November 10th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Expert Interviews, Opinion, True Stories
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Wendy Sue Swanson, MD
Most physicians still don’t see the need to blog, Tweet, or spend time on Facebook. They groan when you ask if they participate on social media platforms. “I’m too busy seeing patients,” they say, “and why would I expose myself to legal risk? Someone might think that I’m giving medical advice, or disclosing personal information about patients online.”
While these fears are pervasive, early adopters of social media like Dr. Wendy Swanson (and yours truly, by the way) have a different view. Not only should physicians become active in social media, but they have an ethical responsibility to do so.
Wendy is a pediatrician, mother, and blogger at Seattle Children’s Hospital. My friend “ePatient Dave” deBronkart recently encouraged me to watch an excellent video of Wendy speaking at the Swedish Symposium 2010 conference. I’d like to summarize Wendy’s pro-social media arguments for you here, with the hope of luring more of my peers to join the conversation online! Read more »
November 9th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, News, Opinion
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A social media manager is becoming an imperative position for hospitals.
Medical institutions are waking up to the fact that they need to engage their patients and physicians online. Nowhere is there more fertile growth than in the various social media platforms that are prevalent today — like Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
American Medical News recently profiled the phenomenon, highlighting the position of social media manager, which some institutions pay between $60,000 and $80,000 per year.
As it stands, many hospitals are tiptoeing into the world of social networks, guided by the able hands of select online mavens like Mayo Clinic’s Lee Aase and Swedish Medical Center’s Dana Lewis. However, convincing executives of the return on investment remains a challenge. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
October 8th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Medblogger Shout Outs, News, Opinion, Research
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I [recently] received a press release from a friend in the Bay Area. Investigators at UCSF have published a study in the New England Journal of Medicine showing that less chemotherapy can be effective at treating some childhood cancers.
The paper was the result of an eight-year clinical study in children with neuroblastoma. In this particular population, researchers were able to reduce chemotherapy exposure by 40 percent while maintaining a 90 percent survival rate. You can read about it here.
The press release sparked a brief email exchange between me and my friend: Who might be interested in writing about this study and is there any way to get it to spread? What would make it sticky in the eyes of the public?
Here are a few ideas:
Figure out who cares. Sure it’s niche news, but there are people who would think this is pretty darn important. Think organizations centered on parents of children with cancer, adult survivors of childhood cancer, pediatric hematology-oncology physicians, pediatricians and allied professionals in pediatric medicine like nurse practitioners and hematology-oncology nurses. Networks form around these groups. Find them and seed them.
Make a video. Offer powerful, visual content beyond a press release. A four-minute clip with the principal investigator, Dr. Matthay, would be simple and offer dimension to what is now something restricted to print. The Mayo Clinic has done this really well. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
August 30th, 2010 by Nicholas Genes, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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Here’s a confession: Despite my steadfast advocacy of medical blogging as a means to promote understanding and education, I continue worry a lot about professional liability. Not just whether the things I write could hurt my career, but, in terms of academic output, is blogging a waste of time? What view does my department’s leadership take on blogging?
Still, I’ve continued to support medical blogging as a useful academic endeavor, hoping that someday this support would be borne out. When sites like Sermo and Facebook came along, I despaired that more physician opinions were going to be hidden behind walled gardens, available only to select colleagues or friends.
Then, last week, some revelations — I discovered a member of my department’s leadership was blogging, or at least, had commented on a blog. How about that! The other revelation? Facebook may be the last great hope for academic discussions to flourish on blogs.
This all arose from a pretty academic question about emergency department implementation of electronic medical records. Does the degree of implementation (full, partial, or none) impact patient wait times in the emergency department? Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Blogborygmi*
August 16th, 2010 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion
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A recent piece in the LA Times created quite a kerfuffle in the social health infosphere. The article When Facebook goes to the hospital, patients may suffer detailed some of the issues facing hospitals that have chosen to flirt with Facebook. Stories of nurses posting images of dead patients. Lawsuits and employee rights. An interesting read. It offered up a serving of fresh red meat for those health professionals looking to keep their heads squarely in the sand.
A few thoughts:
Blocking Facebook won’t stop stupidity. Read Paul Levy’s most recent post on the issue. He reminds us that administrative legislation will not stop ignorance. It’s the messenger, not the medium. As healthcare administration’s most vocal advocate for social adoption, I’d recommend you check out Paul Levy. His point of view is remarkable.
Good employees may not understand privacy. We need to go to the next step and address the fact that many hospitals have employees who don’t understand the privacy laws. We still have a responsibility to protect patients from the misinformed. While it’s suggested that you “can’t stop the conversation,” it’s important that hospitals take responsibility and educate their employees regarding what’s appropriate and what isn’t. Many health professionals I know innocently believe that by simply excluding an individuals name you’ve protected their privacy. We have work to do. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
