Association of Twitter Metrics and Cardiology and Heart Surgery National Hospital Rankings

Abstract

Since 1990, the U.S. News and World Report (USNWR) has been publishing rankings of US adult and children’s hospitals. The aim of this study was to analyze the association between hospital Twitter metrics and the 2020 USNWR hospital cardiology and heart surgery ranking. We collected data on the cardiology and heart surgery overall ranking score and expert opinion. Twitter metrics were obtained on October 20, 2020, and included time on Twitter, number of followers, accounts being followed, total tweets, reach score (difference between followers and followed), and annual tweet rate (total tweets divided by time on Twitter). The final cohort consisted of 463 hospitals (48 of which were top-ranking hospitals). A significant positive relation was observed with Twitter metrics and hospital ranking. On multivariable regression after adjusting for time on Twitter, the overall score was independently associated with annual tweet rate and reach score (β=12.45% and β=0.34% for each 1,000 tweets per year and 10,000 reach score accounts; P<.001). Similarly, expert opinion was independently associated with annual tweet rate and reach score (β=0.025% and β=0.002% for each 1000 tweets per year and 10,000 reach score accounts; P<.001). Our results emphasize how hospital leaders may leverage social media platforms as an important medium to disseminate accomplishments and increase their visibility and reputation, potentially translating to higher USNWR ranking.