When it Comes to Hospitals and Social Media, Do More “Likes” Equate to Better Quality of Care?

A recent study from the American Journal of Medical Quality suggests that hospitals ranked with high quality of care have a corresponding high fan count on their Facebook brand page. Also, hospitals with the most likes also had the lowest 30-day mortality rates and had the most positive patient recommendations.

The study highlights the following relationships between Facebook and traditional metrics:

1) The correlation of Facebook “Likes” on mortality rates.
2) The correlation of Facebook “Likes” on patient recommendation.
3) Patient recommendations compared to mortality rates.


It is important to note that the relationship between Facebook “Likes” and quality of care or 30-day mortality rates are not causal in nature, but it can serve as a useful proxy if patients are trying to evaluate how hospitals engage with the community at large and get a sense of patient satisfaction over the long term. Also, the study underscores how the social space is becoming an integral component of how brands and organizations are perceived by their respective markets.

For the full findings, check out the study below.
http://bit.ly/ZKBocR

Additional Sources and Citations

Hospitals' Evals Are Going Social
http://occupyhealthcare.net/2013/03/hospitals-evals-are-going-social/

Facebook “Likes” a good indicator of quality hospital care
http://sageinsight.wordpress.com/2013/03/05/facebook-likes-a-good-indicator-of-quality-hospital-care/