Do pharmacists use social media for patient care?

Area of Science:

• Pharmacy Practice
• Digital Health
• Social Media in Healthcare

Background:

• Social media platforms are widely used by the public and healthcare professionals.
• The specific utilization of social media by pharmacists in their daily professional activities remains unclear.
• Understanding pharmacists' online engagement is crucial for modern healthcare delivery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of social media in pharmacy practice.
• To explore how pharmacists engage with patients and the public online.
• To identify the impact of social media on patient care within pharmacy.

Main Methods:

• Conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 31 practicing pharmacists across nine countries.
• Interviews were conducted via face-to-face, telephone, or Skype, audio-recorded, and transcribed verbatim.
• Thematic analysis was employed to analyze the interview data, focusing on social media use in pharmacy.

Main Results:

• Most interviewed pharmacists were from community pharmacy settings.
• Pharmacists did not offer individualized patient services via social media, despite many having pharmacy Facebook pages.
• While not friending patients, pharmacists shared general health information and corrected misinformation online, with some using YouTube videos for patient counseling.

Conclusions:

• Pharmacists acknowledge the health potential of social media but its application in direct patient care and pharmacy services is nascent.
• Pharmacists, as medication experts, are positioned to enhance online medicines information and develop innovative community care models.
• Further integration of social media into pharmacy practice could improve health information dissemination and patient engagement.