Healthcare’s unhealthy addiction to Facebook

The early stages of the pandemic highlighted the risks associated with our dependency on foreign providers of essential health technologies and supplies - ranging from personal protective equipment, essential reagents for viral testing and vaccine technologies. A number of positive steps have been taken to reduce these risks in the future and strengthen local supply chains.

In addressing our digital health preparedness we must adopt this same mindset and use this opportunity to future proof our core digital health infrastructure.

Facebook’s recent actions serve as a stark reminder of the ever increasing risk governments and healthcare organisations face by relying  on Facebook and related entity, Whatsapp, for mission-critical communication.

The ban by Facebook, which was primarily designed to target news publishers, saw many public facing healthcare organisations caught in the cross-hairs. As an example, QHealth, several Aboriginal community-controlled health services, domestic violence groups, 1800RESPECT and the Centre Against Domestic Abuse were silenced.

Whilst many of these services have now been restored, the swift manner in which the changes were implemented and the poor approach with which they were communicated, serve to remind us of the inherent risks in using consumer products for healthcare. The business and privacy objectives of such companies simply don’t align with those of the healthcare industry.

Facebook and Whatsapp remains embedded within healthcare - both for clinical communication by healthcare workers and as public broadcasting tools. At Foxo, we believe healthcare communication needs a dedicated, purpose-built solution. It’s time for the industry, and regulatory and professional medical bodies to come together to establish clear guidelines around consumer app usage in healthcare communication.