DV NJHIMSS presentation on Sep 22, 2011 A patient encourages physicians to blog for their patients.

1. We Want You!Doctors 2.0 A Guide for Improving Physician-Patient Relationships through Blogs and Social Networking Ileana Balcu Dulcian, Inc.

2. Social Networking Sites http://www.techvert.com/history-social-networking-sites/

3. A little about YOU Maintenance “tweeps” Action “SEO” Preparation “WordPress” Contemplation “Facebook” Pre- contemplation Blogs?

6. 34% of internet users have read someone else’s commentary or experience about health or medical issues on an online news group, website, or blog.Susannah Fox The Social Life of Health Information, 2011 Pew Internet and American Life Project

9. Jeffrey Benabio, MD – The Dermatology Blog The Mayo Clinic is teaching the community how to use the latest and greatest healthcare tools. Not gamma-knife radiation or surgical robots, but Twitter and Facebook. Social media platforms might be some of the most powerful tools available to improve your health by allowing doctors and patients to work together as a team. This team has a lot of potential, but it needs some good coaching for us to use these tools effectively.“ http://thedermblog.com/2010/10/15/the-mayo-clinic-social-media-center-mccsm/

10. Bryan Vartabedian, MD – 33charts.com “Every doctor should make content. Writing, recording, and making videos forces you to think about what you believe. It’s how content creation is so powerful for doctors. Most importantly this kind of synthesis is critical when speaking to patients. How we understand issues impacts how we communicate and how we are perceived. And you don’t have to create a lot or very often. A little is better than what you’re doing now. And your patients will love it.”

11. Overcoming Obstacles It’s about the patients Is there anything you would like to tell to all your patients? Written words, video – add on to the discussion during appointments Creating a framework for helping with content: Flexible Social media policy Make help available

12. Blogs (Blogger, WordPress) Social Networks (Facebook) Chronologic list of text entries (posts) – journals Easy to use Well-organized Search engine friendly Mature Comments can be moderated Can be pushed to all others Chronologic list of status updates, pictures, videos, links Posts visible to all “friends” Difficult to moderate or control who shares what, who sees what, who comments on your entries

13. Micro-blogging (Twitter) Social Network (LinkedIn) Posts up to 140 characters Basically no privacy – the world can see everything Good for online discussions Professional network – career service Contains a resume and allows people to join groups and discuss various topics

14. Where do we start? … Blogs Easy to use, with minimal use for IT resources Not too public – allows push to subscribers Flexible: short posts, long posts, links, pictures, video - everything goes Excellent with search engines Mature environment: good readers, good interfaces, push to email, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn

15. When you are online don’t write anything you wouldn’t say in a hospital elevator Examples of social media policies: http://socialmediagovernance.com/policies.php?f=4

16. AMA PolicyProfessionalism in the Use of Social Media Patient privacy and confidentiality No identifiable patient information Monitor internet presence Maintain patient-physician boundaries Separate personal and professional content Online actions can affect reputation, undermine public trust in the medical profession

17. Can start with just 1 hour/week What do we repeat a lot to our patients? Continuous improvement process What do patients want? Short is good Consistency

18. Blogs by Physicians Advantages Gives office a personality More control than with online ratings Reach more patients at once Spread knowledge about physician and office Cheaper than hiring IT or marketing specialists Will attract like-minded patients Disadvantages Time for setup and maintenance HIPAA rules, patient privacy Bad comments could cause reputation damage Unknown liability Once published it’s difficult to retract

19. Brandon Betancourt – pediatricinc.wordpress.com “Our social media effort accomplishes among other things: Maintain a conversation with our patients (engagement) Keep our patients informed of pediatric related news or practice news Directs patients to good, reliable sources of online information Provides additional insight to potential patients about our practice, our office and more important, our docs. Gives the practice a personality”

20. Blogs by Physicians - for Hospitals/Groups Advantages Facilitate the creation of a network of trust and referrals Can support Medical Home or ACO initiatives Indirect marketing for group Grass-roots effort Disadvantages Potential liability Image issues for negative comments Need for Social media policy and training

21. Blogs by Physicians - for Patients Advantages Will know their physician and office better Will have the ability to read articles multiple times to understand better Can give positive or negative feedback, or ask for topics of interest Can find a new physician they are comfortable with Disadvantages Can disclose private information if media is not understood Might lose privacy if physician is not careful

22. Possible topics Links to good health-related websites Book recommendations Referrals to specialty physicians Personal stories of illness, loss Discussion of articles in lay media or TV Patient stories with explicit approval Office procedures Light side: personal hobbies, stories

23. Comments Can be moderated as much as needed Angry or unfavorable comments – do not delete – answer objectively and don’t forget HIPAA Comments with personal details – delete and contact the sender

24. Drip, drip Week by week Message by message

25. Don’t Publish while emotional Complain about patients Be negative about other physicians, the system… Use words like non-compliant, difficult patient Think you can be anonymous Do Write for the best patient Write balanced opinions Be respectful of everyone’s opinion and beliefs Teach and learn Keep most posts short

26. Contemplation The physician wants to engage in social media, but is afraid of the time commitment

27. Contemplation Monitor healthcare blogs, Facebook accounts, Twitter pages Read: Christina Beach Thielst – Social Media in Healthcare David Meerman Scott – New Rules of Marketing and PR Hive Strategies - http://www.hivestrategies.com/ Group social media policy Get a buddy/support person

28. Preparation The physician is ready and researching tools

29. Preparation Gmail account Provider: Blogger, Wordpress? Create the blog Write 5 articles – share with friends Find mentors, ask for advice Create schedule in calendar

30. Action The physician is committed and embarking on social media path

31. Action Write blog posts, publish, moderate comments Keep up with schedule Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn (TwitterFeed) Distribute blog info to patients Include links and referrals Comment on other blogs Work with patients to improve site

32. Maintenance The physician is committed and embarking on social media path

33. Maintenance Automatic pushing Follow statistics Set up time limits Work with patients to improve site David Meerman Scott – “There is no such thing as an expert in social networking – we’re all learning as we go!”

34. Robert Centor, MD - medrants.com “This blog serves as a reservoir for my thoughts, important new concepts (especially clinical references) and useful teaching presentations. It allows me to play with ideas. These ideas have turned into articles and editorials. Blogs allow one to try out ideas. Thus, we have time for ideas to mature. I highly recommend blogging. It helps in many unexpected ways. ”

35. “Blogging is a remarkable way to spread information. For example, my blog had 7,429 views by 4,611 visitors over the past week [in 2008]. As an external relations tool for communicating information, proposing an idea, or marketing a concept, blogs work extremely well.” John Halamka MD, MS – 2008 http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com 57,850 page views in August 2011 Almost a million posts read to date

36. “I blog 5 days a week. This is my 935th post. Everything I write is personal, unfiltered, and transparent. Readers of my blog know where I am, what I'm doing, and what I'm thinking. They can share my highs and my lows, my triumphs and defeats. Write what you think, back it up with evidence, and temper your emotions - assume the world will read everything you write and have an opinion, but transparency and communication, as long as it is fair, is the best policy.” John Halamka MD, MS – 2011 http://geekdoctor.blogspot.com

37. Ileana Balcu http://theunconditionalpatient.wordpress.com ibalcu@dulcian.com @yogileana