





































AMWA Journal / V36 N3 / 2021 / amwa.org    115

W hether you like it or not, people are getting a lot 

of their health and medicine information from 

the Internet. Some sources of information, such 

as health care organizations, provide resources for individ-

uals that can help support productive conversations with 

providers. Internet-obtained health materials can improve 

the patient-provider relationship if the patient discusses 

what they have obtained with the provider. This dialog can 

lead to more engaged health decision-making.1

 Many times, however, people seeking health informa-

tion online are getting it from social media.2 Research by 

GWI in 2016 showed that 97% of adults between ages 16 

and 64 years say they logged into at least one social channel 

in the last month.3 

 The misinformation that runs rampant on social media 

has made headlines. During the current coronavirus  

disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, Facebook has started 

including warnings and notices to users about the pos-

sibility that the information they are consuming could be 

incorrect. Users share information without citing sources, 

fact checking, or even reading the articles they “like”  

and share.4 

 This is exactly why health care organizations and health 

care professionals should be on social media. By sharing 

credible, high-quality health and medicine information, 

health care organizations can bring appropriate answers to 

the place where patients and families are looking.

 This article describes the approach Nationwide 

Children’s Hospital has employed to meet the growing need 

for high-quality health and medicine information on social 

media. These strategies and tactics are applicable to any 

health care organization or professional looking to expand 

their social media presence.

The Nationwide Children’s Hospital Social Media 
Experience
Organizational social media accounts are an important tool 

for combating misinformation,2 but that is not all. Hospital-

owned channels support revenue-driven marketing cam-

paigns, share stories to show organizational culture in 

support of recruitment and retention, and act as a platform 

to support customer service needs and respond to reviews 

and feedback. 

 In the case of negative comments posted online by a 

patient or employee, sometimes real-time conversations 

can prevent further damage to the hospital’s reputation. 

Nationwide Children’s Hospital patient relations team 

has stopped situations from escalating because they were 

alerted by a social media post. A parent who has grown 

tired of their wait time can be deescalated in the wait-

ing room, for example, before further reputational harm 

occurs.

 Individual clinicians can also make an impact on social 

media2; think of them as organizational thought leaders. 

If an individual clinician’s social media work is supported 

through through education and training opportunities, 

they can help share accurate and relevant information. 

Twitter, especially, is a place to connect with peers to share 

research content, amplify speaking engagements, and con-

nect with referring physicians or consumers. In 2020, social 

media played a large role in attracting candidates who 

could not tour facilities in person—a trend Nationwide 

Children’s Hospital social media team expects to continue 

past the COVID-19 pandemic.

 Most importantly, by disseminating evidence-based 

information, health care organizations or individuals who 

use social media are in a position to actively combat state-

Diane Lang1 and Abbie Roth, MWC2 / 1Director, Social Media, and 2Managing Editor, 
Science Communication, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, Columbus, OH

SOCIAL MEDIA

Social Media for the Health Care Organization: 
Sharing for Good



116    AMWA Journal / V36 N3 / 2021 / amwa.org        

ments that can, at best, be erroneous and, at worst, be a hazard 

to public health. 

Meeting Your Audience Where They Are
When you research the origin of social media,5 it is easy to 

see that online communities are rooted in discussion forums. 

Although archaic by today’s standards, in the early 1990s, 

people flocked to these digital spaces to connect with like-

minded individuals with similar backgrounds. Originally filled 

with gamers and technologists, forums grew to include blog-

gers and users with varied interests, whether they were craft-

ers, engineers, or people with medical needs.

 Forums and blogs allowed health care consumers to find 

information on everything from navigating therapies to choos-

ing a doctor. Patients and their families came looking for 

resources, and along the way, they found reviews that guided 

decision-making and communities that offered moral support. 

Now, clinicians can be part of the conversation. 

Tools for Success
The first step to success in social media is to analyze goals.  

Are you looking for referrals? Are you managing reputation  

and reviews? Are you looking to drive recruitment? Maybe it  

is a little of all three. Setting goals will help determine which 

platforms best suit needs and help guide decisions regard-

ing time dedication, staff allocation, and whether additional 

online tools are needed.

 Once goals are set, it is important to 

educate yourself or your team on best 

practices in social media. Just as some-

one would not perform surgery with-

out a proper education, they should 

not tweet without one either. Improper 

social media use is a reputational risk. At 

Nationwide Children’s Hospital, a com-

plete-workforce curriculum trains staff 

about social media for personal and  

professional use based on 4 pillars: 

advocacy, professionalism, awareness, 

and compliance.

Navigating the Platforms: 
Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, 
Twitter, and TikTok, Oh My! 
Messages should be tailored not only to 

an audience but also a platform. Dancing 

doctors can share vaccine efficacy on 

TikTok, but there is not an audience for 

that type of performance on LinkedIn. Research studies have 

a place on Twitter, but they are less likely to get traction with a 

consumer audience on Facebook. (See Tables 1 and 2.)

 At Nationwide Children’s Hospital, messaging and audi-

ence are tailored to each platform. The Nationwide Children’s 

Hospital Facebook channel supports broad messaging for 

the consumer audience. Human Resources has a channel 

devoted to sharing job postings and content that shares and 

highlights organizational culture. The Nationwide Children’s 

Hospital Foundation has a channel to share fundraising events 

and patient stories. Some departments also use Facebook for 

parent-focused messaging. In some cases, they host private 

Facebook groups where parents and providers can interact and 

find support for complex or chronic conditions. 

 On Instagram, the organizational channel shares con-

tent to illustrate the hospital’s mission. Images of patient care, 

child-life initiatives, and diverse staff reinforce a commitment 

to advocacy for children and families and show how the hospi-

tal provides services to accommodate their needs. Visual story-

telling makes a culture of inclusion come to life.

 On Twitter, Nationwide Children’s Hospital takes advan-

tage of multiple audience-specific accounts to maximize audi-

ence engagement. The main hospital account focuses on 

communicating broad hospital messages and sharing parent-

focused content. The hospital also supports Twitter accounts 

for Human Resources and Trainees as well as others for specific 

departments and programs. 

SOCIAL MEDIA

Table 1. Audience Types Typically Found on Different Social Media Platforms

Audience Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest TikTok

Consumers X X X X X

Health Care 
Professionals

X X X X

Donors X X X X

Staff X X X X

Table 2. Preferred Type of Messages for Different Social Media Platforms

Message Facebook Instagram Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest TikTok

Blog Post X X X

Statistics X X X X X

Job Posting X X X X X

Donor News X X X



      AMWA Journal / V36 N3 / 2021 / amwa.org    117

SOCIAL MEDIA

 The physician/researcher-focused account shares 

research summaries, new publications, and research-related 

videos and engages with the audience through topic-specific 

Twitter chats. The Twitter chats enable Nationwide Children’s 

Hospital faculty to use their personally maintained profes-

sional accounts to share expertise, engage with experts and 

trainees around the world, and be amplified by the organiza-

tion’s accounts. 

 LinkedIn serves as a recruitment tool where users find 

job listings and hospital news. The channel can also be used 

for retention by sharing awards and acknowledgements of 

current staff or as a place to house long-form posts from hos-

pital administration on strategic initiatives.

 Do you have a registered dietitian with a delicious recipe 

to share? Or a physical therapist who can illustrate kettle bell 

exercises? Pinterest is where consumers can peruse wellness 

and prevention content and is ideal for blog posts or Web 

content with a visual element.

 And finally, TikTok. Hospitals may shy away from this new 

kid on the block, but TikTok can get evidence-based content 

into the hands of a new audience. This unique platform can 

be utilized by doctors who share prevention information or 

want to bust myths around everything from vaccines to  

food allergies.

 Although content can be cross-promoted among orga-

nizational accounts, not all content should be. However, too 

many organizational accounts can dilute the overall brand 

and add to governance responsibilities. Striking a balance 

can be hard, and in the case of a hospital, once one service 

line or lab gets an account, they may all want one. It is impor-

tant for the Social Media or Communication department to 

have an account approval and governance process in place 

before getting started. 

The Content Connection: Social Drives Pageviews
Great content is only useful if people see it. Sharing content 

on targeted and curated social media channels helps  

to ensure that the target audience is seeing what has been 

produced. 

 For example, Pediatrics Nationwide is a researcher and 

physician-focused online magazine. Although getting articles 

from the site to show up in searches (Google, Bing, Yahoo, 

etc.) is great, it is difficult to determine who is finding and 

reading it. Is the content reaching the intended audience? By 

sharing Pediatrics Nationwide content via the researcher and 

physician-focused social media channels, the channels serve 

targeted content to our targeted audience—increasing the 

likelihood that they will read it.

 On the flip side, that great statistic that is buried in your 

report or feature article can reach more people and have a 

greater impact when shared through appropriate social  

media channels. 

Collaboration for Better Communication
When subject matter experts work together, the product 

is always greater than the sum of its parts. At Nationwide 

Children’s Hospital, having medical writing experts, social 

media experts, researchers, and health care profession-

als working together has enabled us to develop a network of 

social media channels that support and benefit from our con-

tent channels: blogs, podcasts, research articles, and more. 

 For health care organizations and professionals inter-

ested in expanding their social media presence, developing 

a similar network of experts would serve them well. In addi-

tion, the strategies and tactics outlined in this article (under-

standing goals, identifying audiences and channels, and 

educating organizational social media users) provide a place 

to start your social media journey. While you are considering 

your organizational goals, don’t forget the important respon-

sibility of health care organizations on social media: dispel-

ling myths and providing high-quality health information.

Author declaration and disclosures: The authors note no commercial  

associations that may pose a conflict of interest in relation to this article.

Author contact: Abbie.Roth@nationwidechildrens.org

References
1. Tan SSL, Goonawardene N. Internet health information seeking and 

the patient-physician relationship: a systematic review. J Med Internet 

Res. 2017;19(1):e9. 

2. Ventola CL. Social media and health care professionals: benefits, risks, 

and best practices. P T. 2014;39(7):491-499, 520.

3. Mander J. Chart of the day: 97% visiting social networks. GWI website. 

Published June 6, 2016. Accessed March 19, 2021. https://blog.

globalwebindex.com/chart-of-the-day/97-visiting-social-networks/ 

4. Culliford E. On Facebook, health-misinformation ‘superspreaders’ 

rack up billions of views: report. Reuters website. Published August 

19, 2020. Accessed March 19, 2021. https://www.reuters.com/

article/us-health-coronavirus-facebook/on-facebook-health-

misinformation-superspreaders-rack-up-billions-of-views-report-

idUSKCN25F1M4 

5. The evolution of social media: How did it begin, and where could it go 

next? Maryville University website. Accessed March 19, 2021. https://

online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/ 

mailto:Abbie.Roth@nationwidechildrens.org
https://blog.globalwebindex.com/chart-of-the-day/97-visiting-social-networks
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-facebook/on-facebook-health-misinformation-superspreaders-rack-up-billions-of-views-report-idUSKCN25F1M4
https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/
https://online.maryville.edu/blog/evolution-social-media/



