Communication technology and social media: opportunities and implications for healthcare systems

Electronic patient education and communications, such as email, text messaging, and social media, are on the rise in healthcare today. This article explores potential uses of technology to seek solutions in healthcare for such challenges as modifying behaviors related to chronic conditions, improving efficiency, and decreasing costs. A brief discussion highlights the role of technologies in healthcare informatics and considers two theoretical bases for technology implementation. Discussion focuses more extensively on the ability and advantages of electronic communication technology, such as e-mail, social media, text messaging, and electronic health records, to enhance patient-provider e-communications in nursing today. Effectiveness of e-communication in healthcare is explored, including recent and emerging applications designed to improve patient-provider connections and review of current evidence supporting positive outcomes. The conclusion addresses the vision of nurses' place in the vanguard of these developments.