Medical Industry Taking Notice Of Social Media
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Apr 27, 2011 in Social Media | 0 comments
By Tim Morton
Most companies recognize that social media has become established as a viable business tool. Many leaders are using sites like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to connect to their customers, recruit followers and promote their services real-time. But the opportunity to ‘connect the dots’ and utilize social media in a safe and meaningful way has yet to be fully realized. Whoever gets there first has the opportunity to revolutionize and forever change the medical industry.
The Current Situation
Social media sites for the medical industry range from broad, open platforms to niche, narrowly concentrated forums. Facebook, Twitter and Youtube have become broad platforms for individuals and corporations alike to broadcast experiences and opinions large and small. CancerDoc, HealthLine, and RevolutionHealth are more narrowly targeted places for rapidly communicating and connecting to those who are sharing similar experiences, communicating information and sharing ideas amongst patients and medical industry peers.
Expert Q&A sites, such as WebMD and AskDrWiki, are popular as patients can find credible health information to answer their questions. Physician networks, such as Sermo and Ozmosis, serve as “virtual water coolers” where physicians can collaborate in real-time. Sermo, the largest online physician community with over 115,000 members, serves as an exclusive forum to share medical insights and expertise.
Social Media Policy Can’t Restrict Workers’ Rights to Discuss Working Conditions
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Apr 26, 2011 in Social Media | 0 comments
By Antoinette Oliver
Whether it’s over coffee in the break room or on a coworker’s Facebook wall, employees have the right to talk about their jobs. A recent case with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has become an important reminder that sometimes harsh criticism by employees is protected by federal law at work, at home and now on the internet.
Under the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), employees have the right to join together, with or without a union, to share complaints, address concerns with employers and negotiate to improve their working conditions and pay. The NLRA not only protects workers’ rights to form or join a union and engage in collective bargaining, but also their right to discuss work-related issues with other employees.
Think Base Hits, Not Grand Slams
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Apr 22, 2011 in Social Media | 0 comments
We came across this great post on Hospital Impact yesterday which we wanted to share with our readers: In “Hospital social media: Think base hits, not grand slams,” author For those getting started in social media, Mike Morrison talks about the importance of simply “stepping up to the plate and aiming for a solid at bat. When the YouTube views, retweets, comments and interactions start coming, consider yourself a solid player. And should you hit that grand slam in game seven–which would be a Twitter mention from Ashton Kutcher–stay humble and don’t charge for autographs.” Read more at Hospital Impact.
Closing the Health Gap Online
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Apr 20, 2011 in Social Media, Technology | 0 comments
By Jerry Levin
For all of us — young, old, and those in the middle — life is simply an interlude between doctors’ visits. This perspective, while obvious, perennially stays beneath our consciousness since we are consumed by the daily pursuit of personal identity as if our mind-body-and-spirit were to function without incident and without end. More powerfully of late is the recognition that the explosive neglect of mental health issues has led to the horror of deadly violence—so massively played out recently in Arizona. In my own family, we have witnessed the tragic consequences of unattended drug addiction.
On a national level, as we have engaged in a heated debate about legislating health care, my greatest fear is that we have lost focus on the ability of an individual to take control of his or her own health and wellness. Now is the time for us to transform the conversation from one about ‘healthcare’ to the far more personal issue of an individual’s own ‘health’.
Clearly we have reached an inflection point in our quest to improve healthcare. Empowering people to control their own health and wellness destinies may be the most important way to create greater efficiencies in the healthcare system and help drive down the spread of excessive costs. In fact, one of the most important parts of a renewed personal investment in healthcare are the real benefits associated with preventive measures like sound nutrition, frequent exercise, stress reduction and regular medical visits.
The Practice of Engagement: How a Health Care Attorney Transformed His Practice Through Social Media
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Apr 3, 2011 in Legal, Social Media | 0 comments
By Daniel Casciato
In June 2007, health care attorney Mike Cassidy of Pittsburgh-based Tucker Arensberg, P.C. (and chair of its health law practice group) decided that blogging would be a more effective communication tool than a typical law firm newsletter. He could keep current clients informed about legal issues affecting the health care industry as well as cultivate new clients.
Until then, Cassidy used newsletters to keep his physician clients advised as to what was happening, such as the change in the Medicare fee schedule in the late 1980s, Stark Law in 1989, and anti-kickback developments.
“They needed this information and they needed to know that I was an expert in all this,” says Cassidy. “So a newsletter served this function well.”
However, Cassidy soon discovered that producing a newsletter was not very efficient. It took a long time to produce and you had to mail it to everyone. When the Internet became more mainstream, he was able to convert his newsletter into a digital format which made it easier to distribute via email. Despite the convenience of email, Cassidy still had to create and design the newsletter, and the production still took just as long.
Blogging changed all that. Now, Cassidy is able to create shorter articles for his readers, post ongoing, timely information, and produce a new article several times a week on his blog, called MedLawBlog.com.
The Opportunity of Business Social Media
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Mar 26, 2011 in Social Media | 0 comments
This is a great video on social media from Jeffrey Gitomer. He talks about the importance of leveraging social media at least one hour per day. Do it with value and stick with it. Check it out when you get a chance!
Growing Your Business with Social Media: Are you Onboard Yet?
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Mar 17, 2011 in Personal Essay, Social Media | 0 comments
Harvey D. Kart
Years ago, I sat on a media panel in Pittsburgh and the topic of websites came up. This was about the time when websites were just beginning, and I just scoffed at it and viewed it as an egotistical concept for organizations. Look how that turned out!
- For those who know what a QR code is, click and enjoy. For those who don’t, download a QR Code reader app on your smartphone, and then scan the code. I’ve come a long way since my mimeograph machine years! -Harvey
It seems like every decade, there’s been some type of wonderful technology that comes around. I’m old enough to remember the fax machine, and was amazed that we could insert paper with words on it into this machine and transmit it to someone else. Going back years further, I can still remember turning the handle of a mimeograph machine, and then all of a sudden they created a button that would make it go by itself.
I can remember how advanced the telephone became with features like call waiting which was a phenomenon in its day. Then touch tone phones became the next big thing. I also remember all of the different phases of pagers, beepers, and the many reiterations of cell phones. I remember when I first got a computer with a modem. I can still recall the days of being on the phone with AOL until 2am just trying to figure how to get this new online technology to work.
For most of these technological advances, I have always been behind the curve. I felt that I never needed it because it was a luxury or a novelty. So I didn’t pay much attention to it, until everyone was using it. Then I had to jump onboard, but I was already behind the times.
A Facelift for Facebook Pages: What it Means for Your Organization
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Mar 1, 2011 in Social Media | 0 comments
Daniel Casciato
If you’ve been managing a Facebook page for your health care facility or medical office, you may have recently noticed the option to switch to a new layout. The new layout, now similar to your personal page, includes several features to help you improve communication with your followers as well as interacting with potential new followers.
While you do not have to accept the upgrade at this point, all Pages will have the new look on March 10. Don’t worry, Facebook gives all page administrators a step-by-step tour before you switch to the new layout. But here’s a sneak peek at what to expect.
VNA Loves its Fans and its Followers
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Feb 24, 2011 in Social Media | 0 comments
By Kristy Wright
In late 2009 the VNA proposed the launch of a brand new website found at www.vna.com. We wanted to incorporate a new look and feel for the brand but also what was top of mind was finding new ways where we, as a home healthcare and hospice agency, could directly communicate with our patients, their families and caregivers, and also with new patients and families.
Social media was especially hot at the time. Facebook, Twitter, blogging, YouTube and the like were in full swing and many of us who worked at the VNA already had personal accounts with one or a few of these new outlets. But as a business, the VNA did not use any of these avenues to talk directly to the community. That didn’t mean we weren’t curious about them. We had many discussions about how the VNA could use social media. We loved the idea that social media created an entirely new outlet for us to have a 2-way dialog with our customers and prospective customers.
So in 2010 the new website efforts got underway. It was important to us to build the framework of the site entirely around a new social media platform that seemed like a great fit for us. We wanted our visitors to quickly be able to follow us on Facebook and Twitter, read my new blog Wright@Home and watch our YouTube videos. We also wanted to take the opportunity to roll out new features for our customers like “Ask VNA” – a direct question and answer component on the site, and create new ways to quickly sign up for information or to request a free VNA consultation.
No Time for Social Media? Hire a Ghost
Posted by Western PA Hospital News on Sep 3, 2010 in Social Media | 0 comments
Daniel Casciato
By Daniel Casciato
Earlier this month, I was invited to attend the 2nd Annual Healthcare New Media Marketing Conference presented by Q1 Productions in Chicago. One of the presentations on the first day focused on how to overcome internal resistance and prove the value of social media to a healthcare organization’s leadership team.
Although healthcare blogger Ed Bennett, of the University of Maryland Medical System, reported in May that 730 hospitals have an active social media presence with more than 1,400 sites, research has shown that leadership buy-in is the number one reason health systems are not yet implementing social media initiatives as part of their marketing and communications mix.
One of the major reasons cited was the lack of employee resources. During the networking portion of the conference, I also heard many of the marketing professionals in attendance lament over this as well: many PR and marketing staffs are already stretched thin and no one can devote the time that social media deserves. In fact, in the TweetChat during the presentation, someone posted: “The reason hospitals don’t have blogs is b/c the marketing guy knows no one will write the post ongoing.”
So I immediately tweeted back, “Blogs do take a lot of time. That’s why you hire freelance writers!”
In addition to helping my clients better identify which social media channels are the most effective for them and how many channels they should use, I also ghostwrite their tweets, Facebook updates, and even LinkedIn profiles.
I remember I once posted on my Facebook status that I was ghost blogging for a client. A few snarky comments aside, one of my friends asked if it was an ethical practice. She says she’d be reluctant to hire a social media ghostwriter. She’s not alone. It’s a common concern, especially among healthcare organizations since they are always concerned about the impact of privacy laws such as HIPPA.
If you’re going to hire a social media ghostwriter, here are some guidelines to follow to work effectively with your cyber alter ego and avoid crossing that ethical line.
Use Their Voice
Make sure your ghostwriter is using the 2nd or 3rd person voice when ghost blogging or ghost tweeting. Once they start using “I,” they’re lying to your audience.
Plan Ahead
Meet with your ghostwriter and discuss the direction and scope of your social media content. Create a social media calendar and stick with the plan and a schedule.
Be a Guide
Give your ghostwriters topics to cover. For clients who want me to tweet on their behalf, they’ll email me some topic ideas, thoughts on a current event, or relevant news they want to share. I turn that communication into a tweet or a blog post.
Review and Approve the Content
Always maintain editorial control. Be aware of what content is out there because it represents your brand. Never let your writer post anything without your approval.
Guest Instead of Ghost
If you have a blog, open it up to guest bloggers who can provide content. Copyblogger.com and SocialMediaExaminer.com does a great job with this. They’re still providing very useful and relevant information, but giving credit to the true authors.
Ghost Edit
If you want to write your own content, you can still use a ghost writer to edit your copy. One of my clients writes all of her blog posts and tweets, but sends me her drafts for me to polish and post.
Have you been using a ghostwriter for your social media platforms? What are some of the pros and cons? Email me at writer@danielcasciato.com and we’ll share your responses in a future column.
Daniel Casciato is a full-time freelance writer. In addition to writing for the Western PA Hospital News, he’s also a social media coach and a social media ghostwriter. For more information, visit www.danielcasciato.com, follow him on Twitter @danielcasciato or friend him on Facebook (facebook.com/danielcasciato).
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