October 2010 Blog Posts (18)

I attended the Connected Health Symposium last week in Boston. I enjoyed many of the sessions (sometimes wished I could have attended two simultaneously, though the…

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I must say, I am quite impressed with the CDC's social media toolkit guide for health care communicators. It's extremely comprehensive and provides new and veteran users of social media with a good road map to get started in integrating the right digital tools into their overall communications strategy.



The guide covers everything from social networks to mobile apps to eCards… Continue

Physician social networks like Sermo present a great opportunity for doctors to communicate to one another in a private forum. According to a post by Dr. Kevin Pho on KevinMD.com, controversial debate is frequent, along with discussion of patient cases. While this site, along with others, is for physicians only, Dr. Pho points out that anything written on a social network is recorded electronically and can end up surfacing in the future.

There's a debate on whether or not some…

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Do social media initiatives that help physicians, patients and medical researcher communities share information really drive down healthcare-related costs AND improve quality of care. The answer is yes according to the report

"Healthcare Performance Management in the Era of 'Twitter," which was published this week by the Healthcare…

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Interesting to read this article on Today's BBC. Many Surgeons are bemoaning the cuts in tiem they are allowed to spend on patient treatment.



Here's an idea - minimally invasive surgery (where most appropriate) will cut time to operate, will cut time to treat in hospital, will cut patient journey time whilst in care, will cut costs associated with all the above...there are good time savings to be had. The NHS just has to look a little closer regarding which and whos time to… Continue

I was professionally and personally delighted to see two major innovations in diabetes care this week. The first is a non-injection based blood glucose monitor - a godsend for children (and parents of children) with diabetes. The second is a vaccine against type 2 diabetes.



If believable - the first news is welcome



The second is welcome, but not that believable - not quite sure a vaccine against human behaviour is possible...



This brings me to my main point: four… Continue

The e-patient is changing healthcare, and the healthcare world needs to adjust. One of the ways physicians can adjust is by providing other resources – particularly online ones – to their patients to learn more about their condition and how they can deal with it.

Consider that physicians spend an average of only eight…

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I have written about the NHS’ plans to introduce online medical records or electronic patient records (EPR) a number of times and it’s still an issue that I find fascinating.



The Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has just announced that in the future patients will be able to keep track of their treatment online. He said: “Patients should have a choice at every stage of the journey, where they register with a GP, where they go for tests, who they see for treatment and what care or… Continue

Mashable posted a blog on a topic that not many of us probably think too much about - the global water crisis. They point out that every 20 seconds a child dies from water-related disease. Also surprising is how much water is used in growing just 1 apple (70 liters). The world's resources of usable water are shrinking - which will clearly present many health problems globally if we don't do something to help.



Thankfully, Mashable has collected… Continue

According to research by the Royal Academy of Engineering in the UK 14-19-year-olds may be happy to share photos online, but they’re very worried that their health information could end up in the wrong hands.

The 3,000 teenagers surveyed…

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In honor of its 100th Anniversary, Swedish Medical Center of Seattle ran a two-day symposium on health care in the age of reform. I really wish I had been able to attend this in person (if only it didn’t take 6 hours and more than $500 to get from Philadelphia to Seattle, not even including hotel), but technology and my work schedule fortunately allowed me to watch parts of it online. I especially enjoyed one of the preliminary events covered health… Continue

Now more than ever, patient confidentially is a top concern for those in the health industry. With the implementation of EMRs throughout the country, hospitals and clinics must be diligent in securing patient data. Simple guidelines for clinicians, such as not talking about patients and cases, have been…

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The last few weeks has seen the return of the ‘mysterious’ breast cancer awareness campaign on Facebook. At the same time last year, women were forwarded a message by their

friends, encouraging each other to simply name the colour of the lingerie they

were wearing as their Facebook status.

This enticed others, both men and women, to find out why so many women

had ‘black’, ‘white’ and ‘beige’ as their status on Facebook. It…

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Really? you don't say....



good content is good content. churn is churn. Nothing new here, move on please. Tips: if you are making video, realise that viewers attention spans are finite. Continuous partial engagement = continuous partial attention.



If you are making video - make sure to communicate what its about - people searching might find it helpful!!!



From Healthcare Social Media Networkers Linkedin Group:

According to Manhattan Research adoption of… Continue

The SmartBlog on Social Media ran an article this morning with Mark Ragan about how the health care industry is flocking to social media.

Definitely a great morning read! http://smartblogs.com/socialmedia/2010/10/05/mark-ragan-health-care-flocks-to-social-media/

Every day we're reading more about the future of smartphones in the healthcare sector.

According to this article, with health care organizations already equipped with BlackBerry smartphones and relying on the security the device brings, the PlayBook could be a natural fit for hospitals and doctor's offices to deploy as well.

In late…

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We read every day about how technology is just a way of life for medical professionals, but especially for young medical students, according to a new survey.

The fifth annual Future Physicians of America survey conducted by Epocrates, Inc. revealed that medical students not only believe in the value of electronic health records (EHRs), but expect availability when they practice medicine.

Also, the majority are choosing clinical references on their iPhone® device over…

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The NYT had an interesting article today about the road towards electronic medical records. One common trend throughout all these stories is how the iPad is going to play a large role in physician technology, as a means for doctors to keep data, share information and communicate with patients. Here is a exert from the article:…



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