Strategic Advantages of Social Media within Healthcare Business Activities: Organizational Practical Implications, Laws, Regulations and Theoretical Concerns
Social Media (SM) is a relatively new health communication channel that enables people to communicate and interact with a larger number of people, find and share information about their health and medical conditions, and to receive health messages. This article reviews the strategic advantages of social media within the borderless healthcare functions including the role that healthcare organizations are playing in leveraging social media platforms as part of their strategic business model. This is followed with several case studies highlighting both international and local organizations use of social media to support their healthcare business activities. Next, the concerns for healthcare organizations and health practitioners when it comes to marketing on social media are also discussed particularly the social media issues and challenges surrounding the healthcare business activities followed with suggested guidelines as way out from this cumbersome problem. Theoretical views from four leading ethical theories; Kantianism, Act Utilitarian, Rule Utilitarian and Social Contract Theory (SCT) towards the approaches to business ethics respectively using the social media as strategic advantages within the healthcare business activities will also be discussed in detail and to decide whether the act is ethically accepted by the ethical theories highlighted. The final section of this article will analyze some of the international and local policies as well as laws that govern the use of social media within the healthcare business activities including Malaysia Cyber Law Acts.