Using Twitter to assess patient takes on patient experience

A qualitative study of Twitter hashtags revealed power hierarchies can damage the patient experience and clinician relationship.

In an analysis of a popular Twitter hashtag, researchers found that patients largely take umbrage when they feel their doctor does not believe their ailment or knowledge about their healthcare, and when they perceive a power hierarchy between themselves and their clinician.

Although not as many patients are using Twitter to get peer feedback on certain providers (the Binary Fountain poll showed only 21% of patients do this), the social media website still holds a lot of power, researchers from the University of California system explained. Twitter is a large platform that hosts social discourse. Healthcare professionals use Twitter to disseminate public health and patient education messages and to network, while 61% of patients use Twitter to learn more about their health, as well.

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Source: Patient Engagement HIT, 29 October 2020