Putting the bottom of the list at the top

/

This is the time of year when lists rule — from Santa's naughty and nice list to the incessant best-of-the-year lists.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) added some new items to their growing list — how well patients fared after knee or hip replacement surgery at hospitals nationwide. The ratings are based on the rate of major complications and readmissions within 30 days for hip and knee replacement patients.

The list is not the story. How the lists are being presented in the media is.

NPR's health news blog, Shots, ran a piece titled "Medicare Names Best And Worst Hospitals For Joint Replacements" along with a list — of the nine worst offenders on the list.

Kaiser Health News played it straighter with a table that lists all 192 hospitals that were either better or worse than average.

In the past, most media would focus on the top performing hospitals and expose situational examples from those that were lacking. Now the focus is on the bottom, looking up.

Ratings are important, but they are only part of the equation patients must examine when they are seeking elective surgery. Your best bet is always to do research and ask around, especially of people who are familiar with the hospital, surgeon and care team at the facility you are considering.

For health care PR folks, you always need to be ready to show how you are constantly improving on quality and experience. Because even if you are at the top of the list, there is always room for improvement.

 

There isn't an app for this …

/

This ad for the Peace Corps grabbed me.

Technology can do a lot. Sometimes you need to put down the tech and just do. As in volunteering.

Check out the whole campaign. It's right on.

3 social media oops you should avoid

/
2013-1217-Social Media Oops.jpg

Oops. Oops. Oops.

Recently I came across three social media oops to avoid. I won't call out the offenders, but offer these tips so that you don't make the same mistake.

1. Link your social media buttons to the right place. A website for a major hospital has prominent "follow us" buttons for Facebook and Twitter, but both link to the main pages for Facebook and Twitter — not the hospital's social media presence. 

Oops.

2. Link to the right account. An email newsletter from a non-profit welcomed us to its new e-newsletter (nice enough!) and also suggested we follow them on Facebook. Great idea, but the link took us to the personal page and profile of the newsletter editor. Not exactly what was intended.

Oops.

3. Reply and message carefully. A corporate Twitter account recently posted what was clearly meant to be a direct message — with a very sensitive internal phone number — on its public timeline. Better not to trust Twitter or Facebook for that kind of information.

Oops.

8 ways iBeacons can improve your health

/

Location-based services are heating up.

First it was check-ins (think Foursquare). That begat unique offers based on geolocations. Now Apple has taken the next step with proximity-based messages and offers — within a location. 

Image source: Gigaom

Image source: Gigaom

Apple installed iBeacons in all 254 of its U.S. stores earlier this month. The iBeacon system uses low-powered, low-cost transmitters to send messages to users based on their proximity (and users have the option to turn off the messages).

Here's how it works: As iPhone-toting customers walk through one of Apple's retail stores, they can receive messages about products they are standing in front of, news about events that are about to take place or even on-the-spot unadvertised discounts. 

Macy's is also testing Apple's iBeacon service and Major League Baseball said it will use the technology at ballparks this spring. And Apple is not alone, with Qualcomm recently announcing its own proximity beacons, called Gimbal.

How can these be used in health care? Here are eight quick ideas:

  1. Help patients, families and visitors navigate throughout a hospital.
  2. Broadcast wait times at ERs and doctor's offices.
  3. Notify passers by of specials at the cafeteria or the gift shop.
  4. Remind patients that the in-house pharmacy is convenient and quick.
  5. Provide reminders to patients to complete satisfaction surveys.
  6. Remind everyone to wash their hands (everywhere)!
  7. Suggest it's time for a flu shot.
  8. Notification of the urgent need for blood donors.