hospital impact
Post details: Should hospitals blog?
Should hospitals blog?
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.
Comments:
11/21/07 @ 06:17
11/21/07 @ 08:49 What standards would you set for blogging as a social media tool and why should a hospital dedicate these resources.
What tangible and intangible measurements would you outline to decision makers and their boards?
11/21/07 @ 09:49 How do you measure trust and authenticity?
Since most hospitals are doing patient surveys already, maybe one of the questions to add is whether they read the blog or not. And if so, how has it changed their impression of the hospital (not favorable to very favorable). Over time, maybe you could see that those that engage the blog have a more positive view & may be even more likely to refer.
But you are right, we are just scratching the surface here. maybe I'll have more after the break.
11/21/07 @ 12:34 Let's schmooze about this sometime. Hospital blogging is like any other publication in my mind, you can strive for quality that grows out of intent and purpose or simply invite people to yack or let a few people write "what is on their mind."
Does this influence culture and change, not really if the leaders behind the blogging initiative are now clear on that. I use the plural, because the civil society idea behind blogging was to assure a public voice for a group of people and not to necessarily be a box from which a person speaks what is on their mind.
As you know, I have been looking into the whole idea of social media tools as it relates to culture, change and innovation and I must again state my prejudice that I am at the edge of learning about technology formats that are going to mediate opportunity and move well beyond the limits of resource demanding blog technology. Blogging is resource demanding from a technical point of view and also hard to organize with a publishing direction unless you really work with a team to make that happen (that means people resource of thought and action.
We are still to often confusing the idea of communication with the idea of the technology. And any well trained author, journalist or knowledge management expert will tell you the message is not the technology.
As Marshall McLuhan said many years ago, "The media is the message." Google Marshall if you don't know his name -
or look up The medium is the message in Wikipedia.
The media here implies the content and graphics and how it is formatted and supports the purpose and intent.
Wharton School of Business continues to give this great thought as well as MIT Media Lab and Berkley School of Journalism.
11/22/07 @ 18:37 I think it would do hospitals good if they're to start a blog. It's more accessible to patients and other interested people. Though here, in my country, blogging is already a widespread phenomenon, most of those who'd benefit most from blogging with a hospital aren't into blogging just yet. Maybe in the future.
11/27/07 @ 02:56 I just tried to e-mail you, but it didn't seem to work. Have you changed e-mail addresses?
I am a Cornell Alum, and wanted to let you know how much I like your blog. As an editor for The Issue, I've featured one of your posts in the Science and Health Section today.
Please do send me an e-mail with your new address. I would love to follow up with you in the future as I really support your cause of making hospitals efficient.
Cheers
Jean-Baptiste Cossart
Cornell Alum class of 06
www.TheIssue.com
11/28/07 @ 16:11
12/04/07 @ 20:56 DJ Wick
Director of Constituent Programs
UCI Health Sciences
01/28/08 @ 13:15
05/23/08 @ 12:54 Leave a comment:
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