By Erica
Who could forget the April outbreak of the H1N1flu – more commonly known as “swine flu” – that swept the globe and left people around the world in a state of panic? First reported in Mexico, spring breaks and honeymoons to the sunny vacation destination were cancelled as people feared they could be susceptible to this scary and fatal disease while traveling. The virus continued to spread, and on June 11, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the swine flu a global pandemic.
It is now known that the virus is spread through human contact and by many of the same avenues as the traditional, seasonal flu: coughs, sneezes or by touching infected areas and then touching your nose or mouth. While many of the symptoms could be considered minor (fever, cough, headaches), those aged 65 years and older, kids under the age of five, pregnant women and those with underlying medical conditions such as asthma, diabetes or heart disease are at higher risk of more serious complications.
Not surprisingly, the New York Times reported that pharmaceutical companies are rushing to have a swine flu vaccine available for the fall flu season. About 2,400 healthy adult volunteers will be tested in the first clinical trials to evaluate the vaccine. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, is overseeing the trials and is quoted as saying, “[The trials are being conducted] in a compressed time frame in a race against the possible autumn resurgence.” Is it just me, or does this seem a bit rushed?
Of course I appreciate the need for the vaccine and given the high incidence of the flu in the fall, I understand the reasoning behind the timeline. However, the fact that the physician overseeing the trial even says that this is a “compressed time frame” is a bit alarming to me. I know I’d be pretty nervous to volunteer myself for a quick clinical trial evaluating the efficacy of a vaccine for a virus that swept the nation, leaving many gravely ill and killing others. On the other hand, taking part in this trial, no matter the outcome, is a selfless act that could positively affects thousands of people. Do you think the schedule for this clinical trial is too accelerated or do you believe it’s necessary to be completed by the fall? Would you be willing to participate in a trial of this nature?
July 23rd, 2009
By Jackie
In today’s economic climate, we’re all trying to stretch a buck. Cooking in instead of eating out, staycations in lieu of European trips, haggling with your doctor on medical costs…wait, hold the anesthesia. What? According to Forbes.com, consumers are becoming increasingly more savvy as it relates to their healthcare costs and savings, and why not – on average, families spend more than $3k each year on copays, coinsurance, premiums and deductibles, a whopping 2x as much as a decade ago. As Forbes reports, the rising healthcare costs, coupled with increased share paid by the patient, is giving patients the incentive, and courage, needed to bargain their healthcare prices.
Some tips for bargaining? Try to work out a reasonable deal in advance. Remember, your MD is by no means a car salesman and thus, will not respond well to lowballing. Work with your physician in advance of your surgery or procedure so you both feel comfortable with the level of care, and corresponding cost, for the treatment. Then, post-service, ask for a complete, itemized bill – and be sure to look out for mistakes. Often hospitals will double-charge you on certain items and interestingly enough, patients can obtain a significant discount just by challenging specific items on the bill.
Rest assured, if negotiation isn’t your forte, companies like Medical Cost Advocate will do the dirty work for you. According to Forbes, the company can save you, on average, anywhere from 10% to 40% on total costs.
If you’re anything like me, there’s a certain part of this trend that seems, well, rather unnatural and uncomfortable. I grew up with the mindset that healthcare costs were healthcare costs, no questions asked. I wouldn’t want the reduced cost of my procedure to, even unintentionally, determine the level of quality I receive. Whether or not you agree, one thing is for sure – the way we think about medical care is drastically changing, right before our very eyes.
July 23rd, 2009
by Caitlin
Recently we had the opportunity to chat with new media evangelist and consultant, Ron Ploof, of the popular RonAmok! blog. Ron shared his thoughts on his recent case study that evaluates Johnson & Johnson’s social media platform and how other pharmaceutical and medical device companies can integrate social media into their communications programs.
Here’s what he had to say…
What is it about Johnson & Johnson that makes them a good example for other healthcare industry companies to follow in implementing a social media program?
Johnson & Johnson had a vision that social media could work for them, but had to find a way to put a toe in the water. With their first blog, The Kilmer House, they chose to look backwards, focusing on their 123 years of public education. The choice to look backwards is brilliant because no one can get into trouble for backward-looking statements. By choosing something safe that fit within their corporate culture, J&J learned lessons and built upon that experience.
With compliance issues and medical companies under constant scrutiny for communication tactics (among other things), isn’t there a risk for companies to join in the conversation?
With healthcare you have to ask if what a company says online actually hurts the public. We started regulations to protect people from big-bad corporations, like the elixir salesman in the J&J case study. But what happens when such restrictions put a stranglehold on the conversation? I think the government is going to have to think through that question.
The other important thing to consider is that if they don’t figure out how to communicate online, patients will do it for them. If J&J doesn’t host the conversation about a particular disease or treatment option, people who are suffering from a disease state will collect together and talk about it–independent of pharmaceutical and device companies. For instance, PatientsLikeMe is a great place for people to discuss their ailments. A social network of like-minded people is totally different than talking with a company or a doctor, so people on PatientsLikeMe and other patient networks, like SugarStats, will probably share more information than the pharmaceutical companies ever dreamed of them sharing.
So do you think social media is the future for companies in healthcare communication?
It doesn’t matter, because the conversation is going to happen regardless. Companies and government regulators will have to figure out how to make it work, and if they don’t, the patients will. The tricky thing is that lawyers and regulators want absolutes–for everything to fit into black and white terms. Such a hope is impossible with conversation. Conversation is gray. The good news is that the issue will be solved. The question is: who will do it first?
Companies with the best chance of cracking it are those willing to take a little bit of risk. The risk being: we have decided to talk about this subject because we think there is a benefit for the greater good. When you look at companies like J&J, you see that healthcare companies keep inching closer and closer. As companies push the envelope further, some might get slapped, but maybe that will be the catalyst for change. For example, if a company creates a portal so valuable to patients, yet is removed because of some arcane regulation, the public uproar will force the regulations to change.
What are some basic steps a company looking to experiment with social media can take now?
Across industries, the most common obstacles include internal resistance and fear of losing control of your brand. Let’s face it. When you go online, you lose all control. The first step, then, is to explain this fact to upper management and gain their support.
Once you have support, I always recommend starting with a blog first. One of my top ten rules for social media is ‘don’t build an entire social media strategy on rented land.’ A blog on my website is mine. Twitter, Facebook and other social networks are great, but if you build your entire social media presence on external site and they go away, you’ve lost it all. With a blog, if one of the rented properties changes, your audience can trace the breadcrumbs back to your home—the blog. What I really like about J&J is that they built their foundation on their own land first and then built out with rented pieces. They started with two blogs, then went to YouTube, and now they’re using Twitter like a quarterback to tie all of the pieces together.
The other thing is to make sure you’re always measuring what you’re doing. With traditional media, we used to rent an audience from a publisher or a broadcaster, but social media allows us to build a specific audience of people interested in our products and services. To make sure that audience remains engaged, you have to measure its size and level of engagement to see what’s working, and what’s not. If your audience is growing and engaged and you still face internal resistance, show them the measurements. No one can argue with results.
In your J&J case study, you talk a lot about the impact of videos. Why do you think they are so effective, and what are best practices tips for companies looking to make videos?
Humans are very visual beings, so video is one of the quickest growing aspects online. To me, the success is in the stories and storytelling. We pay $10 to sit in a crowded movie theater with people we don’t even know to stare at a screen. Why? Because we’re hardwired to love stories. Therefore, creating online video that tells stories is an excellent way to communicate a message. Probably my favorite quote from C.C. Chapman is “the quality in it (video) is more important than the quality of it.” Companies must get more comfortable with the fact that we don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on a studio production. A lot of people think you need expensive studios and lighting to make a good online video, but to me that’s old media. As long as the sound and video aren’t distracting, the success comes from properly capturing the story.
A few additional resources from Ron if you’re looking to learn more about healthcare and social media:
Tips on making corporate videos
Ron’s interview with new media guru CC Chapman on social media tips and tricks
July 22nd, 2009
By Anna Gueldenhaupt, Europe
We’re all aware of the potentials that electronic patient record (EPR) could bring to patients and clinicians and these kinds of systems are currently being implemented in healthcare across the developed world. By enabling the storing and sharing of health information electronically and online, a number of benefits could be achieved: enhanced clinical communication, reduced number of errors and more effective diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, it gives patients the control over their own healthcare.
However, enabling this access to this kind of sensitive data also carries with it new risks in privacy and security. In England, the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT), a 10-year programme that is aimed at implementing EPR systems across the country, has been running for seven years.
In an Ideal World
The idea behind the system is to convert billions of patient records from paper to digital to achieve:
- An electronic ‘choose and book’ system to give patients the ability to book, change and cancel their own hospital appointments
- An electronic prescription service that will link General Practitioners and pharmacists
- A new NHS broadband network and internal email system that will allow better communication between staff
- Near-instant access for clinicians to x-rays and scans.
In brief, it hopes to transform the NHS in England into the modern, computerised organisation everyone would like it to be.
The Real World
We know the broadband infrastructure is in place, but at huge costs to the NHS. Additionally, the ‘choose and book’ ability is working, but it’s not used in the primary or secondary care setting, while the electronic prescription service, once available, could prove extremely useful.
However, the main problem is that the National Electronic Health Record, the main purpose of the NPFiT will not be available for years, if at all. As far as I’m aware no other country has managed to connect up its healthcare system into a single digital system and implement a country-wide EPR system. Still, nor has England. So, it comes as no huge surprise that the Conservative party has commissioned a review of the NPFiT programme, which could lead to abandonment of the programme with a new suggestion of storing data on the internet with companies such as Microsoft and / or Google. I believe this is cause for great concern.
Your Health Records in the Hands of Google or Microsoft?
From a personal perspective, I would feel a little uncomfortable if my health information was saved online with the likes of Microsoft or Google, where anyone clever enough could potentially hack into it. I’m aware that the proposed EPR systems are also now immune to these kinds of attacks. However, by putting my trust in the NHS in general, I also hope to be able to trust their IT systems. But do I really trust this over budget IT system that has been subject to delays, errors and looks unlikely to be finished in the next few years?
July 22nd, 2009
by Caitlin
In today’s Washington Post, Sandra Boodman evaluates whether online doctor rating systems, like RateMDs.com and Vitals.com, help or hurt the healthcare system. And more importantly, whether your doctor can prevent you from posting to one. Rating systems like TripAdvisor.com have become the go-to resource for booking your dream vacation, but physicians and advocacy groups argue that doctor rating systems don’t give people enough information on which to base their decision. Moreover, the information may not be completely accurate.
It used to be that to find a doctor, you would research the healthcare facilities in your area, talk to people you trust about their experiences, and interview the physician yourself to gauge whether the doctor would be a good fit for you. Sometimes this meant visiting a few doctors and getting a second or third opinion. But now, for some people rating systems might provide baseline information about a practice to help them get their research going.
While physicians argue about the validity of these rating sites, the real issue seems to be how do we select physicians today? And what role should physicians play in controlling that?
July 21st, 2009
By Cheri
MSNBC put together a great article about the safety concerns of Parkour and freerunning. Parkour, for those who haven’t seen the YouTube videos, is the art of getting from point A to B as smoothly as possible, transversing benches, walls and garages in the urban environment. The popularity of these sports has grown wildly because of YouTube videos and Facebook pages and health officials are warning about the (obvious) dangers of jumping over park benches and swinging from trees.
Would you think twice about the safety of a sport that has been hyped through these channels? And, if you’re a traceur or traceuse, share your YouTube videos!
Parkour Pro David Belle
July 21st, 2009
By Palmer Reuther
Often, it’s a celebrity’s misfortune that is the catalyst for us commoners to hear about, understand and get screened for some of the more rare disease states.
Actor John Ritter died of an aortic dissection caused by a previously undiagnosed congenital heart defect. Prior to his death, little was known about this deadly disease. After he passed away, screening for aortic dissection in men rose by 26 percent.
John Ritter
Today, news of Adam Yauch’s cancer diagnosis hit the web. Unfortunately the overarching story line was that the tumor in his salivary gland would keep The Beastie Boys off its tour schedule and delay the release of their next album Hot Sauce Committee Part 1.
Yauch describes when he first felt something was wrong.
“About two months ago, I started feeling this little lump in my throat, like you would feel if you have swollen glands or something like that, like you’d feel if you have a cold, so I didn’t really think it was anything,” he says.
His doctor sent him to a specialist who diagnosed the cancer.
Adam Yauch
The silver lining for Adam is that it sounds like the cancer had not yet spread, for others, this news should serve as a reminder to ask you doctor about screenings for various types of diseases.
July 20th, 2009
By Cheri
The world around us is changing and the way people are talking about and communicating is evolving rapidly. Each day, new blogs, Twitter feeds, communities and forums are created. In light of this, Larry Weber put together Sticks & Stones: How Digital Business Reputations Are Created Over Time… And Lost in a Click to talk about the way reputation management is changing in the social web.
Health care organizations and providers have even more at stake in this new media landscape. From patients to doctors, people are passionate about the health care system and products and go to the web to vent, chat, discuss and engage.
Find out more at the Sticks & Stones Web site and feel free to connect with Larry directly on Twitter: @TheLarryWeber. You can also view a video of Larry talking about the video on the site.
July 14th, 2009
by Caitlin
Last week, Obesity published a study finding that people classified as ‘overweight’ according to their Body Mass Index (BMI) (25-29.9) may live longer than people with a ‘normal’ reading (18.5-24.9). It is theorized that the extra weight actually protects the body during the stress of aging. At first I thought this was further proof that thin is not in, and that a healthy person should have a few extra pounds; however, perhaps the study is just another indication that the BMI calculation is misleading, and it is not the best way to measure one’s physical fitness.
I’ve been skeptical of the BMI since high school when during our annual Fitness Test the most athletic girl in the grade (made of sheer muscle yet standing only 5’1) was deemed ‘overweight’ due to the ratio of her weight to height. Since muscle weighs more than fat, serious athletes can have a higher BMI simply because they weigh more. Perhaps some of the ‘overweight’ participants in the Obesity study had a high BMI but longer lifespan because they had a high muscle content, not because they were overweight and out of shape. By the same token, it’s also possible that a participant with a ‘normal’ BMI was simply ‘thin’ but not physically fit.
Lenny Bernstein of the Washington Post, and a critic of the BMI, recently visited the University of Maryland’s Department of Kinesiology to try various fitness tests, including the VO2 max test, to see if they are better indicators of health and fitness than the dubious BMI. In the end, Mr. Bernstein argued that the VO2 max test and other simple tests that can be done in your doctor’s office, such as measuring pulse and blood pressure, are in fact effective ways to measure how in shape you are.
So perhaps Mr. Bernstein has it right in the end – while it’s clear that a one-size-fits-all test to measure health and fitness may not be accurate (otherwise my high school colleague would have been named the most physically fit student), it’s measuring fitness, not weight, that is the key. While the BMI may help people reach a healthy weight for their height, it’s your level of physical fitness that reigns supreme.
June 30th, 2009
By Anna Gueldenhaupt, Europe
It’s amazing what can be achieved with a mobile phone, but have you ever wondered what such a device can do beyond making calls, sending text messages, taking pictures and accessing the internet?
A relatively recent development is the emergence of mHealth or mobile health: defined by Wikipedia as the term for medical and public health practice supported by mobile devices, such as mobile phones, patient monitoring devices, PDAs and other wireless devices.
mHealth technology is mainly being taken up in developing countries that have to bypass the physical infrastructure costs associated with fixed-line technology to jump straight to mobile technology as isolated populations in developing countries need access to suitable communications technology including vital healthcare provisions.
Driven by companies like ARM, the cost of smart components for mobile technology continues to decrease. The ever-developing functionality of mobile phones now allows for SmartPhone-capabilities in relatively inexpensive devices. However, it is important to remember that the capabilities of such devices in developing countries have not yet reached the sophistication of those in other parts of the world. Yet, the basic SMS text functions and the real-time communication capacity can still offer a number of potential uses to healthcare professionals and patients.
Replacing the Physician?
The potential of mobile technology to revolutionise healthcare is clear, but what is also clear is that it will not completely replace the physician, the nurse or the healthcare professional. Its purpose, however, can be manifold and can offer a multitude of solutions to:
• Raise awareness and educate the public on specific disease and conditions
• Data mining and collection for public health purposes and clinical trials
• Remote monitoring of for example diabetes, HIV, weight and smoking cessation
• Communication for and training of healthcare workers
• Disease surveillance and the tracking of epidemic outbreaks such as Malaria, TB and Avian Flu.*
This kind of mobile technology has incredible potential to promote healthy lifestyles and enhance the quality of healthcare by making it easier to access medical and health information. The prospect of advancing public health and clinical care through encouraging communication and facilitating health practice can then improve the health of isolated populations.
The Potential Exists
The range of opportunities for mHealth includes the ability for users to store their personal health information safely and securely on their phone and enable them to share it with the suitable healthcare professional when needed. It can also enable easy communication between healthcare providers, patients, and others, providing medication reminders, appointment scheduling and emergency calling. Furthermore, it can serve as a platform for wellness-related, weight-related and disease management programmes.
Additionally, it can also offer quick access to health information and provide efficient tools for medical research and surveys that can garner important information from isolated populations that isn’t readily available.
Success Already Visible
mHealth is well positioned to benefit from best practices and available technology that has been seen in already existing projects. For example the TeleDoc project in India. TeleDoc provides mobile devices to village health workers in India, which enables them to communicate with doctors who use web applications to help diagnose and prescribe for patients. The project was originally launched as a pilot project in 15 villages in April 2003 and has already proved quite successful.
Another example is the Nacer project in Peru, which is a phone and web-based information and communication system that has enabled health professionals in remote locations to communicate and exchange critical health information between themselves, medical experts and regional hospitals. The project is geared particularly at women during pregnancy and childbirth and aims to lower maternal death rates in the Ucayali region of Peru, by enabling the exchange of rapid, real-time information between all healthcare professionals.
The number of similar projects continues to grow offering opportunities to patients and healthcare professionals alike, not only in developing countries, but globally.
*Vital Wave Consulting (February 2009). mHealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World. United Nations Foundation, Vodafone Foundation. pp. 9. http://www.vitalwaveconsulting.com/pdf/mHealth.pdf.
June 24th, 2009
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