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Clinical Social Networking—A New Revolution in Provider Communication and Delivery of Clinical Information across Providers of Care?

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Abstract

The adoption of social media technologies appears to enhance clinical outcomes through improved communications as reported by Bacigalupe (Fam Syst Heal 29(1):1-14, 2011). The ability of providers to more effectively, directly, and rapidly communicate among themselves as well as with patients should strengthen collaboration and treatment as reported by Bacigalupe (Fam Syst Heal 29(1):1-14, 2011). This paper is a case study in one organization's development of an internally designed and developed social technology solution termed “Unite.” The Unite system combines social technologies' features including push notifications, messaging, community groups, and user lists with clinical workflow and applications to construct dynamic provider networks, simplify communications, and facilitate clinical workflow optimization. Modeling Unite as a social technology may ease adoption barriers. Developing a social network that is integrated with healthcare information systems in the clinical space opens the doors to capturing and studying the way in which providers communicate. The Unite system appears to have the potential to breaking down existing communication paradigms. With Unite, a rich set of usage data tied to clinical events may unravel alternative networks that can be leveraged to advance patient care.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Department Systems, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), 450 Melwood Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213-2582, USA

    Brian J. Kolowitz, Gonzalo Romero Lauro, James Venturella, Veliyan Georgiev, Michael Barone, Christopher Deible & Rasu Shrestha

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  1. Brian J. Kolowitz
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  2. Gonzalo Romero Lauro
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  3. James Venturella
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  4. Veliyan Georgiev
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  5. Michael Barone
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  6. Christopher Deible
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  7. Rasu Shrestha
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Correspondence to Brian J. Kolowitz.

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Kolowitz, B.J., Lauro, G.R., Venturella, J. et al. Clinical Social Networking—A New Revolution in Provider Communication and Delivery of Clinical Information across Providers of Care?. J Digit Imaging 27, 192–199 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10278-013-9653-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10278-013-9653-0

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