Ask HRC: Using Social Media to Supplement Traditional Communication Methods during Emergencies

An ECRI Institute member recently asked about the implications of using social media for emergency or crisis communications. As always, Healthcare Risk Control (HRC) recommends that facilities seek guidance from their legal counsel before implementing specific policies, but generally, HRC’s analysts believe that there is potential benefit from the structured use of social media as long as it is used to supplement and not replace other emergency communication methods. An April 1, 2009, blog post by Ed Bennett, director of Web strategy for the University of Maryland Medical System (Baltimore), provides an example of a hospital using social media, particularly Twitter, to augment its crisis communications.

Additional considerations...