One of the enduring critiques of texting, instant messaging, e-mail and any other form of text-only online communication is that often is impossible to discern nuance and emotion. The same might be true in social media.

“Intention can create as much or more tension as the actual consequences” of online communication, Ryan Squire, senior director of social media at long-term care provider Kindred Healthcare, said Tuesday at a conference in Bethesda, Md. With some forms of social media, “We lose the ability to understand that intention,” he said.

Squire said that anyone engaging in social media should understand the “theory of reciprocity,” which he called “just normal human behavior.” He demonstrated this at the beginning of the half-hour “fireside chat” by telling MedCity News Editor Chris Seper to get up and walk around the meeting room with him, shortly after Seper joked that he wasn’t getting any exercise by hosting three consecutive sessions in the same chair at the Hyatt Regency Bethesda hotel.

This activity showed that he was listening and started the “cycle of reciprocity,” Squire explained. It also showed empathy, an important factor in any healthy relationship.

Squire also discussed public reviews of physicians and hospitals. While it may be a good idea in theory, it could be problematic and not representative of the wide range of patient experiences.

Only 3 percent of Internet users will ever write a review of their healthcare providers, Squire said, and more often than not, they will write a negative review because disgruntled consumers tend to be the ones seeking out ratings sites. The negative sentiment “becomes the reality,” Squire said.

My opinion and our position at Regency Nursing Centers, is simple:

Do right by the patient and family and they will do right by you

The role of Social Media in Healthcare, is a relatively new concept.

However, quality care and the relentless pursuit of excellence has stood the test of time and is ageless.

Regency Nursing Centers has stood at the forefront of Senior Healthcare well before Social Media was incorporated into the lexicon.

We were there first and we will be there in perpetuity.