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.

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.

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

Lee Aase

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!

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

Iowa Headlines

Hospice workers get life out of caring for dying
Joyce  Hutchison continues to use her passion and years of experience to educate others about the benefits of hospice. Part of that is overcoming fear. Going to hospice won’t make patients die any sooner, she said.  (November 4, Des Moines Register)

Genesis will demonstrate da Vinci surgery system
Da Vinci offers a precise, minimally invasive procedure for hysterectomies and prostatectomies. Patients benefit with a faster recovery time, shorter hospital stay, less pain, less scarring and quicker return to normal activities.  (November 5, Quad-City Times)

Harkin asks big insurers to explain rate practices
Sen. Tom Harkin said this week he was launching an investigation into health insurance pricing, asking four major insurers to justify their pricing practices.  An industry spokesman called the move unfair and misguided.  (November 4, Des Moines Register)

U.S.  Headlines

Costs at urban hospitals may get extra scrutiny in health bill
As Congress struggles to rein in health care costs as part of its sweeping reform efforts, hospitals in New York City and other urban areas that provide some of the most expensive care are among the primary targets.  (November 2, New York Times)

Health bills aim a light on doctors’ conflicts
As part of the health care overhaul under consideration by Congress, lawmakers have included so-called sunshine provisions intended to shed light on the financial relationships between the medical industry and doctors.  (November 3, New York Times)

Program will monitor Maryland doctors’ hand-washing
State officials said this week they’re creating teams of staff members at hospitals around the state to secretly monitor their colleagues’ hand-washing habits as part of a first-of-its-kind program. The monitors will contribute to a systemwide report on hand-washing, using $100,000 in federal stimulus money.  (November 3, Associated Press)

Texas lawmakers try to give doctor-owned hospitals a dose of help
Texas House members are mounting a late effort to delay new limits on physician-owned hospitals, putting them at odds with Democratic leaders who think the facilities drive up health care costs.  (November 5, Dallas Morning News)

Nurses union reaches deal on H1N1 safety in U.S.
The H1N1 pact, announced on Monday as part of a contract settlement between the California Nurses Association and Catholic Healthcare West, averted a one-day strike threatened by thousands of registered nurses at more than 30 hospitals.  (November 2, Reuters)

Hospitals make slow progress in harnessing the ‘social’ aspects of social media
Hospitals’ current social media activties can be classified across to five major areas: brand management, real-time public relations, volume generation, non-marketing functions and community building. But only a small amount of hospital activity in the social media space could be described as “social.”  Rather, the majority of these efforts are either one-way “monologues” or bounded two-way conversations with little staying power.   (October 31, iHealthBeat)

The Nevada-based hospital began using several social networking sites in July of this year as a way to help promote the opening of their new facility, Story Medical – South Campus.

One Web site the hospital is using in particular is Twitter, a popular service that allows users to send short messages to one another in a public forum.

Among the messages Story Medical is sending (known as tweets to Twitter users) related to the opening of their new facility and the services the hospital offers, they have also been sending at least one update per day tagged with #dailymedterm.

“As someone who doesn’t have a medical background, I knew that a lot of our patients weren’t familiar with many of the medical terms that physicians use every day. I thought the #dailymedterm would be a fun way to educate people.” – Ashley Moore, Ancillary Services Assistant at Story County Medical Center

This method of tagging tweets is called using a hashtag, which allows other messages using that same tag to be grouped together. When a user does a search for that hashtag on Twitter, #dailymedterm in this case, they have the opportunity to only view updates that include that term.

Although Story Medical started the hashtag, there are no rules that say others cannot participate. In fact, the #dailymedterm hashtag could be an opportunity for other Twitter users to ask questions about medical terms and what they mean. With other users suggesting terms, the process could become even more interactive.

I’ve seen a number of users commenting on how much they enjoy the #dailymedterm and think it is exactly the type of unique approach to Twitter that more organizations should be thinking about.

Congratulations Story Medical! Keep up the good work.

One such resource, being provided by HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society), is an upcoming webinar that will teach participants about how M.D. Anderson Cancer Center created its new Web strategy and presence.

Part of the discussion will focus on the transformation M.D. Anderson made from a managing a largely information-oriented Web site to a focus on customer interaction and transactional capabilities.

Webinar Details

August 20, 2009
1-2 p.m. CST

Read more about the webinar plus find registration details on the HIMSS Web site.

Learning Objectives

1. Identify the key drivers, business objectives and business value of a new Web strategy.
2. Describe the process for developing the new strategy and business case.
3. Describe the type of services and technology solutions planned for the revamped Web presence.

Presenters

• Alan Powell, Director, Internet Services, M.D. Anderson Cancer Center
• Sue Sutton, RN, PhD, President/CEO, Tower Strategies
• John Foster,Vice President of Business Value Services & Healthcare Business Development, Oracle

Cost

There is no cost to attend this webinar.

Social media penetrates politics and the public

This leads us to today, when individuals, groups and companies are using freely available technology to engage loyal supporters and introduce their messages to people who may never have heard them before.  Aside from consumers and private-sector organizations, these users also include members of local, state and federal government.

What was once often only discussed behind closed doors or in whispers between party members is now made available to consume in the public forum.  This new age of transparency and interaction allows people to make opinions and thoughts known before they have the chance to pass through political filters or press secretaries.

Be ready for real-time feedback and responses

A recent example includes several messages sourced from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) illustrating his frustration with President Obama, who was making a stop in Europe last week.  There is nothing new about Senators and politicians having disagreements with the president, but the channel through which Grassley’s views were presented and the public availability of said comments would have been unheard of just a few years earlier.

Grassley posted several messages on his Twitter account, a microblogging social network where users can exchange short messages with friends, addressing his concerns with the president:

“Pres Obama you got nerve while u sightseeing in Paris to tell us ‘time to deliver’ on health care.  We still on skedul/even workinWKEND.”

“Pres Obama while u sightseeing in Paris u said ‘time to delivr on healthcare’ When you are a ‘hammer’ u think evrything is NAIL I’m no NAIL.”

These messages from Senator Grassley were seen by at least 11,000 people who follow the senator’s messages (tweets) directly, while hundreds and perhaps thousands more read them as the media caught wind of the story.  There is nothing inherently wrong with what Grassley posted (and they are still available to see at http://twitter.com/chuckgrassley), but the message and the lesson are that we need to be aware of the tools that surround us and know how best to use them.

People are out there talking; are you ready to listen?

Conversations are taking place all over the world about the topics, issues and concerns of everyone, just as they always have.  The new problem is understanding how those messages can spread and what role we play in addressing or interacting with them.

IHA has taken a strong stance in the realm of social media – this interactive, participatory two-way type of dialogue – by establishing our own grounds online and staking claim to the issues most important to Iowa’s community hospitals.  As the voice of hospitals and health care in Iowa, it is IHA’s responsibility to be represented wherever discussions are happening, be it on Capitol Hill or Facebook.

Apart from the IHA Web site, the blog acts as IHA’s authoritative clearinghouse for contact via social media with the public and beyond.  All of our interactive actions direct back to this home base in an effort to clarify IHA’s mission, vision and values.

As IHA continues along this path into the future of communication and dialogue, it will adapt to change, but the core existence and purpose will remain:  supporting the missions of Iowa’s hospitals.

Looking to learn more about how IHA is engaging individuals and influencers by using these social technologies? Keep reading our blog and see the about page for more details.

What questions do you have? How are you using these techologies to impact your goals?

• Iowa Health – Des Moines, Des Moines, has launched three pages on Facebook:
  • John Stoddard Cancer Center
  • Blank Children’s Hospital
  • Live Well progran
• Knoxville Hospital and Clinics, Knoxville, launched a blog and is on Twitter

Of nine Iowa hospitals implementing some form of social media, Twitter seems to be the dominant tool for getting started. Facebook pages come in at a close second and hospital blogs are third.

What do you want to know about social media?

I will continue updating IHA’s list of Iowa hospitals using social media to keep everyone abreast of hospital efforts, but what else would you like to know about social media?

Part of my responsibility at IHA is to be an educator in marketing web strategy, so I’d love to address any questions or concerns you may have.