Yesterday morning, I had the great opportunity to attend the State of the Art of New Media in Health Care: Harnessing the Power of Digital Communication and Social Networking Tools conference held at the Newseum in downtown Washington, DC. The event was put on by Amplify Public Affairs, a “next generation in public affairs” firm integrating new media and traditional communications. Now of course the theme of this meeting is right up the alley of what gets covered on Pulse and Signal, so I was definitely happy to be able to attend. The question of how is new media affecting the health care world is popping up more and more, especially with the advent of Google Health, Microsoft’s Health Vault and the various online health social networks. I was eager to hear exactly what the panelists would be talking about - hopefully not just about their companies but to add some real thought to this growing landscape. Here were the people that spoke on the panel (in order of speaking):
» Elisabeth Goodridge, US News & World Report
» Joel Selzer, Ozmosis
» Matt Koll, Revolution Health
» Christopher Fleming, Health Affairs blog
» Ed Fishel, University of Maryland, News Bureau
Below I will touch upon some notes I took while listening to each presenter:
Elisabeth touched on a few items that showed how US News & World Report evolved from just a print publication to one that has integrated several elements of digital media including a list of affiliated bloggers, video, shareable articles and an upcoming widget library with embeddable content. I think one of the last times that I took a good hard look at what the publication could offer, it was when I was selecting colleges to attend. They also have a list of Best Hospitals that is very useful.
Joel has created a very interesting social networking platform for physicians, these include licensed MDs and DOs. A few reasons in which Joel created Ozmosis was because of the steadily increasing patient load for doctors (less time for them to interact with the patient), physicians having little time to find the answers for detailed patient questions and the fact that many physicians were turning to the Internet to locate information - trusted information is the top priority.
Matt spoke about how Revolution Health is transforming how social media is used in the consumer healthcare world. They also own CarePages and HealthTalk - both being focused on community health support. I felt that there was heavy discussion on advertising and business models, so I’m assuming that is where the organization is at this point in their growth. I’m looking forward to see what else comes from Revolution Health in the future.
Christopher also spoke from a once print only publication point of view. The Health Affairs journal, which recently celebrated its 25th year of being in print, has taken steps to embrace social media within its content production. The journal’s blog includes staff and guest bloggers. The staff members generally write about articles already printed in the journal while the guest bloggers create shorter, more advocacy based articles that usually correlate to a health policy issue. As the blog began expanding policy discussions to different areas, it helped to attract readers to the actual journal material. Currently, Chris and the Health Affairs team are looking to increase staff to assist in the growing and maintenance of the blog.
Finally, Ed touched on the changes involved in moving from old media and journalism to adopting new methods of disseminating news and information. I think that this will be an ongoing discussion (and struggle) for some time. Many people still do not see the value of this change in the media landscape but it’s good to know that there are a handful of people in certain professions willing to lead the charge.
Overall, I had a great time and picked up on a few thoughts regarding what exactly might need to be done regarding health communication efforts. It was nice hearing the various voices from different industries speak on what they are accomplishing - I really think that the aspects of Health 2.0 that were presented will be one of many to shape the way we stay healthy.
Not too long ago while I was catching up on my mountain of RSS feeds in Google Reader, I was perusing one of my favorite health-related blogs, DiabetesMine. I really enjoy reading DiabetesMine, authored by the wonderful Amy Tenderich, mainly because she has successfully created a community around those living with diabetes. Earlier this year when Amy got some time in the spotlight, it really started my brain motors turning about how we can spread the word about health issues in society and how people who are passionate about seeing change can catch the interest of many.
Amy is doing that again with the 2nd Annual DiabetesMine™ Design Challenge. She writes:
“[the] competition [is] designed to foster innovation in diabetes design and encourage creative new tools that will improve life with diabetes.”
The great part about this competition is that it incorporates many different elements related to the improvement of technology focused on helping people stay healthy and having the upper hand when it comes to handling their diabetes.
This contest is no small event either - it’s being supported by MedGadget, (Internet journal focused on highlighting emerging medical technologies), world famous design firm IDEO and probably most importantly, by 2 young brothers who have been living with Type 1 diabetes and are eager to see some changes in technology. And if the idea of being able to enter your design into this potentially industry changing opportunity doesn’t urge you enough, there are also other very nice prizes:
Two of the most enticing design concepts will win a package of prizes to help further their creative efforts: $1,000 in cash, some pro-bono professional advice from world-renowned design experts, and free access to the next Health 2.0 conference for one adult winner.
Please take some time to think about how you can contribute - submit your idea, spread the word! This is absolutely the epitome of how I want to help change the health world. Let’s add in excitement, innovation, design, passion, technology and social media! Let’s gather our minds and great ideas together so that we can live comfortable and QUALITY lives!
I’ve been thinking about this topic for a while now and I just was able to locate a useful piece of media for it. Thanks to Chris Condayan (@csuspect on Twitter) for the video!
Ok, so cough/cold/flu season is technically over you say? That may be true but the information in that video transcends seasons. Remember when your parents told you to cover your mouth when you cough or sneeze? Yeah that sounds polite but can actually be pointless in the prevention of spreading germs if you don’t wash your hands.
With most of us clickity-clackin away on the keyboard at work and manuevering the mouse over the keypad, our hands are frequenting surfaces that we use over and over again. So think about it, if you are at your desk and you sneeze into your hand and continue typing - what do you think is going to happen? The germs are going to be transferred to your keyboard and most likely your mouse as well. And then you shake hands with your co worker, congratulating them on a promotion. And then use the doorknob to leave building. I think you get my point.
Here are a few tips I thought of to help you keep the sniffles away from yourself and others in the workplace as well as your home:
- Wash your hands frequently. Especially before eating a meal.
- When coughing or sneezing (especially when you have a cold), do so inside your sleeve, right by your elbow or further above. When you do this, you can just toss your shirt in the laundry and wash those germs away. If you use a piece of Kleenex, still be sure to wash your hands afterward.
- Have some of those Clorox wipes handy - they are great for wiping down surfaces on your desk and getting rid of any germs hanging around. Might be a good idea to wipe down your keyboard and mouse at the end of each week.
- Hand sanitizers! Great stuff and alot of them come in tiny dispensers that you can carry around in your pocket or purse. If you can’t wash your hands, this is the next best thing.
- If you’re sick and sneezing/coughing all over the place, do everyone a favor and stay home. Trying to keep a perfect record (like the guy in the video) quickly turns into “How many other people can I make sick the fastest”. Don’t be that guy/girl.
Coughing into your hands isn’t going to help when you shake someone’s hand in the next 5 minutes. I know this seems like common sense stuff but sometimes we all need a reminder!
One of the most pressing public health issues of our times, has been the scourge of HIV/AIDS. The disease - which began to gain notoriety and attention throughout the 1980’s - has crippled the lives of many Americans, most often bringing unwelcome stigmas and lifelong medication treatments.
A particular class I took in college (as a matter of fact, it was the class that brought me from engineering to the public health world), was focused on disease prevention. Among diseases like diabetes and tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS was usually at the top of the list of diseases that needed focused attention to cure/eradicate. Now that we are in the 2000s and in an age of advanced communication, many of the details related to the disease itself - as well as cutting edge research working toward a cure - can be effectively disseminated to the lay audience. For far too long, the darker side of word of mouth communication allowed for incorrect insight into the world of those living with the disease. Now we can change that…
A good example of technology (more specifically the social web) being used to inform the public is the recently launched AIDS.gov blog. AIDS. gov is the official website of the Department of Health and Human Services‘ communication on the HIV/AIDS issue. Their willingness to delve into the social media aspect of communication should be applauded in itself. This is what I’m talking about when I mention thoughts on how social technology can help the health world. Health is about people. How people live, eat and interact…and also learn. The site does a great job of introducing people to the disease and the blog seems to facilitate a way for people to interact with how the government is handling the issue.
This is of course a vulnerable position as there is always the tendency for the public to not always trust government leadership. This is a great step in the right direction. The HIV/AIDS dilemma is a big one - a global one. And from my point of view, problems can be solved faster by having more people truly understand what is at stake.
Bottom line is, as we continue to become more connected, more vocal about what is going on in our lives, it’s important to not only become knowledgeable about these issues but also to provide feedback regarding solutions. Especially in the realm of health - it’s not about what the government can provide, it’s not about a “professional” tackling the problem for us. Our better health future relies on you - it relies on me - to make forward progress. Get educated about health issues that matter to you…and then give back.
Remember when computers were really clunky objects that you only knew existed in your classroom (5th grade for me)? I mean, I knew at that young age that I wanted to get involved somehow with technology. Ah yes…I remember now…hours upon hours of time spent playing Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego and and [insert inappropriately excited voice here] the original Space Quest series! Oh, oh, but we CERTAINLY cannot leave out one of the greatest early games of all time….OREGON TRAIL!! That’s right folks…Aunt Martha just got dysentery after drinking river water. Ah yes, good times.
Well fortunately for us, time has zoomed by and we now have great personal computers that have gone into our homes and then everywhere we go - the undisputed mobile technology culture is in full swing! Which brings me to the recent news of a Taiwanese computer company that just produced their Eee PC. The Eee PC is small in dimension and just looking at it makes you wonder if it’s a toy or actual computing device!
But for any practical purposes, this is a great step forward for devices that can be set up in the classroom (came back full circle!). From the CNET site where I saw the news, one of the pictures shows a group of young students huddled around an area where there are a few of these Eee PC. Is it a coincidence that young kids are drawn to this? With computing technology getting smaller and smaller, it becomes an automatic draw to children and teens. Portability is the theme of today. Who has time to sit at home in order to communicate or send emails? I rather send that when I’m shopping at Target…err, Banana Republic.
From CNET:
At the U.S. launch of the Eee PC, plenty of school children were on hand to test out the tiny kid-friendly laptop. The Linux-based computer has an entirely graphical interface, a short boot-up time, a solid-state drive, and a variety of educational applications and games intended to grab kids’ attention.
Bottom line is, with these technologies coming out that allow for internet access and other computing abilities in such a compact manner - how can this translate into benefits for the public health and education world? Portability should be the best thing going for health education! Think about it, one of the main issues with health education is getting into places that need help the most and just spreading the word - with portable devices, we can show people and carry on presentations on the fly! The possibilities are becoming even more endless.
Well after much ballyhoo and hard work, I am VERY proud to say that the University of Maryland at College Park, my alma mater, has opened their very own School of Public Health! You can read more about the School here. This is especially cool since I graduated from the former College of Health and Human Performance, 2 years ago. According to President Mote:
“The new School of Public Health will be built on the considerable strengths of its predecessor, the College of Health and Human Performance, with a core mission of translating public health research and learning into healthy public policy. “No other public research university in the region has an accredited school of public health whose mission is focused on research and the applications of knowledge that directly benefits citizens in that area.”
The faculty at the school were exceptionally encouraging and a necessary component to my interest in health education, promotion and the field of public health. I can’t wait to see what great things the School will accomplish in the coming years. This is perfect timing as the American Public Health Association (APHA) and the Society of Public Health Education (SOPHE) are having their annual meetings in Washington DC in November. I’m sure they’ll find a way to promote that.
The Dean of the School, Dr. Bob Gold, is one of the smartest people I’ve met in the public health arena. He’s pretty cool because he is definitely one of those people who want to merge health education and technology together. Hopefully I’ll get to catch up with him soon! Here’s a picture of us at the 2004 SOPHE conference in DC (click to enlarge).
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