Here's a certified CME activity designed to teach physicians about the appropriate use of social media #SoMeCME

The phrase "social media" is poorly understood by health care professionals. There are many misconceptions and myths related to terms like Twitter, Facebook, etc. These social media tools can be used to improve medication adherence, but most health care professionals are not even using them for professional purposes.

I invite you to join me in this certified CME activity:

• Video Roundtable 3: Social Media to Improve Medication Adherence

Medication adherence remains a persistent and pertinent issue in health care. Nonadherence poses challenges to adequate control of the target condition and often leads to further unnecessary complications. Many of the latest practice management and communication technologies afford clinicians the opportunity improve patient medication adherence.

This online CME activity will accomplish the following:

1. Outline the appropriate ways of communicating with colleagues and with patients on social media websites
2. Describe how social media can be used to communicate with patients about the importance of medication adherence.

Connect with Dr. Harry Greenspun on LinkedIn

Dr. Harry Greenspun, formerly Chief Medical Officer at Dell, is now Senior Advisor, Healthcare Transformation and Technology at Deloitte.  He is also the author of Reengineering Health Care: A Manifesto for Radically Rethinking Health Care Delivery. Harry maintains a very active Facebook profile, but make sure you don't miss him on LinkedIn.

Connect with Harry Greenspun on LinkedIn:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/harrygreenspun

He's a physician executive who is very connected, so you'll want to be in his network. In 2010, Modern Healthcare magazine named him one of the “50 Most Powerful Physician Executives in Healthcare.”

Growing use of social media in the CME industry #acme2011

Last week, I was in San Francisco attending the Alliance for CME annual conference. A number of presentations included different elements of social media in the certified continuing medical education process. Some organizations were using social media sites like Twitter and Facebook to conduct needs assessments. Others were relying on social media for physician engagement and to increase participation. Some groups were educating physicians about the appropriate use of social media. After all, there are significant patient privacy issues that are intimately connected with social media and we wouldn't want physicians to use social media inappropriately.

What's interesting is that those working in the CME industry are also using social media for professional purposes. The LinkedIn groups were buzzing with activity about the upcoming Alliance meeting as attendees shared ideas and generated buzz about the conference. Attendees also used the Twitter hashtag #acme2011 to refer to the conference. The Alliance for CME recently launched a Facebook page, a Twitter account, and a LinkedIn group. Other CME groups are doing similar things to leverage social media resources.

2011 will be a year where we'll be seeing much more social media activity in the world of CME. Let's see how we can all use social media to enhance the education of health care professionals. 

More focus on social media here at the Alliance for CME #acme2011

There's a greater focus on social media and new technologies here at the Alliance for CME annual conference. It's great to see how organizations are using Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, blogs, and other social media networks to deliver professional education.

The Alliance for CME has also jumped into the world of social media by launching a Facebook page, a LinkedIn group, and a Twitter account.

I think 2011 will be a year where we'll see more social media involved in certified medical education activities. Medical education providers are thinking about different ways to incorporate social media into formal CME activites. Plus, we're looking at the use of social media for the needs assessment process, outcomes measurement, and for educational research.

I'm also participating in the Emerging Technologies Committee for the Alliance for CME. This is a brand new group that will be looking at the use of newer technologies in the world of CME.

Evolving role of social media in the world of CME #ACME2011

I am attending the Alliance for CME annual conference in San Francisco. This afternoon, I attended a great session focused around the use of social media in the setting of professional continuing medical education or CME. We are just starting to see some early examples of social media utiliztion among those of us working in the continuing medical education industry. Groups are using Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter to connect with physicians, patients, and educators. These are certainly interesting times as we adopt new communications technologies in the medical education field.

Follow updates from the meeting on Twitter: #ACME2011

The Alliance for CME embraces social media

The Alliance for CME has joined the social networking world! You can now stay on top of the latest events, update and announcements from the Alliance on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

• Like the Alliance for CME on Facebook here.
• Follow the Alliance for CME on Twitter here.
• Join the Alliance for CME LinkedIn Group here.

It's great to see the Alliance for CME embracing the world of social media. 

Social media was a hot topic at the Alliance for CME meeting (#ACME10)

At the Alliance for CME meeting, social media was a hot topic. I think that many educators who work in the CME industry still don't understand social media. They may have a profile on sites like Facebook or LinkedIn, but they don't recognize how social media can be used to revolutionize the world of continuing education for health care professionals. After all, how many doctors really use Twitter, right?

I hope to reflect more on this topic over the next few days and share some of my personal opinions about the use of social media to improve health care communication to improve patient health.

The Greatest Health IT Achievement in 2009

What's the greatest health IT achievement that occurred in 2009? This is a question that is being discussed in the HIMSS (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society) group on LinkedIn. There are quite a few comments and it's interesting to hear what people think. Cari McLean started this discussion topic a few weeks ago and I agree that the inclusion of the HITECH (Health IT) provision within ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) was a huge accomplishment for the health IT industry.

What do you think?

Beyond seeing a ton of discussion around "meaningful use" and other HITECH related topics, we haven't seen a huge movement among physicians to adopt electronic health records (EHRs) in 2009. My guess is that we'll see a great tidal wave in 2010. Many physicians chose to bite the bullet to invest in an EHR, but many are waiting for more information and they'll probably make the transition in 2010. This means that we should see many opportunities for health IT professionals who wish to help physicians and hospitals adopt and incorporate EHRs into routine clinical practice.

LinkedIn Group: White House subgroup on Health Care

The White House now has a subgroup called "Health Care" on LinkedIn.

I'm very impressed by how President Obama is leveraging social media to reach out to the public and to interact with both consumers and healthcare professionals. It's unfortunate that so few physicians are engaging social media. Physicians simply don't understand how social media should be used. They're busy, many are not tech-savvy, and they don't want to be bothered by things like Twitter. I often hear physicians ask, "what's Twitter?"

So, let's hope that we see some productive conversations on LinkedIn as professionals and consumers discuss health care issues in this new group. I hope you will join me on LinkedIn in this health care group. Special thanks to Brian Ahier for bringing this group to my attention.

How can social media improve public health?

If I were back in school getting my MPH, I think I'd do my thesis on the topic of how social media can improve public health. I admit that I'm an early adopter and I love technology. As I see how consumers are embracing various social media outlets, I see a tremendous potential to improve public health through these different channels. The combination of health IT plus social media may revolutionize the world of healthcare if we recognize the potential and map out an appropriate strategy that utilizes all the major resources.

For instance, we know that consumers love to read blogs. Certain healthcare professionals also like to follow blogs. Blogs can be used to deliver key public health messages to the public.

In addition to blogs, we have tools like Twitter. Many bloggers use Twitter as a broadcast medium and I often wonder if Twitter will evolve and eventually replace traditional RSS feeds. Tweets that get retweeted can spread like a virus and circle around the planet faster than a viral email campaign. Did you know that the FDA, CDC, NIH, HHS, and WHO all have Twitter accounts?

Finally, we have social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and others. These social networking sites can be powerfully leveraged to communicate important public health messages.

So, whether you're talking about a swine flu pandemic alert, an FDA drug recall, a food alert, a drug safety alert, or any other type of public health alert, the use of social media combined with health IT resources will be an effective way to improve public health if the right people jump onboard and plan things appropriately.

Expand your online social network

On my other blog: NonClinicalJobs.com I often write about the importance of social networking. One of my recent posts was titled: Join me on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Ning

After publishing that post, my network on LinkedIn and Twitter grew significantly. I now have over 15,000 thousand followers on Twitter! I only had about 50 followers back in April! In roughly 3 months, I gained 15,000 new followers!

Social networking is so important in this day in age, especially if you're looking for a new job or a complete career change. If you're a healthcare professional and you're considering a career change into the non-clinical world of medicine, I hope you'll follow my blog: NonClinicalJobs.com

Physician social networking online

Most of my physician colleagues agree that most physicians generally don't engage in online social networking. The only exceptions would be those who use Sermo, and a small handful of early adopters. So who are those early adopters? Who are those who see value in online social networking?

• Are they the physicians who have a strong interest in medical informatics (or health information technology)? Sometimes.
• Are they the physicians who are actively looking for new job opportunities? Rarely.
• Are they the physicians who tend to be more adventurous and active (such as emergency room physicians)? Sometimes.
• Are they the physicians who have way too much free time (such as dermatology and radiology physicians)? Sometimes.
• Are they those MD/MBA grads who are always trying to find new ventures. Sometimes.
  

So, who are those early adopters? Most of the time, they are the medical students who already use social networking tools like blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. They are the ones who graduate and become those physicians who embrace the power of social networking.

Social Networking Tips for Physicians Looking for a Change

If you're new to the world of online social networking, you may want to take a look at this: Social Networking Tips to Help You Find Non-Clinical Opportunities

Professional Matchmaking

No, not the romantic type of matchmaking so please don't start getting any strange ideas. I met a medical school graduate who had some questions about life as an MD/JD. You don't have to be an MD/JD to understand legal medicine - there are some expert witness physicians who know the legal system inside and out. Since I don't have a law degree, I didn't feel qualified to answer the questions I was being asked. So, I directed this person to an MD/JD who I knew and did some matchmaking as a professional courtesy. The world of legal medicine is very broad and unless you've worked as a physician attorney, I don't think you'll have the right type of perspective to give advice and direction. LinkedIn is a great social network where you can meet and help other people.

Joe Kim on LinkedIn

If you happen to be on LinkedIn, you may notice that there are many people with the name Joe Kim (or Joseph Kim). How many people? There are over a hundred people! Since LinkedIn is open to people all over the world, I'm sure there must be thousands of people who have that name. So how many people do you know who have the last name Kim? How name Joe's do you know? When you combine those two very common names, you realize that a name like Joe Kim really is ubiquitous.

Getting Reconnected - How Time Flies

I had a really nice chat the other day with someone I hadn't spoken to in several years. We briefly chatted about health information technology, MIT, medical education, Web 2.0, and a local pharmacy school. It's great to have social networking resources to stay connected with people. Thanks you LinkedIn and Facebook. It's important to maintain relationships because you never know when you may need a professional reference, a job lead, or even a potential lead for a colleague.

Growing Your Social Network

Because of the current economy, activity on social networking websites has gone through the roof. When I visit the forums and discussions on LinkedIn, I see many recruiters and job candidates actively looking for various types of opportunities. Some are in complete career transition while others are simply looking for a minor change.

Have you been growing your social network? Even if you're in a stable position and you don't see yourself going anywhere anytime soon, I'd encourage you to maintain relationships with old colleagues, classmates, and co-workers. I admit that networking can be tiring and time-consuming, but the intangible benefits are worth that periodic investment.

More and More Jobs on LinkedIn

There are more and more jobs popping up on LinkedIn

Some of them are appearing only within specific "groups" on LinkedIn. Therefore, if you're looking for a job or a complete career change, you may have a lot to gain by joining LinkedIn and building your electronic social network.

Build Your Social Network

I recently had the opportunity to get reconnected with some old colleagues. Then, I received this email from a physician resident who decided that residency wasn't the right fit and is now actively looking for a job. My advice was this - build your network and get reconnected with old classmates, colleagues, and friends. Your best probability of finding a job might be through those connections. Also, I suggested that this person make the best use of professional social networking websites like LinkedIn, Plaxo, etc. Finally, I mentioned that executive recruiters can be very helpful in helping you find a job when you're making a career transition into the non-clinical field. They have connections and they may also know of opportunities that aren't posted anywhere.

Comcast to Buy Plaxo

Looks like Comcast is getting ready to purchase Plaxo. This really goes to underscore the importance of social networking in today's Web 2.0 culture. LinkedIn, Plaxo, Naymz, and even Facebook are becoming so popular. It's a great way to get reconnected with old friends and colleagues. Plus, it's an easy and convenient way to network professionally.

So, who's going to buy LinkedIn?