Multifaceted Role of Social Media in Healthcare: Opportunities, Challenges, and the Need for Quality Control

Abstract

Social media, leveraging Web 2.0 technologies, plays a vital role in healthcare, medical education, and research by fostering collaboration and enabling research dissemination. Healthcare professionals use these platforms to improve public health literacy, but concerns about misinformation and content accuracy persist. In 2023, platforms like Facebook (Meta Platforms, Inc., Menlo Park, California, United States), YouTube (Google LLC, Mountain View, California, United States), Instagram (Meta Platforms, Inc.), TikTok (ByteDance Ltd, Beijing, China), and Twitter (X Corp., Carson City, Nevada, United States) have become essential in healthcare, offering patient communication, professional development, and knowledge-sharing opportunities. However, challenges such as breaches of patient confidentiality and unprofessional conduct remain. Social media has transformed medical education, providing unique networking and professional development opportunities. Further studies are needed to determine its educational value. Healthcare professionals must follow ethical and professional guidelines, particularly regarding patient privacy, confidentiality, disclosure rules, and copyright laws. Social media significantly impacts patient education and healthcare research. Platforms like WhatsApp (Meta Platforms, Inc.) effectively improve patient compliance and outcomes. Yet, the rapid dissemination of false news and misinformation on social media platforms presents risks. Researchers must consider potential biases and content quality when extracting data. Quality control and regulation are crucial in addressing potential dangers and misinformation in social media and healthcare. Stricter regulations and monitoring are needed due to cases of deaths resulting from social media trends and false news spread. Ethical frameworks, informed consent practices, risk assessments, and appropriate data management strategies are essential for responsible research using social media technologies. Healthcare professionals and researchers must judiciously use social media, considering its risks to maximize benefits and mitigate potential drawbacks. By striking the right balance, healthcare professionals can enhance patient outcomes, medical education, research, and the overall healthcare experience.

Keywords: effects of social media; healthcare; latest research; medical education; patient-centred care.

Figure 1. Summary of social media platforms

Image credit: Madhan Jeyaraman

Figure 2. Tips for using social media in health education and research

Image Credit: Madhan Jeyaraman