The Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, in partnership with the health advocacy social media group #HealthXPh, held the 4th Healthcare and Social Media Summit on 9 June 2018 at Grand Regal Hotel, Davao City.

With the theme “Social Media and Health Professions Education: Shaping the Future through Research and Innovation,” the event highlighted the impact of social media in work, education, and research particularly in developing partnerships, encouraging collaboration, and building networks.

The summit focused on six tracks along with healthcare social media research presentations. The program tracks are as follows: use of social media by teachers in health professions education, use of social media by students, establishing personal learning networks on Twitter for medical educators and healthcare professionals, building presence for advocacies on social media, developing policies for social media, and social media for patients and advocates.

In his message read by Research Information Communication and Utilization Division Chief, Ms. Merlita Opeña, PCHRD Executive Director, Dr. Jaime C. Montoya, emphasized the importance of social media in the current generation as a tool in everyday life. He said, “Social media is used not only to share ideas and show interests, but also to build relationship and form communities.”

Closing the summit was an unconference, a session which gives the chance to more than 150 summit participants to sit in a panel of five persons at a time to discuss healthcare and social topics and offer their opinions and answers to questions submitted through Twitter.

The Healthcare and Social Media Summit, a yearly event supported by the Philippine Council for Health Research and Development, brings together health professionals and researchers in social media to discuss the current trends and the impact of social media platforms in research and health innovation.

For more information on other upcoming events and conferences, please visit https://www.pchrd.dost.gov.ph/ and http://www.healthresearch.ph/