Patient engagement goes social

Everyone wants to harness the power of social media for just about everything.

With patient engagement, it’s important to focus on the “social,” not the media.

Being social is at the core of being human. And being social can be a key driver that can engage and empower patients in their own care and lead to better individual outcomes and overall improvements in the health of a community.

Community is at the heart of “social.” While traditional social media channels — like Twitter, Facebook and others — do a nice job of creating and promoting a sense of community, engaging patients requires a deeper and more personal connection.

There are many ways to “go social” to better connect patients (and their families and friends) to their own care:

• Build your own community: Use small events that link caregivers, patients and their families. A great example is the “Walk with a Doc” movement where health systems hold regular walks hosted by physicians. Doing an activity like walking — together — cements that doctor/patient relationship. And the best part: both physicians and patients love it!
• Shared experiences: Shared medical appointments are growing in popularity. They allow people to share their journeys through specific diseases or conditions, such as diabetes, with others. This creates a communal experience that leads to a level of personal and profound support. It also helps your community improve its overall health.
• Involve your patients — and their families: The rise of Patient & Family Advisory Councils (PFACs) offers meaningful interaction between patients, families and caregivers. PFACs allow for understanding, debate and ultimately collaboration that give all members a stake in the organization. They own it, care about it and will fight for it.
• Engage the crowd: Harness the power of crowdsourcing. A great global example is www.watsi.org, where donors can make micropayments to help deliver care to real patients in developing countries. Why not bring this idea closer to home? Find ways to engage your community as mentors, coaches and advocates. This will give everyone a shared investment in better health.

For any of this to work, you must create trust. And that comes with the investment of time, hard work and sincerity.

Health care is a very personal experience — but one that ultimately everyone shares. Embracing the “social” side of health can improve experiences, outcomes and, ultimately, lower costs for all.

 This post originally appeared on EngagingPatients.org, a blog dedicated to advancing patient and family-centered care. I am a member of the Engaging Patients Advisory Board and write for the blog. See announcement in Wall Street Journal (June 27, 2013).

It's beach time. How's the water?

Beach time should be fun and worry free.

Except when you have to worry about water quality and beach closings.

The National Resources Defense Council has issued its latest report on water quality at U.S. beaches, Testing the Waters 2013: A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches. 

Our gorgeous Rhode Island beaches are ranked 14th in beach water quality out of 30 states (we all know "The Ocean State" can do better!). 

Check the guide before you hit your beach.

And don't forget to wear plenty of sunscreen!

"Have the courage to sell it."

"Why be an art director when you can be a cultural provocateur?"

Some of the thoughts on advertising and creativity from George Lois, the original "Big Idea" ad man, at the 2013 Cannes Lions festival in France.

Source: AdPulp

Master communicator George Lois took part in a seminar with TBWA's Lee Clow and we spoke to him backstage how whether he views his work as art and how to be a great creative.

Setting tasty expectations

Is it scripting — or coincidence?

I was at two Whole Foods Markets in the past week — in Hingham, Mass., and Cranston, R.I. — and had two similar, friendly exchanges with the check out clerks.

As the clerk scanned a particular item, he (men in both cases) asked me a casual question. It went something like this:

Clerk: "Have you tried that before?"

Me: "No, first time."

Clerk (enthusiastically, but very genuine): "It's amazing. You're going to love it. And it's so tasty, especially for being something so quick and easy to make."

Me (now eagerly awaiting to try it): "Sounds great!"

That was it. Some seemingly benign banter. But it was all about setting my expectations.

Health care struggles with setting expectations and it is reflected in patient satisfaction scores. An easy fix — and one that every patient and their family would welcome — is a little more frequent communication from caregivers, especially setting expectations for what is about to occur.

And when you don't set expectations, you don't have an opportunity to exceed them! 

So whether by scripting or coincidence — or better yet, culture — these two Whole Foods employees exceeded my shopping expectations.

Ring me up the Cisco ambulance

Technology is changing health care — and maybe soon ambulance rides. 

Cisco gives us a glimpse of what could be possible if everything in health care really did talk with each other.

Source: iSpot.tv