As I’ve written about before on this blog, the web is starting to transform how we, as patients, obtain healthcare information. Recognizing this, healthcare companies have become much more aggressive in how they’re using the web, specifically social media, to disseminate information. Forbes recently reported on a creative way one organization chose to promote a pivotal study.
In the Forbes piece, reporter Rebecca Ruiz, explains how the Mayo Clinic out of Rochester, Minn used Twitter to tease an upcoming study on celiac disease. They followed the folks re-tweeting the news and chose a select few to share the findings with exclusively. What’s unique about this, is that Mayo didn’t give the results to traditional reporters. They gave them patients with celiac and offered them an embargo of the study, with free reign to blog about it. A privilege typically reserved for journalists.
The results were also distributed on Facebook and through this YouTube video.
This example from Mayo is likely to be the wave of the future. Undoubtedly, more and more healthcare organizations will begin using Facebook, Twitter and other emerging social media tools and communities to reach out directly to the people affected by the disease states and conditions for which they are providing education. It will be interesting to see how these interactions impact new and traditional media as well as the consumption of healthcare information.
The Forbes piece also includes a great slideshow that highlights the best resources on the web for obtaining healthcare info. Check it out here.
At this point, we’ve all heard of Twitter in the office, at the gym, and even on the movie set, but the latest Twitter scene is sure to surprise even the most avid tweeters. Good Morning America (GMA) recently revealed a trend toward tweeting from the OR – that’s right, hospitals across the country are embracing social networking as an ME tool, citing the value of Twitter in reaching a new generation of tech-savvy medical students and residents. According to GMA, more than 100 hospitals currently have Twitter accounts, and speculators agree that the number will increase significantly over the next several months as more physicians and hospitals strive to keep up with the Jones’.
For an industry historically known for its resistance to technology, this is a pretty big feat. Twitter only recently gained national attention, as well-known personalities like Oprah, Ashton Kutcher and Britney Spears announced their active presence on the site. As “average joe’s” tried to understand the benefits and inner workings of this uncharted territory, some of the most prestigious medical centers quickly recognized a valuable role for Twitter in their medical educational efforts, and incorporated the technology into their everyday practice.
Mayo Clinic, for example, prides itself on its position as one of the first centers to truly embrace social media, eventually hiring a full-time employee solely dedicated to social media. Mayo has even developed a “tweet camp,” designed to bring MDs and nurses up to speed on Twitter. And a physician with Aurora Healthcare just recently provided live updates via Twitter during a knee-replacement surgery, in hopes of both educating physicians on the technique and alleviating any patient fears on joint-replacement surgery.
Naturally, this unforeseen adoption begs the question – are hospitals truly using Twitter and other social networking sites for educational purposes, or is there at least a small element of brand marketing in that strategy? With a competitive marketplace out there, hospitals would be smart to leverage new technologies to help create stronger brand awareness and defined differentiators. But I do believe that at the end of the day, physicians are genuinely looking to better patient care and improve efficiencies, and Twitter is just one of the latest and greatest to help make that happen.
It’ll take more than an economic downturn to slow down this nation’s group of health IT professionals. According to preliminary figures, approximately 27,500 flocked to the Windy City this week for the annual Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) meeting. Although numbers were down by around 5% from last year’s Orlando-based meeting, show organizers anticipated a much higher drop-off in attendance, due, well, in large part to the current state of the economy.
Ironically, many said that it was the economy itself that drew the crowds, eager to learn more about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, signed into law by President Obama in February. Industry speculators have linked the stimulus package to more than $35 billion in federal dollars designed to spark spending on health information technology. So did the lure work? Survey says yes – attendees felt genuinely energized and excited by the administration’s marked commitment to reform and the anticipated positive effect on the industry as a whole.
But the administration wasn’t the only noisemaker at the show. A number of industry veterans, and newcomers, made some exciting announcements that clearly demonstrate the appeal of this fast-growing sector of healthcare. Some highlights:
• Dell, a company traditionally known for its customizable, personal computers, launched Ideastorm for Healthcare – a project designed to give a voice to the community in an effort to better improve healthcare equipment and processes.
• GE Healthcare and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention are pairing up to deliver personalized public health alerts to EMR in physician’s offices. Want to learn if you’re at risk for a new strain of influenza based on your zip code? Your MD would receive a pop-up on his computer screen during your visit that would alert him to the risk.
• Even IBM is fully engaged – the company announced a partnership with the Mayo Clinic to launch a new, collaborative Website that can provide researchers and physicians with clues to and information on disease patterns.
So what are your thoughts? Did the HIMSS organization fully capitalize on Capitol Hill’s commitment to bolstering a field known historically for its resistance to technology? We’d love to hear from you.
