I’m back from my whirlwind trip to Las Vegas, and I want to think those who followed our panel at BlogWorld 2010.
I was joined by Bryan Vartabedian of 33 Charts, and Kerri Morrone Sparling of six until me in a panel moderated by Kim McAllister of Emergiblog.
A few thoughts from my end.
Photos …
Are social networks competitive or compatible with the medical blogosphere?
If you’re a health care professional, chances are you know a bit about social media, possibly feel compelled to use it sometimes and you might actually be participating in the Facebook/Twitter/LinkedIn/blog revolution.
But there can be real problems in using social media in the health care context. Whether you are in private practice or work for a group of large hospital network, social media mistakes can be costly in terms of …
7 social media mistakes made in health care
Some people are disappointed at the latest FDA notice to Novartis over a Facebook button on one of their website pages.
The key question that a lot of people fail to ask is “do patients want to have a conversation with a drug company?” From almost one year of qualitative and quantitative research plus other 3rd party research (i.e. Rodale DTC Study) the answer to that is “no.”
Now before you get …
Is pharma providing relevant social media web content?
My friend and colleague Katherine Chretien has a provocative op-ed in USA Today entitled, “A doctor’s request: Please don’t ‘friend’ me,” which asks the question whether doctors and patients should interact in social networking sites such as Facebook.
Social networking has huge potential in health care regarding the sharing of information and ideas, and could possibly even enhance communication between doctors and patients. However, as Dr. Chretien points out, many …
Facebook friend issues between doctor and patient
In Boston we took the availability and quality of our tap water for granted until May 1, 2010, when a major water pipe break interrupted water service to two million Greater Boston residents.
Information spread quickly to citizens about the problem and what to do, all the more notable because the water main break occurred on a Saturday. In this age of consumer paranoia about withheld information, the Massachusetts Water Resources …
Social media in crisis management and public health emergencies
“I would be careful,” a fellow physician cautioned, as I told of my plans to attend a patient’s birthday party.
In my 12 years of clinical practice I have lived in the community in which I practice, less than two miles from my office. I encounter patients daily in the supermarket, at soccer games, swim meets and school events. I have had conversations with patients at parties, on the street, and …
Twitter and Facebook can affect the doctor-patient relationship
Should you friend your doctor on Facebook?
It’s a question that’s gaining increasing relevance as Facebook increases its social networking dominance.
I’ve touched upon the issue in the past. So has the New England Journal of Medicine.
Washington, DC physician Katherine Chretian gives her take on the issue in a recent USA Today op-ed. She is an expert of the Facebook-medicine intersection, having authored a JAMA study on the …
Facebook friends with patients can violate HIPAA privacy laws
With Eva and Alicia, both women were very young, 25 and 28, respectively. And for anyone who knows the history of American bioethics will realize young women, severe illness and dying seem to bring about a intense focus of cultural awareness (see Schiavo, Cruzan, Quinlan).
It struck me how the open sharing of the decline of their health towards death may signal …
End of life blogging benefits and the questions it raises
My husband and I recently traveled to Wuhan Medical School in the Hubei Province in central China.
Our medical school has partnered with Wuhan to help inform their curricular reform efforts. We spent 4 days touring the hospitals and teaching facilities, meeting students and faculty, going on rounds, and giving talks. Although the language barrier was challenging, we had incredible translators who worked to translate every slide we spoke …
China medical school and residency training
In its current listing of online social networks, Wikipedia presents 156 major, active websites. A neighboring link to view “now-defunct” sites accompanies the listing — a subtle reminder of the Internet’s competitive and volatile environment where promising endeavors rise and fall overnight.
But although the popularity of a specific website may fade with time, the practice of online social networking is here to stay.
In its simplest form, online social networking is …
Social networking impact on patients, doctors, and non-profits
Illness might be the most isolating and alienating experience a person can know. Lots of well people simply have no clue how to relate to someone with a chronic and catastrophic illness. That sort of thing is scary even just to witness. They hope (or assume) you’ll get better, and then they won’t have to deal with whatever you’re going through – but when that takes too long, they drift …
Sick friends could use your help
With the explosion of social media, I am amazed at how many doctors I encounter who know little to nothing about blogs, Twitter, Facebook, Google Buzz and the like. “I’m too busy.” “Who has time for that stuff?” “I wouldn’t have time for anything else.” “How can I possibly keep up?”
And yet today, as more and more patients reach out to the web to find medical information or, more importantly, …
Twitter for doctors, a guide for health care professionals
At 3am on Jan 1st 2010 my cousin-brother stubbed his last cigarette. New Year’s resolutions to quit smoking, lose weight, or change another bad habit are certainly not uncommon. Having tried — and failed — to quit a number of times before, my cousin took a bold, new approach to quitting. Whether a cleverly devised plan, or just a whim, he decided to post his quitting on Facebook.
On January 4th, …
Quit smoking by using Facebook
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A version of this op-ed was published on January 27th, 2010 in the USA Today.
Raise your hand if you’ve ever left a physician’s office without fully understanding what the doctor just told you.
Studies show that half of patients admit to not understanding what their doctor told them during an office visit; and more than 75% of emergency room patients acknowledge not fully grasping instructions given to them.
As a primary …
Op-ed: Social media can enhance the doctor-patient relationship
The American Cancer Society has designated this weekend “Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend,” as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer program that will feature well-dressed basketball coaches wearing “sneakers instead of dress shoes with their usual game attire during weekend games to demonstrate their support for the Society and the fight against cancer.” The idea is to encourage people to exercise and eat a healthy diet to reduce their …
How overly aggressive cancer awareness can backfire
Originally published on HCPLive.com
by Mike Hennessy
Some patient advocates, tech-savvy physicians, and other Health 2.0 proponents tout e-mail, online forums, and social media technologies because they can potentially help strengthen the patient–physician relationship by providing patients with greater access to their physicians and facilitating more open communication.
Yet, after seeing patients all day, do physicians really want to spend a significant portion …
How social media can make physicians better doctors
Originally published in HCPLive.com
by Enoch Choi, MD
Patients have embraced social networking tools that allow them to share information, offer support, and compare healthcare experiences. Physicians should also use these tools to connect with their patients and local communities and provide general medical information.
Healthcare social networking has made impressive inroads into the mainstream, as like-minded folks find each other online and …
Health care social networking basics for doctors
I’m happy to announce the KevinMD Twitter and Facebook Thanksgiving Drive 2009.
My forays into blogging, along with Twitter and Facebook, have provided me with countless new opportunities that I’m tremendously appreciative of.
Now, I want to use the power of social media to give back this Thanksgiving season.
What is this?
It’s simple. …
KevinMD Twitter and Facebook Thanksgiving Drive 2009
by Chris Emery, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
A large number of U.S. medical schools say students have posted unprofessional material on Web sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter, but few schools have adequate policies in place for dealing with such behavior, a new study found.
Of 78 U.S. medical schools that responded to a survey, 60% reported incidents of …
Medical students using Facebook and Twitter can get expelled
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