by Tony Chen

This is easily the most frequently asked question I get at healthcare conferences. I usually answer this by asking another question: what's the best way for the hospital to utilize the web to engage your stakeholders?

The web is quickly becoming the place where conversations happen and perceptions are being formed. And new technologies make it easier than ever to be a part of that conversation. I've seen it first hand here on hospital impact where a particular post gets linked to by other blogs, which are then linked to by others. All of the sudden, you've got a whole web of links that started with one good post. 1,000s of people found my site for the first time that day.

Beyond the increasing viral trend, there is also a trend towards open innovation - i.e. the line between "corporation" and "customer" is blurring. Corporations in all industries are realizing that customers have valuable, superior ideas that can't be generated within the 4 walls of even the smartest corporation. So, why not draw those ideas in? Everyone has seen that Superbowl ad that Chevy paid for - it was a raw, amateur home video of a loyal customer talking about his Chevy.

So, what does this all mean? There are people talking about your hospital and your physicians as we speak. Just go to RevolutionHealth, RateMDs, DrScore, and many other websites. So at the very least, we need to dedicate some resources (maybe even just 10% of one person's time) to be the "e-community relations manager" and be aware of what conversations about us are happening now.

In terms of starting a blog or a facebook profile, I do think it's a good idea for the right hospital. But I would first get educated about the web. Go find out what people are saying about you now. Does your hospital have free wi-fi? I heard about a patient who was blogging at her bed. "Nurse Betty just came in, and she was so cold to me..." In some instances, maybe it even warrants a response.

If you want to start a blog, check out other hospital CEO blogs (like Running a Hospital and Nick's Blog). It's a lot of work and there is no hard-core ROI, but for the right type of person, it pays off in other ways. Both of these CEOs can probably point to examples where their blog put out a PR fire before it could start. They've built trust and credibility through the blog. They've humanized the hospital through the blog. So when fires do come (and of course, they will), they're well positioned to engage authentically. We are entering an age where proactive transparency is rewarded and reactive transparency is lame.

One word of warning. Don't blog if your organization:
* Doesn't trust their employees.
* Doesn't want to hear bad news.
* Wants absolute control over their message and reputation (this isn't happening anymore anyways)
* (the kicker) Doesn't have someone who's really wired to do it.

And finally, all of this gets back to what we've been talking about all along - a great patient experience. Every patient that comes through our doors now can be our greatest champion or our greatest detractor. And now, through the power of blogs & social media, they can tell the world about your hospital.