Sermo Announces New Stricter Code of Conduct

One of the major criticisms around Sermo is around the unprofessional conduct demonstrated by physicians who hide behind anonymous usernames. Today, Sermo announced an updated Code of Conduct to reduce profanity and other comments that may be perceived as "attacking" a specific group of individuals. Of course, eliminating anonymous usernames is what's really needed in my opinion.

Sermo acquired by WorldOne

WorldOne, a global market research firm, has acquired Sermo. Here's a brief snippet from a press release:

This past year WorldOne successfully launched a new division, WorldOne Interactive, focused on leveraging emerging technologies and progressive social applications to connect and engage healthcare professionals globally. With the acquisition of Sermo and its leading discussion and crowdsourcing platform for physicians, WorldOne considerably expands its interactive and digital engagement capabilities. WorldOne already boasts a global network of 1.7 million healthcare professionals, including over 1 million verified physicians across 80 countries; adding Sermo’s membership will further increase reach, allow for unprecedented client list match rates, expand research opportunities, and serve as a catalyst for increased physician discussion, insights and collaboration.

“Sermo fits in perfectly with our strategy to extend our digital footprint across healthcare market research and enhance our growing portfolio of innovative engagement solutions,” said Peter Kirk, CEO of WorldOne. “Sermo has proven that sustaining an active, engaged community can result in higher interest in and response to market research as well as new promotional opportunities. Combining Sermo’s technology and social media expertise with WorldOne’s global scale enables us to rapidly accelerate our growth while offering the most enriching, collaborative online environment for physicians anywhere in the world.”

So, how will this change this at Sermo?

Regulatory Considerations: The Pharmaceutical Industry and Physician Social Media

Upcoming Sermo Webclinic - Regulatory Issues and Physician Social Media

Join Sermo on July 27th for our webinar on navigating the regulatory environment of physician social media.

Regulatory Considerations: The Pharmaceutical Industry and Physician Social Media
When: July 27, 2011
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Hosted by Melissa Burke, this hour-long introductory discussion will provide you with practical solutions for meeting the regulatory requirements of physician social media.

Join me in these CME activities: "Medication Adherence: The Evolving Role of Technology"

I invite you to join me in this series of CME activities: "Medication Adherence: The Evolving Role of Technology"

• Video Roundtable 1: Electronic Health Records to Improve Medication Adherence
• Video Roundtable 2: Mobile Health and Digital Communication to Improve Medication Adherence
• 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 series will focus on:

• How EHR tools and functions can improve medication adherence
• How to use mobile and digital communication to promote medication adherence
• How social media can help you communicate and work with your patient population

We're also having a discussion on Sermo about the topic of "Medication Adherence and The Evolving Role of Technology." If you're a physician, please join us in that online discussion.

Developing a CME activity that discusses health IT, mobile health, and social media

Last Friday, I had the opportunity to record several videos with two phenomenal physicians: Enoch Choi, MD, and Mike Sevilla, MD. You probably already know them because they're very active in the world of social media:

Enoch Choi, MD
Twitter: @enochchoi


Mike Sevilla, MD
Twitter: @doctoranonymous

We're currently working on a series of certified CME/CE activities that will include discussions around health information technology, electronic health records, mobile health, and social media.

Stay tuned for more details.  Once these activities are released, we'll be discussing them on Sermo and I hope you'll join us for that dialogue. 

Join Sermo and win $5,000

What could you do with an extra $5,000? If you're a U.S. physician, join Sermo, the largest online physician-only community. Sermo is running a contest until December 21 and you might win $5,000 for joining!

Here's a portion of the "Promotion rules:"
The following are the rules governing the promotion:
1. Sermo has selected 5 physicians who are not currently members of Sermo as of December 2, 2010 to be “Dr. Sermo”.
2. Current Sermo members refer their colleagues to join Sermo.
3. If a Dr Sermo joins Sermo via a referral from an existing Sermo member, the Dr. Sermo and attributed Sermo member each receive $5,000.

Membership to Sermo is free, but you must be a U.S. physician. Click here to join Sermo.

Social Networks for Life Sciences

Dr. Daniel Palestrant, Sermo CEO and Founder, will be participating in a webinar to discuss how life sciences companies can leverage new social media tools to research physician perceptions and create awareness for drugs, new indications, or technologies.

The webinar includes original research that will help companies understand what works and what doesn't in social media. It will address key questions:

• How do social networks add value to life sciences companies: now and in the future?
• Do companies need their own social networks to gain value?
• When is it useful to use Facebook, Twitter or a special health care community?
• How is the industry currently using social networks and what do they plan to do?
• How do physicians want to engage with life sciences companies on social networks?

Who: Daniel Palestrant, CEO and Founder, Sermo; Terry Hisey, Vice Chairman and U.S. Life Sciences Leader, Deloitte Services LP; Chris Franck, Principal, Deloitte Consulting LLP
What: Deloitte Webinar about Social Networking in Life Sciences
When: Tuesday, December 14, 2010, 12:00 pm ET
Where: Webinar Event. Register Here

Which medical websites are physicians visiting?

What websites do physicians frequent? A company called comScore recently released some interesting data about professional medical websites. Here are some interesting stats from their report titled, "4 out of 5 U.S. Physicians Online Visited Health Care Professional Sites in Q1 2010":

% Reach of Physicians Online
Medscape.com 57.0%
NIH.gov 30.5%


Healthgrades.com 26.0%

Sermo.com 21.3%
NEJM.org 13.0%

I'm surprised they didn't list Wikipedia as an online website frequented by physicians. We know that many physicians are using Google to search for medical information and Wikipedia is often one of the top websites that appear on the search results.

Have you tried the new Sermo yet?

Have you tried the new Sermo? Do you think it's better? I'm getting more accustomed to the new interface, but I still miss some of the simplicity that I found in the old Sermo. I liked how the "jobs" tab was separate and how physicians could post jobs anonymously. I hope they'll bring some of those features back.

The new Sermo has some great features and I think it makes it much easier for people to follow discussions, post comments, and see multiple photos on a single discussion.

I don't think we've seen the end of the new Sermo, so I'm eager to see what else they have up their sleeve. My prediction: a mobile app or a mobile web version of Sermo. After all, the mobile web is growing so rapidly every year because so many people are purchasing smartphones. How often do you view a web page on your mobile web browser? 

The new Sermo is here!

Sermo just went through an upgrade and you'll find some new features that will make Sermo easier to use. The interface definitely looks different and I think you'll like what they've done, but you'll have to see for yourself.

New to Sermo?

Sermo is the largest online physician community in the US. It’s where practicing US physicians—spanning 68 specialties and all 50 states—collaborate on difficult cases and exchange observations about drugs, devices and clinical issues. And find potentially life-saving insights that have yet to be announced by conventional media sources.

To join, click here: Sermo

Sermo Top Docs and 1,000 Comments

If you haven't been on Sermo recently, you may not have noticed that some users now have a little "Top Doc" icon next to their username. Others have a "1,000" icon.  What do these Sermo badges signify? What do they mean?

Well, you can earn the Top Doc icon if you have more than 100 posts and over 1,000 comments on Sermo.
The "1,000" icon comes simply from posting over 1,000 comments on Sermo.

Who said that physicians were too busy for social media?  If you're a US physician and you haven't joined Sermo yet, you don't know what you're missing. Click here to join Sermo. It's free to join and you may actually enjoy interacting with other physicians on the Internet.

Why the AMA Wants to Muzzle Your Doctor

There's an editorial on the Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com) titled, "Why the AMA Wants to Muzzle Your Doctor." The editorial is written by Dr. Hal Scherz, a pediatric urological surgeon at Georgia Urology and Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, serves on the faculty of Emory University Medical School and is president and cofounder of Docs4PatientCare.

To read the editorial, visit the WSJ.com and let me know what you think. There are already over 200 comments and I wonder how many of those comments are from Sermo physicians, given that Sermo is currently featuring this story.

Why Physicians Oppose The Health Care Reform Bill

There's a commentary on Forbes.com titled, "Why Physicians Oppose The Health Care Reform Bill." Dr. Daniel Palestrant, Founder of Sermo, sums it up like this:

"Health care without active physician participation is no health care at all."

Do you agree? As some like to say, "We've given everyone a free bus pass, but there's only one bus for hundreds of people who need to travel somewhere." I guess waiting 6 months for a primary care visit is better than never having a visit. I guess it's also better than using the ER and then filing for bankruptcy because you can't pay your medical bill. I'm not sure that we're going to improve health unless we can come up with several new ideas to engage physicians in the reform movement.

Here's a compelling snippet from the article:

A recently released poll of more than 2,000 physicians, conducted by Athenahealth and Sermo, is alarming. The poll, part of a broader Physician Sentiment Index, indicates that 79% of physicians are less optimistic about medicine since the passage of health care reform. Fifty-three percent indicate they will consider opting out of insurance plans with passage of the bill. Worst of all, 66% indicate that they will consider opting out of all government-run programs. The same reform bill that will provide "care for all" may drive away more physician caregivers than attract previously uninsured patients. What a predicament that would be. 

To read the entire commentary, visit Forbes.com. 

Curbside consults on Sermo: get a 2nd opinion

Sermo is making it easier for physicians to get a second opinion as a curbside consult.  Sermo is dedicated to supporting physicians and improving patient outcomes whenever possible. There are many reasons you may want a 2nd opinion. Perhaps you don't have access to the appropriate specialist. 

Will you use Sermo to get answers to your challenging clinical cases? (so far, 100% of physicians have answered "yes")

My wife and I have both posted some interesting cases on Sermo and it's been a fascinating experience to get input from colleagues who are willing to share their opinions. If you're a physician, would you be willing to provide an informal consultation on Sermo?

iPractice (medical practice management tools and resources)

Are you looking for some practice management tools and resources? Sanofi-Aventis has created a website called iPractice.com and you may find some useful resources there. Here's a brief description of iPractice:

iPractice can be your eyes and ears, bringing you practical information that can help you with your practice. Looking to invest in new technology? Want to understand financial statements? Need dosage information? iPractice can help so you can stay focused on what matters most — the patient.

One of the interesting tools is the "EMR Investment Tool." They also have a "Productivity by RVUs" tool. In the Education Resources section, you'll see The New Business of Medicine Series that's being sponsored by Penn Medicine's CME department and Sermo.

To learn more, visit: https://www.ipractice.com

85% of Physicians Polled Believe Patient Care Improved Through Use of Sermo & Social Media

85% of Physicians Polled Believe Patient Care Improved Through Use of Sermo & Social Media

Cambridge, MA – April 14, 2010 — Sermo (http://www.sermo.com), the world’s largest online community for physicians, today announced its weekly hot topic. Over 400 physicians responded to a Sermo poll and discussion with first-hand experiences about how advice they’ve received from colleagues on Sermo has improved patient outcomes, and in some cases, even saved lives.

Through Sermo, physicians are able to collaborate with each other across specialties, times zones and state lines. One general surgeon immediately consulted colleagues on Sermo when a patient began screaming in pain after undergoing laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery. Two psychiatric colleagues quickly suggested a diagnosis of “Lyrica withhold syndrome.” After the physician explored this condition, he restarted Lyrica and “within two hours the patient was fine.” In fact, by consulting Sermo , the physician spared her patient a 2nd exploratory surgical procedure to find the source of pain.

Health Information Technology (HIT) to Support Patient-Centered Office Practices

There's a certified CME activity on Sermo titled, "Health Information Technology (HIT) to Support Patient-Centered Office Practices." This activity is a part of a series called the New Business of Medicine Series.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After participating in this session learners will be able to:
    * Review practical application of the evolving national policy regarding health IT adoption
    * Formulate a rationale for the adoption of health information technology that is appropriate for their own practices
    * Avoid some of the pitfalls inherent in the adoption of health information technology
    * Make IT adoption decisions which support patient-centered care

This activity is supported by an educational grant from sanofi-aventis.  To access the entire series, sign up for Sermo and then click on the "Education" tab. Here are the titles for the other series that have already been released:

• The Cash Only Practice: Reinventing an Old Practice Model
• Concierge Medicine: The Benefits and Drawbacks of Personal Health Care
• Health Information Technology (HIT) to Support Patient-Centered Office Practices

About the  New Business of Medicine Series:

The New Business of Medicine Series is an entire curriculum of CME-certified education in the area practice management. Stemming from identified gaps in practice management and related educational needs, the modules focus on how to improve practice with the ultimate goal of improving the delivery of care to patients. Interactive multimedia formats such as in-depth interviews, case studies and debates will be employed to bring this content into focus. Originally developed content from a multidisciplinary team of expert faculty -- physician practitioners and researchers with expertise in such areas as practice management, bioethics, billing and compliance is combined with data from actual practice experience to produce this unique curriculum.

Physicians on Sermo discussing retirement

There's a post on Sermo (Posting ID: 48982) that's by a medical specialist. This individual writes, "I am going to retire at the end of this year.  Nobody locally seems interested in taking over my practice.  It looks like I will probably just turn out the lights and lock the door on my last day..."

This discussion has generated over 73 comments!

I admire this individual's ambition to continue to serve the community through free clinics and volunteer work. Best of luck as you plan out your retirement! I'm sure you'll have more time for Sermo now, so I'm looking forward to reading your posts.

How many physicians have you referred to Sermo?

I don't get to spend too much time on Sermo because I'm so busy blogging. However, ever since I added the link to Sermo on my blogs, I've referred over a couple hundred of physicians! You can see how many physicians you referred by logging into your Sermo account and clicking on the "My Account" tab. Then, you can click on the "My Referrals" link on the lower left side of the screen and see how many physicians you've successfully referred to Sermo .

If you're a physician and you haven't joined Sermo yet, what are you waiting for?

Physician Sentiment Index℠ (PSI) by athenahealth and Sermo

Today, athenahealth and Sermo will publicly release the Physician Sentiment Index℠ (PSI). With over 1,000 physicians polled, the national survey is thought to be the largest of its kind.

In a nutshell, the findings were:

• 64% cited the current healthcare climate as somewhat or very detrimental to their delivery of quality care
• Only 22% are optimistic about the ability of the American physician to practice independently or in small groups
• 59% are of the mind that the quality of medicine in America will decline in next five years; only 18% believe the quality of medicine will improve 
• The majority (54%) strongly disagree/disagree that more active government involvement in healthcare regulation can improve outcomes; less than a quarter feel otherwise
• A shift from fee-for-service to pay-for-performance gives hope to almost half (49%) who think it will have a very/somewhat positive impact quality of care but;
  
  
  
  • 53 percent believe pay-for-performance will have a negative/very negative impact on the effort required to get paid

Surprised by the results? It should be interesting to see what the Sermo poll reveals now that the health care reform bill has passed. Click here for the complete results of the survey.