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Post details: Blogging at the Consumer Health World Conference
Blogging at the Consumer Health World Conference
by Tony Chen
I'm here at the Consumer Health World Conference in Chicago, IL. Though at first the crowd seemed a bit sparse, it is shaping up to be an interesting conference. Smaller conferences with the right people make for very productive networking and conversations.
Today Nick Jacobs and I spoke at a session about Blogging & Social Media for Providers (after hundreds of emails and phone calls, this was the 1st time Nick and I have met face to face!). Thanks again to all for attending. As promised, here's my list of top 10 sites to check out as we think about the impact of social media on providers.
1. Nick Jacobs' Blog - the first hospital CEO with a blog recently posted about his "journey to web 2.0" - he shares how he almost got fired for his blog. Good thing he didn't.
2. Running a Hospital - Paul Levy (CEO of urban hospital in Boston) takes transparency to the next level, asking the public if he makes too much money and posting the intimate details for their plans and quality metrics.
3. Hospital Impact - One day, Hospital Impact will truly be community, a two-way street, where best practices in hospital leadership can be shared more quickly, thoughtfully, and practically.
4. ratemd.com - 100,000+ doctors rated by patients, is yours?
5. Revolution Health - ratings for doctors, hospitals, and health plans + shopping comparisons + tools to keep your medical records & insurance straight. This is Steve Case's bet that consumer-driven healthcare is the next big thing.
6. Carepages - Patients can blog from their hospital bed about their hospital experience and their experience with their disease.
7. patientslikeme.com - a very powerful patient community whereby patients with the same illnesses can share notes AND compare test results. There's no way we could provide this kind of support for these specific patients, so shouldn't we providers be enthusiastically referring patients to this?
8. webmd.com - Everyone goes to WebMD for their medical information now (they've even recently come out with a magazine that sits in physician waiting rooms). Attention physicians: Find out what your patients are reading (and what they're being coached to ask you) before their physician visit.
9. The Paris Site - I'm somewhat hesitant to link to this site, as I'm sure they will comment on this. We talked about the "horror stories." A group of bloggers have been very vocal about the hospital's quality and performance - so much so that they've been sued by hospital.
10. Dr. Wes - A specialist who blogs that has actually gained referrals from his blog.
In addition, check out my "consumer's guide to health 2.0 sites" post.
The bottom line is exactly what Nick said this afternoon - blogging and social media will never become mainstream within healthcare. Nonetheless, the brave ones that do authentically and purposely engage their community, their patients, and their employees will reap the benefits of the collective intelligence, collaboration, and good will of all.
What were your main take-aways from today's conference?
Comments:
While not directly tied to patient care, I will be launching a public blog in October that will grow into a prototype example of what is possible with private media and blogging.
From the perspective of organization, change and leadership and the practice of media -- internal blogging as a social media tool is becoming popular as a means to spark learning community and the practice of evidential based medicine.
I Europe, virtual communities now associated with the World Health Organizations are using blogs combined with organizational design methods and purposeful practices with the intention to adopt use of these tools as part of a community of practice are now starting to emerge.
These blogs are on private intranets and not visible to the public. An group of highly expert individuals who have technical background in balance with graphic and content development competence are emerging into a profession of social media experts with education and background that spans "the school of hard knocks," to the MIT media lab.
When I did my research on virtual teams and began working in social media, this grew from my passion for the work I did as a team player training and encouraging health care providers to benefit from automated medical records systems with the hope that this would evolve into forms of clinical decision making.
I am encourage to know at 86 years of age, Dr. Lawrence Weed has recently launched a company that integrates medical technology tools with social media strategies.
http://www.pkc.com/our_founder.aspx
Weed had a view of medical practice that was supported by funds from members of the Rockefellar Family (with foundation money). I have been following on a minimal basis his work for over 20 years and it is now organized into a company and functioning well with its offer.
09/18/07 @ 20:50 Tony as I have often stated to you, when you let the technology dominate the drivers for use, application is minimal. When you have a strategy and application that serves people, and integrate technology tools as part of that practice,
the technology supports a practice that attracts adopters.
Blogging is moving to a new generation.
Most blogs are being organized as publishing ventures, e.g. magazines (for public view) or private publishing initiatives for private audiences.
09/18/07 @ 20:53
09/19/07 @ 07:09
09/19/07 @ 07:44 CarePages.com also offers resources for a patient's friends and family members to answer the question of "what should I do or say" to be supportive of their friend facing a health situation and has a CarePages Directory that helps people in similar situations find one another. We're continually adding new functionality that helps people attend to the emotional side of healthcare.
09/20/07 @ 19:00 Nice post! Good job deciding to become healthy again. I think that’s great.
10/16/07 @ 03:40 Leave a comment:
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