A new study published by the American Journal of Medical Quality indicates that, for every 93 “Likes” on a hospital’s Facebook page, 30-day mortality rates are 1 percent lower.
This is probably because Facebook “Likes” tap into levels of patient satisfaction, as the positive relationship between “Likes” and the patient recommendation variable suggest. In other words, people are less apt to “Like” a hospital if that hospital has higher 30-day mortality rates and more prone to “Like” a hospital if they would recommend it. This somewhat intuitive finding suggests that Facebook offers an additional resource, beyond surveys, to gauge the attitudes of patient populations.
Interestingly enough, this holds true even for teaching hospitals. Although teaching hospital staff are more likely to be on Facebook, their “Likes” may be offset by “larger quality issues at these institutions.” Does this mean that you should pick your hospital using Facebook? Probably not, since the study only looked at a small sample size of 40 New York hospitals. The key takeaway here is that we’re definitely on the way to full Facebook dominance, especially if people are communicating semi-private preferences like hospital choice. In a few years, maybe you’ll be believed when you say checking out your Wall is a matter of life or death.
