Social Media Health Oü

social media can serve as an aid to patients. for example, it fosters their autonomy by complementing the information provided by healthcare professionals and by providing psychosocial support. social media use by patients can also be an aid to healthcare professionals by providing a tool to strengthen the organization’s market position and stimulating conversation for brand building and improved service delivery. in fact, social media may have effects on both patients, and on the wider healthcare system. in particular, it allows patients to receive support, and to complement offline information (videos as an example) which may lead to enhancing the empowerment of patients. however, social media use by patients does not only provide beneficial effects. it may also constitute a challenge within the healthcare system to both patients and healthcare professionals.