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Why Should You Attend Blog World Expo?

I’m a speaker at Blog World Expo, Los Angeles, on November 4th, 2011. And guess what? Four Better Health contributors will be joining me! Nick Genes, Kim McAllister, Terri Pollick, and Kerri Sparling will all be part of the Social Health track. You can get discount tickets my clicking on the Blog World Expo icon on the top right of the Better Health home page. We all hope to see you there!

For those of you who are on the fence about going – here’s what I’ve been asked to talk about: “physicians engaging online in social health.”

You’ll learn about:

1. How I used Twitter to help patients when there was a flu vaccine shortage

2. How I use podcasting to teach about eye health and vision care

3. How I use blogging to instruct families on healthy eating strategies to prevent illness

4. How I use telemedicine and mobile devices (at eDocAmerica and DocTalker Family Medicine) to answer patient questions in rural areas, where there is a doctor shortage

If you work in healthcare, then the Social Health track is a must-attend. Not only will you find out about cutting edge trends in healthcare communications, but you’ll get to rub elbows with early-adopter physicians, nurses, and advocates who are using innovative digital strategies to deliver care, educate patients, and change the world.

And for those who will be attending the conference for other reasons, but are wondering if they should stop by the Social Health sessions… It will be a great opportunity for you to learn how to use online resources more effectively to care for yourself and your family’s health (and save money in the process).  Or think of it this way: at some point everyone needs a doctor… that includes parenting bloggers, military bloggers, god bloggers, political bloggers, and tech bloggers. So let’s meet each other at Blog World Expo!

* You could snag a live, in-person conference ticket and save 20%. Enter the code “BWEVIP20″ for the discount.

Dr. Val Gives ABC News A Sneak Preview Of The Largest Health IT Convention Of The Year: HIMSS In Atlanta

This year, the Better Health team will be offering live coverage of healthcare’s largest tech conference: HIMSS in Atlanta, March 1-4. Three medical bloggers, Dr. Val Jones, Dr. Mike Sevilla, and Dr. Nick Genes will interview over 40 different exhibitors and stream their interviews live via UStream. You can ask questions of the interviewees by submitting questions to @drval during the event. Dr. Val Jones will report to ABC News, DC via Skype from the convention floor on Wednesday, March 3rd at 10:50am. Here’s a sneak preview of HIMSS:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v96kje6mCRU

Stay tuned to the Better Health blog for more information about HIMSS coverage… Or meet Dr. Val at HIMSS during her “Meet The Bloggers” panel discussion. Read more »

Latest Interviews

IDEA Labs: Medical Students Take The Lead In Healthcare Innovation

It’s no secret that doctors are disappointed with the way that the U.S. healthcare system is evolving. Most feel helpless about improving their work conditions or solving technical problems in patient care. Fortunately one young medical student was undeterred by the mountain of disappointment carried by his senior clinician mentors…

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How To Be A Successful Patient: Young Doctors Offer Some Advice

I am proud to be a part of the American Resident Project an initiative that promotes the writing of medical students residents and new physicians as they explore ideas for transforming American health care delivery. I recently had the opportunity to interview three of the writing fellows about how to…

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Latest Book Reviews

Book Review: Is Empathy Learned By Faking It Till It’s Real?

I m often asked to do book reviews on my blog and I rarely agree to them. This is because it takes me a long time to read a book and then if I don t enjoy it I figure the author would rather me remain silent than publish my…

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The Spirit Of The Place: Samuel Shem’s New Book May Depress You

When I was in medical school I read Samuel Shem s House Of God as a right of passage. At the time I found it to be a cynical yet eerily accurate portrayal of the underbelly of academic medicine. I gained comfort from its gallows humor and it made me…

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Eat To Save Your Life: Another Half-True Diet Book

I am hesitant to review diet books because they are so often a tangled mess of fact and fiction. Teasing out their truth from falsehood is about as exhausting as delousing a long-haired elementary school student. However after being approached by the authors’ PR agency with the promise of a…

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