The IMS institute for Healthcare and Informatics defines social media as internet-based tools that enable the sharing of content, communication and/or collaboration among users. Social media platforms became popular in the 1990s, and have grown exponentially since (Antheunis et al., 2013) . In this context, social media platforms can be divided into two large categories i.e. general social media and healthcare specific. General social media sites include social networking sites, collaborative projects, blogs, virtual communities and virtual gaming. Healthcare specific sites are for both patients and caregivers or oriented towards healthcare providers. This study will analyze and compare the use of Facebook, a social networking site, and HealthVault, a patient/caregivers social site and application in healthcare.
HealthVault is a service offered by Microsoft whereby a patient can record and store all their personal health data and information (Techtarget.com, 2010 ) . It is a web-based platform which requires users to sign in with Microsoft accounts, after which they can submit and save a variety of health information such as family health history, allergies, current medications as well as basic data such as height and weight (Techtarget.com, 2010 ) . Health Vault is compatible with various apps, applications and devices which can also be used to exchange the user’s data. Such devices include heart rate watches, and Microsoft Band among others.
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HealthVault significance in healthcare is derived from its utility as a personal health record. This information can be shared with healthcare professionals who may need it for treatment and management of the user’s medical conditions (Techtarget.com, 2010) . Moreover, management is possible due to HealthVault’s ability to collect real-time data and information from devices with which it is compatible (Sunyaev, 2013) . It is also compatible with other health record solutions in the industry, and supports medical imaging based on the DICOM standard.
Facebook, on the other hand, is a social networking platform which is mainly used to connect and share data with friends. Friends typically create online profiles and connect by sending and accepting friend requests. Facebook’s greatest utility is derived from its popularity, whereby it is used by close to one third of the earth’s population (Antheunis et al., 2013) . It is by far the most used social media platform of any kind, and is available in all countries on the globe except those that have banned or placed partial restrictions on its use.
Facebook has been used for various purposes in healthcare. First, it is used in health promotion campaigns. For instance, basic health promotion tips and ideas are shared in the platform such as healthy eating habits and effective exercise regimes (Russel, 2017) . Secondly, Facebook has been one of the media used in epidemic control. For instance, the CDC used Facebook and Twitter platforms to counter misinformation and disseminate correct information regarding the Zika virus outbreak (Russel, 2017) . Third, Facebook allows patients and caregivers to obtain social support by creating groups in which members share their experiences and advice. This is common among patients suffering from terminal illnesses or lifelong health conditions such as cancer, diabetes, Down’s syndrome, among others.
General social media and healthcare-specific social media have various differences. First, as the term suggests, general social media are often used by the general population who include non-healthcare personnel and professionals. Healthcare-specific social media are mainly used by healthcare personnel within a certain profession such as nursing. General social media content is also varied and is majorly composed of non-healthcare related data while the opposite is true for healthcare-specific social media (Antheunis et al., 2013) . As expected, general social media have a far wider reach than healthcare-specific social media. They are therefore useful in communication between healthcare-professionals and the general public, while communication among healthcare professionals is dominant in healthcare-specific social media.
Drawbacks of Facebook in its use in healthcare include the possibility and tendency of health misinformation to be transmitted. Health information of Facebook is less likely to be credible than that on healthcare-specific social media. Facebook also deals with large volumes of information making it difficult to filter out useful information in healthcare (Moorhead et al., 2013) . There are also major ethical issues associated with Facebook activity of healthcare workers in regards to patient confidentiality. Drawbacks of HealthVault include its limited number of users whereby it may not have the desired impact on public health (Sunyaev, 2013) . Secondly, HealthVault is majorly used in the US and is literally unknown in other parts of the world (Sunyaev, 2013) . Moreover, third world nations do not have the capability to benefit from it.
There are various ways in which NCSBN and ANA guidelines would apply to Facebook and HealthVault. First, healthcare professionals are to exercise due care when using social media especially Facebook, in order to uphold patient confidentiality and privacy. Failure to do this may attract consequences such as disciplinary measures from regulatory boards. Moreover, the guidelines debunk some of the myths associated with social media use. For instance, one could share health information obtained from HealthVault in the erroneous belief that it is not easily accessible and is, therefore, private.
Social media would affect future practice in various ways. The greater use of social media presents the possibility of impactful remote applications. It is, therefore, conceivable that online medical practice will be commonplace in future (Moorhead et al., 2013) . The existence of online platforms and applications such as HealthVault will revolutionize health record management (Sunyaev, 2013) . Better regulation is also required in order to curb unethical practices which may be amplified by increased social media use that is increasingly useful for brand awareness and management among healthcare entities.
References
Antheunis, M. L., Tates, K., & Nieboer, T. E. (2013). Patients’ and health professionals’ use of social media in health care: motives, barriers and expectations. Patient education and counseling , 92 (3), 426-431.
Moorhead, S. A., Hazlett, D. E., Harrison, L., Carroll, J. K., Irwin, A., & Hoving, C. (2013). A new dimension of health care: systematic review of the uses, benefits, and limitations of social media for health communication. Journal of medical Internet research , 15 (4).
Russel, J. (2017) Social Media in Healthcare: The Benefits, challenges and Opportunities. Published January 31, 2017. https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-health-care/
Sunyaev, A. (2013). Evaluation of Microsoft HealthVault and Google Health personal health records. Health and Technology , 3 (1), 3-10.
Techtarget.com (2010). Microsoft HealthVault https://searchhealthit.techtarget.com/definition/Microsoft-HealthVault
