March 28th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion, True Stories
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Last week I scribbled about the future of the social health community. This week I’m in Australia speaking about screaming babies, practical parenting, and social media — such divergent things.
I’ve listened to author Tim Sanders suggest that a person needs to stick to just one thing or folks will be confused about who you really ARE — your “brand” will get fuzzy. I’m not sure. While having a niche is important, it’s not everything.
Case in point: Steven B. Johnson is one of this generation’s most talented nonfiction authors. By day he oversees his social startup outside.in. By night he travels the globe speaking about his bestselling books, among them Ghostmaps and The Invention of Air. In his free time you’ll find him writing cover features for Time magazine.
And then there’s Daniel Pink, former speechwriter for Al Gore and peripatetic bestselling author, speaker, and thinker. Manga, motivation, videos on travel tips — nothing is outside his realm it seems.
Two remarkable people defined more by their curiosity and thinking than the imposed confines of a tangible niche — and it works for them. I’m guessing that Johnson and Pink don’t spend a lot of time fashioning their look. They just “do” — and do it well. Perhaps that’s how I’d like to be seen.
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
March 21st, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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Meetings centered on social health are becoming popular. Everyone wants a piece of the pie as the demand for face-to-face dialogue grows. But this raises an interesting question: Who owns the social health conversation? In other words, who decides where, when and what to talk about? And who speaks? Who, after all, is in charge?
Online no one owns anything. Everyone has the stage. Your platform and reach are determined by your credibility. But the relationships and power positions that evolve in the virtual world may not extrapolate to the real world. There are different forces in play. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
March 17th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Opinion
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The time is approaching when businesses will want to capture the eyes and minds of physicians in the social world. Throwaways and mailouts will give way to more current channels of communication. Friends in the health
industry ask how they should connect with physicians using social media channels.
The rules really aren’t much different but here are a couple of things the consultants will never tell you:
I’m not on Sermo. While Sermo and Ozmosis may seem like obvious targets, physician specific verticals are tricky. The road to the successful physician network is littered with the skeletons of startups who went broke trying to capture our eyeballs. While its hard to ignore Forrester’s bullish analysis of services like Sermo, I don’t
expect the enthusiasm to be sustained. Look to the next iteration of IMedExchange to possibly be a game changer
in this area. Until then, the connectors who are going to get you where you want to go aren’t necessarily hangin’
with other doctors. They’re found in the wild. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
February 2nd, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
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If you told me last year that web-base psychotherapy would gain traction I wouldn’t have believed you. That was before I met Mark Goldenson, CEO of Breakthrough, a silicon valley based web startup that matches patient and therapist through a secure online portal. Breakthrough clients can review a therapist’s qualifications and fees, view sample video, and initiate therapy by video or phone.
In a 2.0 world marked by clouds, hives and democratized healthcare, Breakthrough is cultivating one-on-one relationships through improved access to mental health services. Everyone should be talking about this. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
January 20th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy
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This picture from 3G Doctor is remarkable. It captures the flier of a Merck supported Mexican Medmobile initiative that apparently connects patients with their doctors via SMS (translation available on 3G Doctor Blog.)
But don’t expect fliers of this type in American offices anytime soon. Risk of privacy violation and difficulty in documentation stifle this level of
doctor-patient connectivity. The very laws created to protect patients may ultimately thwart the timely adoption of new communication channels.
And the slow march towards a single payer system will only make real connectivity a rare bird.
Look to the groundswell in mobile technology and social platforms will force change in our current privacy laws. Until then look for innovation to come from the second and third world.
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
