January 2011 Blog Posts (17)

Mashable writes about the social media tool du jour, Mixtent, that aims to help people hire and be hired.  Personally, I don't think people are truthful in their online assessments, but I'm intrigued by what this could mean for the medical profession.  Rate your surgeon, nurse?

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There has been increased discussion recently about doctors using email and telephone services to diagnose and treat patients. An NHS Confederation report even suggested that the use of such ‘modern technologies’ could help improve…

The Health and Social Care Bill was presented to Parliament on 19 January 2011 and professional bodies in the UK, who represent the 1.3 million staff who make up the NHS, have been quick to come forward and express their views on the changes.

In a letter to the editor published in The…

 KevinMD blogs about friends revealing a chronic diagnosis on Facebook or other social media platforms and how powerful social media can be for support and help. 

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2011/01/fight-multiple-sclerosis-youtube-social-media-tools.html

With the coalition government in the UK increasing its focus on localism and citizen empowerment, a timely new survey of community engagement practitioners, being undertaken by wellbeing and health social enterprise Our Life, aims to gain a snapshot of the state and scale of community engagement work across the country.…

With the UK government due to publish its Health and Social Care Bill on Wednesday, it seems the Twitter community has already made its mind up on how it feels about the proposed changes. A quick search of NHS on Twitter shows that workers are unhappy with their situation, the general public are worried about…

The following looks at the reasons why physicians are wary of social media as well as how some of the more progressive are using tools like Facebook, Twitter and the like to engage with their patients. In a recent presentation to our Company, Kevin Pho of…

A funny top 10 list from Pharma Guy on the 2010 highlights of Pharma marketing.  Of course the FDA not releasing social media guidelines in 2010 was in the list! Enjoy!  

http://pharmamkting.blogspot.com/2011/01/10-most-important-awesome-pharma.html

Just a quick thought here. Having witnessed a stunning lack of information and advice on disease awareness and treatment options from a diabetes care, and more recently through efforts to get flu jabs for my children - Social media has a huge role to play in providing local communities with the content and contacts that will surely ease pressure, tension, fear and anxiety from a healthcare perspective for families.

There are quick and easy wins for healthcare providers to add…

The World Health Organisation (WHO) issued its eHealth survey late last year, which describes the current state of the use of ICT for health in the 114 WHO member states and provides information regarding the progress of eHealth applications in these countries.

The report…

I recently read with interest an article in theGuardian which gave a personal account of why people blog about their illness.Not just any normal flu or cold, but serious, chronic or terminalconditions.  The subject of the article,Sue Eckstein, had recently had one leg amputated…

Taking care of an aging relative can be a difficult task, but thanks to some new smartphone apps, the job may become a little bit easier.

An article in today's Wall Street Journal examines a few apps on the market to help keep track of medication dosages, nutritional requirements and other health care needs.

The reporter cautions readers to be diligent in their research, however. Anyone can make an app, so it's important to check with your doctor or visit the…

It looks like it may happen - maybe not in Q1 but soon.  2011 is shaping up to be an interesting year.

http://www.eyeonfda.com/eye_on_fda/2010/12/breaking-its-official-fda-delaying-social-media-guidance-until-at-least-q1-2011.html

No one likes to call the doctor when they're sick only to be put on hold for a 1/2 hour, and then learn that the doctor can't fit them in. A growing number of medical practices have a new solution. They're allowing patients to schedule appointments online — eliminating multiple calls and waiting on hold and increasing the likelihood of finding someone with an opening.

There are several factors driving this trend, including costs of course. Read the full article published…

House Dems introduced a drug safety legislation bill to reduce fraud and protect whistle-blowers.  Will there be follow-through on this bill when Republicans take over?  We shall see.  

http://http://www.pharmalot.com/2010/12/house-democrats-introduce-drug-safety-legislation/

The following article looks into how healthcare organizations are using social media. While many hospitals have joined the fray, using a myriad of channels, they reported use still seems to be at a basic level, with many just focusing on pushing out content, as opposed to creating engagement. Should be interesting to see if this trend starts to shift in 2011 as more and more become…