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| Harnessing the power of Web 2.0 in healthcare |
This month, we are pleased to introduce Janet Guptil, President, KM at Work, who will be presenting a series of articles for Vericom HealthLink on Web 2.0. We hope to shed some light on "collective intelligence" as it relates to healthcare and give you some information on Web 2.0 and how it can help you as a healthcare provider.
Please drop us a note at info@vericom.net and let us know how you use Web 2.0. Enjoy this month's issue. Thank you for your support. |
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The Vericom Institute for Learning (VIL) is all about Building Indispensable Relationships one client at a time. At Vericom, we continually seek to learn about your challenges in healthcare and how we can help you improve your communications and relationships with your patients and consumers, employees, and physicians.
The VIL is pleased to introduce our featured author this month, Janet Guptil, President, KM at Work.
Building healthcare relationships with Web 2.0
Web 2.0. You've probably heard the term before, but you may not realize what it is and how it relates to you as a healthcare professional. Web 2.0 describes the different online tools that allow anyone-regardless of location-to collaborate and "connect" with another. Here are some examples:
Virtual social networking sites, such as MySpace and Facebook, allow users to post profiles, upload pictures, and send messages to other users.
Blogs, or web-based journals, let a single user share his or her thoughts with others and invite feedback.
Online encyclopedias, such as wikis, allow users to collectively add and edit information on almost any topic.
So, how can web 2.0 impact your day-to-day experiences? Healthcare is about relationships, and web 2.0 tools are intended to facilitate and improve relationship building.
In The World is Flat, Thomas Friedman looks at the rise of web 2.0 and speaks of a "triple convergence...a tipping point that arrived sometime around the year 2000." This "tipping point" was the result of new, easy-to-use collaboration tools, Internet search engines, and digitized information stored on the web. Friedman goes on to describe "the creation of a global, web-enabled playing field that allows for multiple forms of collaboration." Collaboration now enables us to share work and knowledge in real time regardless of location, distance, time, or affiliation. In addition, we are able to create even greater value in our products, services, research, networks and the like, which are becoming so increasingly complex that no single individual, department, or team can accomplish what it needs to independently.
Recent trends in healthcare also demonstrate how global collaboration and standardization of communication are changing the way we communicate.
We are now a connected culture.
With the Internet, most of us expect to have access to information 24/7. We decide what we want, when we need it, and through search engines, are given numerous choices on where to find it.
Consumer-driven healthcare is not going away.
Individuals are becoming more responsible for their own health. They seek out information about disease states, preventive measures, and treatment options. Rising healthcare costs are also driving consumers to be more proactive about their health.
We are increasingly members of virtual communities.
Regardless of the issue, disease, or condition, a world of support is just a click away. Patients can seek out other patients and survivors through online support groups. Doctors can consult with specialists in other fields of medicine. Nurses can share information and experiences through discussion boards or blogs. Managers can find their peers to share success stories and resources.
These trends are also translating into a shift in thinking for healthcare marketers. Connecting with employees, physicians, and consumers will take more effort than just putting information out there. You can create opportunities for two-way communication by adding interactive elements to your hospital Intranet or web site. If your goal is to build strong, positive relationships that lead to consumer and employee loyalty, impact staff turnover, minimize physician competition, and increase service line revenues then web 2.0 is probably for you.
Over the next few months, we'll discuss web 2.0 in healthcare in greater detail, through a series of articles. We'll look at how it can be used to engage your employees, empower your physicians, and win loyalty from your customers.
Janet Guptill, President, KM At Work, Inc.
janet.guptill@kmatwork.com
www.kmatwork.com |
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Six Innovations to Increase Productivity, Cut Costs, and Extend Coverage |
"All I know is that the Internet will transform the world." --Alfred D, Chandler, Jr. (1918-2007), Business Historian, Newsweek, 2006.
"It's about time that the sleeping giant (the healthcare industry) wakes up, smells the coffee, and learns from other giants (like the manufacturing industry): process improvement, incentivization, and healthy competition are drivers of change to control costs in the current healthcare system." --Pankaj Gupta, M.D., medical director of an insurance company. May 20, 2007, Letters to the Editor, New York Times.
"A system controlled by insurance companies or hospitals or government will kill us financially and medically ... There is only one group that can prevent this damage--you and me--working together with our doctors." --Regina Herzlinger, Ph.D., Who Killed Health Care? America's $2 Trillion Medical Problem and the Consumer-Driven Cure, McGraw Hill, 2007.
What follows are six innovations that could transform the health system, while offering universal coverage. These innovations cover technological, managerial and governmental waterfronts, but stress entrepreneurial and consumer input and engagement. |
| Read the full article powered by HealthLeaders |
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Wyoming Valley Health Care System Tackles Key Communications Challenges With SoundCare® |
| A complex and diverse health system like Wyoming Valley Health Care depends on powerful communications channels, like that offered by Vericom's SoundCare, to provide continuity across both internal and external communications programs. |
| Click here to read full case study |
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This Month:
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| Brought to you by the VIL |
by Janet Guptill
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Wyoming Valley Health Care System
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Upcoming Health
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SoundCare Focus Group
We need your feedback. Please join our SoundCare focus group this fall.
For more information, email marketing@vericom.net. |
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FAQ |
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How can I get physician support for using on hold messages at my hospital?
No one, especially physicians, wants to be placed on hold. However, when your facility is providing effective communication via SoundCare messages, physicians will see the value of real-time, relevant communications that can be tracked. SoundCare can:
Promote new physicians and services and drive referrals to them.
Spotlight physicians by allowing them to speak directly to callers about important healthcare issues.
With effective call-to-action messages, SoundCare is an invaluable tool for physicians. Once they see how they can benefit, your physicians will be sold. |
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