Congratulations to Dr. Anthony DeSalvo and the staff of OBGYN Associates of Warren for their use of social media to connect with their patients. www.warren-obgyn.com

Erik Sass, Sep 13, 2011 06:28 PM (The Social Graf)

Healthcare professionals, including doctors, nurses, administrators and I.T. managers for hospitals, are using social media for both personal and professional purposes, according to a survey carried out in April and May of this year by Frost & Sullivan in conjunction with QuantiaMD and the Institute for Health Technology Transformation. The new study based on the survey confirms social media’s applicability to the healthcare industry, but also highlights major obstacles to further adoption, including privacy, liability, and regulatory concerns.

(For the purposes of the survey, social media was defined as “not only social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn, but also professional and patient networking communities specific to the medical field, blogs and sites such as YouTube”).

Overall 84% of respondents said they use social media for personal purposes, and a remarkable 75% said they use it for professional purposes within their institutions; 68% reported using it for both purposes. Over 65% of physicians said they use social media in some form for professional purposes, with much of this activity is taking place on online physician communities, used by 28% of physicians. Docs also say they think online patient communities are beneficial, especially for people with chronic illnesses, cancer, or rare disease — but warn that there is potential for spreading misinformation as well

Looking ahead, Frost & Sullivan identified several key areas of social media opportunity for the healthcare industry. One interesting suggestion: hospitals and other healthcare institutions (including, presumably, insurance companies and the like) can create and monitor social communities that strengthen the institution’s reputation, educate patients about healthcare options, and also allow close tracking of patient feedback. On that note, some of the most frequently-cited goals were marketing, building brand awareness, and business development.

Previously I wrote about an article in the New England Journal of Medicine by Dr. Raina M. Merchant, an emergency physician and assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Pearlman School of Medicine, titled “Integrating Social Media into Emergency-Preparedness Efforts,” in which Merchant notes the role played by social media for disseminating public health-related information in a variety of disaster or emergency situations. During the 2009 H1N1 flu epidemic, the Department of Health and Human Services hosted a “Mommycast” on YouTube (which could also be downloaded as an iTunes video podcast) which reached on million viewers with information about vaccinations. In Haiti, social media helped track a dangerous outbreak of cholera following the 2010 earthquake, which left some of the island nation’s water supply contaminated. Merchant also noted that waiting times for emergency rooms and clinics are already being publicized in some parts of the U.S. through mobile-phone applications, billboard RSS feeds, or hospital tweets.

I also wrote about a presentation to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta by Dr. Caitlin Reed of the LA County Department of Public Health, examining the role of social media in tracking an outbreak of Legionnaire’s Disease which was traced back to the Playboy Mansion. Social media played a role almost from the beginning of the outbreak, with a “cluster of respiratory illness reported by attendees via social media.” Social media was also central to the follow-up, allowing the LACDPH to send an online survey to all 715 conference attendees.

There’s a lot of chatter about how public policy can influence doctors’ decisions about which new patients to see and which to turn away.

One big question: Does the squeeze on Medicare that has limited the program’s pay increases to doctors lead them to see fewer of those patients?

Some researchers decided to look at recent data for clues. And they found a slight drop — a little less than 3 percent in the proportion of doctors taking new Medicare patients between 2005 and 2008.

But that drop, which still left 93 percent of docs taking new Medicare patients, wasn’t much compared with the hit for patients with typical private insurance.

For those people, there was a 5.5 percentage point drop, leaving about 88 percent of physicians who would add them as new patients.

The greater decline in doctors accepting private insurance was “unexpected,” the researchers write in the latest issue of Archives of Internal Medicine, where the findings appear.

What’s going on? I asked lead author Dr. Tara Bishop, an internist and assistant professor of public health at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York. She said there are a couple of possible reasons. Some doctors may be bucking the administrative hassles of private insurance, she said.

Medicare may not always pay top dollar, but it’s pretty reliable. And, she said, Medicare is still the largest payer, so it’s hard for doctors not to accept those patients.

For her part, Bishop sees patients with all kinds of insurance. But she said the findings are worrisome. “If these trends continue we may have problems getting care to patients in the ambulatory setting,” she said. “It’s possible patients might have health insurance but not be able to see a doctor.” [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio] by Scott Hensley June 27, 2011

Pediatricians Recommend A Media Diet For Kids To Fight Obesity
by Scott Hensley
- June 27, 2011

A quick stroll around the mall is all the reminder you need that an epidemic of childhood obesity is all around us. And the media, defined very broadly, is a big part of the big problem, according to a leading group of pediatricians. Kids don’t burn many calories sitting and watching TV or messing around on the computer or game console.

So the American Academy of Pediatrics is prescribing some changes to help kids stave off excess weight in a policy statement just published in the journal Pediatrics.

First, at each well-child visit, pediatricians should ask these two questions:
How much time are you spending in front of a screen each day?
Is there a TV or device with an Internet connection in your bedroom?
The answers can help guide a recommendation for health, including more active pursuits. Kids, the pediatricians say, shouldn’t spend more than 2 hours a day plopped down in front of the computer, TV or other glowing device. The littlest kids — those 2 and under — shouldn’t watch any TV at all.

A little extra time staring at a screen can add up to big weight gains before you know it. It’s also the case, the pediatricians say, that consuming media can mean consuming advertising messages for junky foods, another factor in the weight-gain formula. So another part of the prescription is neutralizing those ads. Parents should talk to kids about bad food ads and good nutritional habits.
And pediatricians should get active themselves when it comes to media policy, the policy statement says:
Ask Congress, the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission to implement a ban on junk-food advertising during programing that is viewed predominantly by young children.

Among the other things families can do to curb childhood obesity: eat meals together more regularly and make sure everyone gets enough sleep. [Copyright 2011 National Public Radio]

Congratulations to POEM, Inc. (a Phyzoom customer) on their new video! Great job communicating the power of support and letting new moms know they are not alone.

If you are an OB/GYN, Pediatrician, Mental Health professional or other doctor interested in peer discussions about Maternal Depression feel free to join Phyzoom. It’s Free!

The David Cornfield Melanoma Fund created this powerful video to bring awareness to skin cancer.

As the saying goes, the grass isn’t always greener when you have someone else worrying about how to run your practice. While it’s often said that giving up business control and autonomy can be challenging for physicians, a recent piece in Medscape Today confirms that it’s one of the top gripes among physicians who’ve experienced hospital employment. Click here to read the full article

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With 77 million Baby Boomers only years from hitting retirement age and seniors numbering 35 million, a significant portion of the American population either is or will soon be evaluating their options when it comes to long term care.

For Home Care & Hospice firms looking to differentiate themselves in an ever crowding industry take advantage of this National Observance month to implement some quick marketing & communication actions and set yourself on a plan for the next 12 months.

The  National Association of Home Care and Hospice does a great job of assisting in the creation of a strategic direction. On their website they list some ideas designed to target and educate consumers. Some of these take a lot more time than a shotgun approach to drive awareness in the present month, but they have merit and are examples of the type of 12 month strategy that creates awareness of your firm:

1. Promote Awareness among Potential Consumers
2. Show Appreciation for Staff and Volunteers
3. Strengthen Relations with Physicians and Other Referral Sources
4. Garner Support from Public Officials
5. Honor Patients and Their Families

Working at these 5 pilars on a continual basis will generate a noticable uptick in your business activity. They directly influence a consumers individual choice, word of mouth/referrals, Physician or Doctor Referral and repeat business. Good luck spreading the importance of quality home care and hospice services!