Last Week on Twitter, I came across a link to aDeloitte Centre for Health Solutions report calledSocial Networks in Health Care: Communication, collaboration and insights.  It is only 9 pages long and a free download so you can't expect an exhaustive analysis on the entire health care sector or across all social networks.  In fact it does take some rather odd shortcuts at times such as the Impact chart where the Small Business Owners line for selected examples shows Foursquare as the significant activity. Small businesses are embracing a lot of tools but I think they haven't quite yet got to the point where Foursquare qualifies as the most significant activity.
Despite a couple of similar oddities the report does conclude that "social networks are playing an increasingly prominent role in health care" and I'd say from my experience speaking at conferences in Canada and the U.S. and from what I've seen online that is definitely the case.
The report does however beg the question for those of us living on the topside of the 49^th parallel.  Where do we stand?
 It is an American report and makes no mention of the Canadian experience. When I reposted the Twitter link and added the question, Deloitte Canada's Twitter account  @DeloitteCanada picked up on the comment and suggested it become a broader topic for discussion so here's a blog post to see what we can pull in.

• For a start, think of social media and social networks in the broadest context. It isn't just about who is on Facebook or Twitter, or which organizations have a blog. There are social networks that cater to a health care niche audience. I've had my genome sequenced and as a result I am a member of the 23andMe and deCode social sphere that you can't really break into unless you've had your DNA whirled and twirled and sequenced. Sermo is a physicians only site which according to the Deloitte report is used by 1 out of ever 6 U.S. physicians. Patients Like Me is a site that won't pop up in a lot of social media minds but  it has become an important place to share stories and find information. Our own GenOmics site breaks the social media mold somewhat and doesn't fit neatly into some of the categories we generally tend to lump into social media.
• We also have to apply the same broad context when defining health care. The niche sites of 23andMe and deCode or the Genetic Alliance have very specific social network functions but are becoming increasingly important in health care. The Huntington Society of Canada is on Twitter and may have little relevance if you have never had contact with the disease but it serves a vital role as do similar associations, foundations or support groups. Hospitals, provincial health care services, physicians, and nurses and all related professional associations would also fall under the health care banner. The Mayo Clinic uses social media extensively in the U.S. and even has a Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media but you will be hard pressed to find such an extensive effort in Canada. The Deloitte reports suggests that 700 out of the 5,000 hospital in the U.S. have a social media or social networking presence. That isn't a tremendously high percentage but if we could do a similar survey up here we would in all likelihood lag well behind.
• Finally there is the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors that fit into a health care discussion. The regulatory framework they live with in Canada and the U.S. can make it difficult to participate in social media but the Deloitte reports suggests that 33% of the Fortune 100 companies that operate in the pharmaceutical sector have a blog. At conferences here in Canada I have heard pharmaceutical companies suggest that "why would anyone read a blog, let alone write one.... they are dangerous" and after day 1 of a two day conference on social media in Canada, the pharma attendees didn't bother to come back. There are ways to make it work and there are benefits to be had.

And those benefits are the final consideration in any report, and which was not really in the scope of the Deloitte report. No matter what the numbers or the level of participation in social media, what are the benefits coming back to health care. In a private health care system it could be a better bottom line but in Canada it may be harder to measure. However more trust from the users of the health care systems, a better idea of how money is spent (whether it is tax money or charitable donations ), and the somewhat intangible idea that "there are patients like me" out there, all are areas where social media can shine. Social media can also be an important tool to make the system better, to provide a feedback mechanism, to raise funding, and to exchange information.

So where exactly does Canada sit? 

Deloitte opened the door when they tweeted  "To discuss next week: #healthcare & #socialmedia in Canada, sparked by a Q from @mikesgene re: @DeloitteUS report http://ow.ly/2sDav  ^AJ" and it would be interesting to see if we can produce some solid Canadian examples, or if Canadians even care. It would also be great if Deloitte Canada could produce a similar report to the U.S. one.

Leave a comment below or send a Twitter comment to @mikesgene and/or @DeloitteCanada and pass long numbers, examples or ideas.
Hope to hear from you.