SXSH: Consumerism has no place in social health
By Becca Camp | Friday, March 12th, 2010
By Rebecca Camp. AUSTIN, TX– Today’s SXSH conference (South By Social Health) saw many successful, multi-disciplinary approaches to weaving together new media and health care. I was bothered, however, by a theme that’s becoming increasingly common in the health care conversation: patients treated as consumers.
When a company follows capitalistic principles, the goal is to increase value by offering better services at a lower price. The company strives to improve their bottom line by offering more value than their competitor, in an effort to put their competitor out of business. Offering good customer service complements this strategy. In industries other than health care, the result is a benefit to the consumer: quality products and service at a lower price. Southwest Airlines, for example, employs a very effective social media presence. They respond to complaints tweeted by customers, which is has garnered the company praise in addition to a loyal customer base. But does this consumer-centered strategy translate to health care?
Mayo Clinic is held as a model for value in health care, but attributing their success to “consumerism” is off-base. The new media strategies being presented by health care institutions at SXSH essentially boiled down to damage control by tending to disgruntled Twitterers, and analysis of the types of complaints being registered. Though claiming to be influenced by social media mavens at Mayo’s Rochester flagship, the strategy is misguided and far removed. Mayo Clinic works because of a philosophy of care that puts the needs of the patients first—which does not equate to reactionary PR moves on social media sites. Absolutely nothing about their strategy distinguished it from other industries—and in the context of health care, replicating the strategy of Southwest Air and its ilk borders on insulting. Mayo Clinic avoids the noisy Twittersphere when addressing something as important as patient care; when a complaint is registered, that’s what their specialized center for patient service is for. Their Sharing Mayo Clinic blog allows a community of patients, staff, and families to form, which anticipates service problems before they even occur. This is the absolute obligation of companies in charge of delivering health care to a society.
My issue is also a philosophical one.













