A YEAR IN REVIEW
Sierra Leone reported 35 new Ebola cases around the same time .
Social Media in healthcare The social media industry has vastly been expanding during recent years .
Facebook , which began with five million users in 2005 , today has more than 845 million participants and that trend doesn ’ t seem to show signs of slowing down .
While retail and hospitality industries quickly saw the potential in sharing , liking and following , the healthcare sector was one that was slow to adapt . However , that is slowly changing . According to a survey by PwC ’ s Health Research Institute ( HRI ), hospitals , insurers and pharma manufacturers can benefit greatly from jumping onto the social media bandwagon . HRI found that one-third of consumers are using social media for healthrelated matters . That ’ s 1,060 adults in the U . S . alone that can be reached .
The virtual aspect of social media enhances communications by creating an open , often anonymous space for engaging and exchanging information .
“ People like to access and connect with other people ’ s stories , even if they ’ re unwilling to share
More than 11,000 people have died o 815 health workers , and health care s
their own ,” said Ellen Beckjord , assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center .
But which platforms are the most instrumental to use during this shift in health care ? According to HRI , they are Facebook , Youtube and Twitter .
A full nine days before Ebola was even recognized by the World Health Organizations as an epidemic there was something else . HealthMap , a software that mines government websites , social networks and local news reports ,
10 December 2015