Two studies show that nurses and docs like to text, but not tweet
Two recent studies show that healthcare professionals are smart phone fans and use them to text for both personal and professional use, according to Online Media Daily. The first study, undertaken by Manhattan Research found that 64% of physicians own a smart phone, and by 2010 that percentage is expected to b 81%. Currently 39% of physicians communicate with their patients electronically.
A separate study, undertaken by Nicholson Kovac, Inc., found that 87% of nurses use the Internet for professional reasons, related to healthcare. Additionally, 77% of nurses use Facebook to connect with peers and friends, and 88% of physicians do the same. While these statistics didn’t surprise me, one related social media-related information did: Only 16 % of physicians and 11% of nurses use Twitter.
Do you find that most people at your facility are using Facebook but not Twitter? Do you think that staff staying in touch electronically has an potential benefits to patient safety?
About the Author: Heather Comak is a Managing Editor at HCPro, Inc., where she is the editor of the monthly publication Briefings on Patient Safety, as well as patient safety-related books, webcasts, and audio conferences. She is also is the Assistant Director of the Association for Healthcare Accreditation Professionals (www.accreditationprofessional.com) and manages Patient Safety Monitor (www.patientsafetymonitor.com), of which this blog is a part.
Contact Heather by e-mailing hcomak@hcpro.com
