By Healthcare Facilities Today

Physicians are increasingly sharing patient records with colleagues through dedicated HIPAA-compliant social networks to share knowledge, according to an article on the EHR Intelliigence website. Could these web-based solutions be the answer to the interoperability that frustrates electronic healthcare record users, or are social networks too limited in scope to replace the basic infrastructure improvements of external healthcare information exchanges, asks writer Jennifer Bresnick. 

In many ways, healthcare reform has a lot in common with the principles of social media, according to the article. Instant access to important information on a variety of mobile devices, close-to-real-time updates and an emphasis on sharing are all concepts the Facebook generation is familiar with. Developing social media networks exclusively devoted to physicians and patients seems like a natural evolution of the general concept.

Social networks go one step beyond EHR systems and may even supersede patient portals with slicker interfaces, more colorful graphics, and FB-familiar features.  They can also aggregate and display electronic health records and patient-provided data in a cloud environment free of proprietary vendor standards.

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