Because it’s not possible to see and do everything during the three days of Annual Meeting (October 5-7), IHA will feature a number of social media offerings, giving everyone a chance to catch more of the conference online both during and after the event.

Each day of the conference will have its own ‘Live Blog’ post dedicated to publishing new updates as they happen.  Expect to see information relative to the various tracks being offered as well as photos and videos from Annual Meeting activities.

Simply visit blog.iowahospital.org throughout the day and click on the Live Blog post for that day at the top of the page. Refreshing the blog post throughout the day (or returning to the site) will display any new content that has been published since the last viewing.

Of course, the only way for it to be fully successful is if everyone joins the conversation, makes comments and provides feedback. For conference attendees, all of this is possible at the Social Media Station located on the third floor of the Des Moines Marriot Downtown, across from the Annual Meeting registration desk.

Individuals are also encouraged to keep the conversation going on Twitter by using the official conference hashtag, #iha2010am.

It has only been a few weeks since the IHA Social Media and Health Care conference was held and already the internet is buzzing with some interesting discussion pertinent to the event’s topic. On Monday, Advertising Age published an article focusing on the role of social media in hospitals in light of the passing of federal health care reform.

While the article tries to point out that recent increases in hospital marketing dollars and social media tactics can be attributed to hospitals vying for market position in anticipation of reform changes, certain social media experts in the health care industry have raised a red flag.

Lee Aase, manager of syndication and social media at Mayo Clinic, recently spoke at the IHA Social Media and Health Care conference. Aase was prompted to post on his blog some thoughts on how his quotes were interpreted and what he thinks is the true relationship between health care social media and health reform. Aase defends Mayo Clinic’s social media efforts as not being in reaction to health reform, stating that the hospital’s efforts date back to 2005. He also states that health reform is likely a non-factor in the reason for why hospitals are beginning to embrace social media.

It can be expected that this debate on how social media will be used in the wake of health reform will be carried out for years to come. For now, Lee Aase and the Iowa Hospital Association both feel that it is premature to determine whether or not hospitals have been incorporating social media for the purpose of proactive marketing. It’s more likely that hospitals have been implementing social media in order to stay current on what has become a new era in marketing and communications.

A realistic scenario is to assume that the bright marketing individuals working in Iowa’s hospitals are more interested in testing these waters to see what sort of return on community engagement can be realized as opposed to jumping into a turf war, fighting for impression in a realm that’s still largely undefined.

What are your thoughts? Are your hospitals currently incorporating health reform into your marketing tactics? Discuss in the comments below or on Twitter by using hashtag: #ihahealthreform.

On June 10, IHA hosted the Social Media and Health Care conference in Des Moines. First up to present for the day was Lava Row, a Des Moines-based social media consulting firm that specializes in helping its clients understand the ins and outs of social media and how to drive results in this emerging realm of marketing and communications.

Nathan Wright, founder of Lava Row, took a few minutes to chat with IHA about some of the hot topics involving social media and health care as well as provide some tips hospitals can use as they begin the process of implementing social media as part of their full marketing strategy.

YouTube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9gPO8CefR6Y

IHA will be hosting its first Social Media and Health Care Conference on February 9, 2010 at Iowa Methodist Medical Center in Des Moines.  Certain to be one of the conference highlights (and there will be several) is a presentation from Lee Aase of Mayo Clinic.

For those of you who are not familiar with Lee, he is a pioneer of hospital social media.  When others were breaking social media ground with shovels, Lee fired up a front-end loader and has been plowing the way ever since.  While Lee is understanding about hospitals hesitating on social media, he has little patience for those who suffer from paralysis by over-analysis, as he discussed in this recent interview: 

“Don’t let strategy become an excuse for inaction. Often organizations wait to become involved in social media until they have thought through every imaginable scenario, and that’s fine, to a point. But too frequently they go way beyond due diligence to a social media form of hypochondria or paranoia.”

 Just as important, most social media tools come at virtually no cost:

 “If you spend any money to communicate with employees or customers, why wouldn’t you take advantage of free tools that help you do it better?”

 The IHA Social Media and Health Care Conference is going to be a full-day of excellent presentations from Lee Aase and others who will introduce you to social media, help you understand how it impacts health care and how your hospital can benefit, show you how to measure results and give you the opportunity to hear from hospitals that have stepped boldly into this new frontier. 

Register now while space is still available!

Featuring hospital and health care headlines from the media and Web from November 6-November 13.

Support ’em with makeovers
Jane Klingson, a volunteer cosmetologist at the Trinity Regional Medical Center Cancer Center, sees her work with the Look Good … Feel Better program as more than a chance to make a difference.  It’s helping cancer survivors or women fighting cancer get back what they might have lost to the disease.  November 9, Fort Dodge Messenger)

Iowa State engineers develop 3-D software to give a view inside the body
James Oliver picked up an Xbox game controller, looked up to a video screen and used the device’s buttons and joystick to fly through a patient’s chest cavity for an up-close look at the bottom of the heart.  And there was a sight doctors had never seen before: an accurate, 3-D view inside a patient’s body accessible with a personal computer.  (November 11, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News)

Unity receives grant money to help flood victims
Help is available for Muscatine County residents still feeling overwhelmed by the 2008 flood or other natural disasters.  Unity Healthcare New Horizons recently received a $19,360 grant to help prevent substance abuse in connection with natural disasters and to treat flood survivors who are struggling with substance abuse or other issues. (November 7, Muscatine Journal)

Local medical team returns from Kenya
Michele Burnes, a physician’s assistant at the Urbana Family Medical Clinic and at Virginia Gay Hospital, and Sharon Dieter, a nurse at Virginia Gay Hospital, recently returned from Kenya, where they were part of an eastern Iowa team working at a medical clinic founded by Spanda, Inc., a non-profit organization founded by Cedar Rapids optometrist DeAnn Fitzgerald.  (November 11, Cedar Valley Daily Times) 

McDonald house, Miller provide needed support
Brenda Miller’s job goes beyond fund-raising and administrative work. As executive director for the Ronald McDonald House, she often lends an ear to family members who need to talk or celebrate a milestone in their child’s life. She also works with a 26-member board of directors and manages a staff of four people.  (November 11, Des Moines Register) 

Construction begins on new VA Clinic
It’s official – and being Veterans Day, the time and place were only fitting. On behalf of the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, members of the VA Central Iowa Health Care System formally announced the future opening of its third Community Based Outpatient Clinic Wednesday at the former Econo Foods building in Marshalltown.  (November 12, Marshalltown Times Republican)

State workers debate merits of givebacks
Unions in Iowa so rarely give up the hard-fought provisions locked into their contracts that some state employees are warning fellow workers not to do it now – even if it means 479 of them will be laid off.  (November 12, Des Moines Register) 

U.S.  Headlines

Making health care better
The crisis behind the health care debate is about one thing above all: the scattershot nature of American medicine. The fee-for-service payment system – combined with our own instincts as patients – encourages ever more testing and treatments. We’re not sure which ones make a difference, but we keep on getting them, and costs keep rising. Could the evidence-based medicine practiced at Intermountain Healthcare could be the cure for American health care?  (November 8, New York Times Magazine)

An interview with Dr. Donald Berwick
Dr. Berwick about the dynamics of the health overhaul debate. He says that most of the focus has been on cutting costs and finding the money to cover the uninsured. But often lost in the legislative tussling is a third, just as important goal: Improving the quality of care.  (November 12, Kaiser Health News) 

U.S. health care sector is a fairly green giant
According to the first estimate of the sector’s carbon footprint, the healthcare industry emits less than its share of the gases that promote global warming, compared to its size in the economy. Hospitals, nursing homes, drug companies and the rest of the sector contributed 8 percent of U.S. emissions. Hospitals are the biggest offenders, a finding that may motivate more of them to audit their energy usage and plant rooftop gardens – as one big Chicago hospital has done.  (November 11, Associated Press) 

Doctors embrace social networking
Doctors around South Florida and the rest of the country are using the social networking tools to bring patients’ families and the general public into operating rooms, sometimes sharing step-by-step medical procedures. They favor the real-time updates and videos as a way to reduce the fear factor of surgeries and educate people about the realities of certain procedures, especially new ones.  (November 11, Miami Herald)

The medical industry grumbles, but it stands to gain
The business world found plenty to complain about as it assessed the House bill that would make sweeping changes in the healthcare system and extend insurance coverage to millions more Americans. Insurers do not like the provision to create a new government-run insurance program. Drug makers oppose billions of dollars in rebates they would have to give to the government over 10 years. Medical devices are not happy about the proposed 2.5 percent tax on their products.  (November 8, New York Times) 

Current ‘death panel’ uproar echoes decades-old controversy
It was early summer. A senior federal health official wrote a memo suggesting that living wills – documents that can convey patients’ wishes about when to end life support – could help curb health-care costs. The memo leaked to the media. By August, a New York Times’ column said the official ‘likes euthanasia.’ Sound like this year’s angry August? Well, this story unfolded in 1977.  (November 10, Kaiser Health News) 

Dutch view of choice in U.S. care: it’s limited
The health system in the United States may be twice as expensive as those in Europe, and the population may be less healthy, but at least Americans have access to many more choices of doctors and insurers. Right?  No, says Ab Klink, the Dutch health minister.  (November 9, New York Times)

 

Iowa Headlines