Empowering Patients through Social Media and Implications for Crisis Management: The Case of the Gulf Cooperation Council

Abstract

Empowered patients are allies to the healthcare system, especially in emergency situations. Social media use has emerged to be a major means by which patients interact with the healthcare system, and in times such as the current COVID-19 situation social media has to play an even greater crisis management role by empowering patients. Social media channels serve numerous beneficial purposes, despite them also being blamed for the spread of misinformation during this crisis. In this Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) focused case study, we will discuss the increasingly greater role being played by the social media in healthcare in the region and how that empowers not just the patients but the system as a whole. In the GCC region, the healthcare sector is found to reflect a steady growth, leading to an increased drive for empowering patients by lowering the barriers to effective communication and consultation through online media. As of today, social media has become an element of the telehealth infrastructure being deployed in the region. During COVID-19, patients are seen to leverage it pointedly for online health consultations thereby lowering the stress on the healthcare system and adding to efficiencies.

Citation

Menon, M. and George, B. (2020), "Empowering Patients through Social Media and Implications for Crisis Management: The Case of the Gulf Cooperation Council", George, B. and Mahar, Q. (Ed.) International Case Studies in the Management of Disasters (Tourism Security-Safety and Post Conflict Destinations), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 251-269. https://doi.org/10.1108/978-1-83982-186-820201015