinking.  Weeding out the less than discreet applicants during the interview stage will save you in personnel costs in the long run.

2.  Create a group

Create a group in Facebook, then facilitate discussions for the group. If you are an endocrinologist, it would make sense to start a Diabetes Awareness Group. A gynecologist could start groups around the topics of fertility or postpartum.
A recent Facebook search for groups with "health" in the title yielded results for mental health, reproductive health, and even one entitled "Keith Richards is still alive so health class was bulls**t".

Once members have joined your group, they can suggest that their friends join with the built-in Invite feature. As an added publicity bonus, your group name will appear on members’ personal profile pages.


3. Create an Event

Why not meet group members in real life at an event? You select the date, time and venue and invite those from your group or network. Events are ideal for book launches, presentations, mini-conferences, or other real life happenings. 

4. Join a Network

Facebook Networks are like group pages for everyone who’s a member of an educational, work, or geographical network. While no Facebook members “own” any pieces of network pages, network pages offer 1) another way for users to discover events, posted items, and marketplace listings, and 2) discussion forums and walls which any members can post to.

5.  Reach out to your referral network

Network with primary care doctors and notify them about your are of expertise, conferences you have recently attended, or procedures you have mastered. There is a Facebook application called Introductions that allows business users to build their network of contacts through referrals. By providing an introduction, referred contacts are given the seal of approval from a trusted source.


6.  Conduct a poll

Think you might want to ditch insurance plans and start accepting cash?
Conduct a poll to gauge whether your patients would in turn ditch you.
It is entirely possible that they would continue seeing you as an out-of-network provider, but why not gather information before making a risky revenue move?

You could post a poll on your website, but people spend more time on Facebook because they hang out there. Patients typically do not hang out at your website; they visit for the few minutes it takes to look up your phone number, download a map to the office or research their doctor's credentials.

7.  Unify your online presence with Facebook Connect

Include a link to your website or blog on your profile.  In addition you can use an application called Facebook Connect to enable your website to integrate with Facebook and send information both ways.  Mashable recently outlined how 10 different businesses are successfully using this application to widen their reach. It even includes an easy how-to.