2011 AHLA Annual Meeting: How to Use Social Media with @BobCoffield

Welcome How to Use Social Media session students and others.

I hope you enjoyed my presentation during the afternoon health care social media sessions at the 2011 American Health Lawyers Association Annual Meeting in Boston. The health care social media sessions this afternoon were a great introduction to a variety of practical and legal issues surrounding the world of social media and its impact on the health care industry.

Now it is time for you to do your "out of the classroom" social media assignment using the SOCIAL MEDIA bucket list. Click on the linked Google Doc and get started. Good luck!

Below is a copy of the written materials from today's session which were posted here using Scribd. If you want to review my Prezi slides from my presentation watch it below and then go explore Prezi. 

If you have any questions send me a Tweet at @BobCoffield. Follow along with the tweets from the AHLA Annual Meeting at #AHLABoston. David Harlow (@HealthBlawg) also set up a Cover It Live Twitter feed for the Annual Meeting tweets. Thanks for attending the session.

How to Use Social by @BobCoffield (AHLA Annual Mtg 2011) on Prezi

How to Use Social Media (AHLA Annual Mtg - Coffield)

The Twitter Trap: Are we outsourcing our brains to the cloud?

The Twitter Trap by Bill Keller (@NYTKeller), Executive Editor of The New York Times captures many of the thoughts I have been having lately about the impact social media and technology is having on our society. Where does it end? What will be the future? How will it change us as humans? As a society? Like Mr. Keller, I have had similar feelings as I watch the impact on my 7 and 10 year old children.

Recently I have been preparing a presentation for the AHLA Annual Meeting at the end of June on the practical ways health lawyers can and should use social media. As a result I have tried to step back from the social media explosion to examine some of these issues, including the parallels between Mark Zuckerberg and Johannes Gutenberg referenced in Mr. Keller's piece.

I love this quote from Mr. Keller's article that helps visualize the innovation/disruption/impact cycle:

"My father, who was trained in engineering at M.I.T. in the slide-rule era, often lamented the way the pocket calculator, for all its convenience, diminished my generation’s math skills. Many of us have discovered that navigating by G.P.S. has undermined our mastery of city streets and perhaps even impaired our innate sense of direction. Typing pretty much killed penmanship. Twitter and YouTube are nibbling away at our attention spans. And what little memory we had not already surrendered to Gutenberg we have relinquished to Google. Why remember what you can look up in seconds?"

I also like his explanation of Twitter as a tool, "So let me be clear that Twitter is a brilliant device — a megaphone for promotion, a seine for information, a helpful organizing tool for everything from dog-lover meet-ups to revolutions."

His question around whether these new social media instruments are genuinely social is a good one. It is hard to see the answer to this when you are sitting in the midst of the social media cloud. One question that he doesn't address is how the collection of all this "collective social media data" about you and me will be used in the future. Is Facebook just one big social experiment. It now knows more about my family and friends than I can probably remember.

Take time away from your Twitter and Facebook posts, go read the article, and then sit back and take some quiet time to reflect on his message. I will leave you with this quote from Mr. Keller's article:

"The things we may be unlearning, tweet by tweet — complexity, acuity, patience, wisdom, intimacy — are things that matter."

Thanks to Jason Keeling (@JasonKeeling) for pointing out this insightful piece that was published back in print on May 22, 2011.

AMA Issues New Policy To Guide Physicians’ Use of Social Media

Today the American Medical Association announced that it has adopted and issued a new policy offering guidance to physicians on the use of social media. The new policy focuses on helping physicians to "maintain a positive online presence and preserve the integrity of the patient-physician relationship."

The press release indicates that the policy encourages physicians to:

• Use privacy settings to safeguard personal information and content to the fullest extent possible on social networking sites.
• Routinely monitor their own Internet presence to ensure that the personal and professional information on their own sites and content posted about them by others, is accurate and appropriate.
• Maintain appropriate boundaries of the patient-physician relationship when interacting with patients online and ensure patient privacy and confidentiality is maintained.
• Consider separating personal and professional content online.
• Recognize that actions online and content posted can negatively affect their reputations among patients and colleagues, and may even have consequences for their medical careers.

UPDATE (11/10/10): Below is a copy of the complete AMA Policy on Professionalism in the Use of Social Media that Jane Sarasohn-Kahn obtained from Katherine Hatwell, AMA Media Relations.

AMA POLICY: PROFESSIONALISM IN THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

The Internet has created the ability for medical students and physicians to communicate and share information quickly and to reach millions of people easily. Participating in social networking and other similar Internet opportunities can support physicians’ personal expression, enable individual physicians to have a professional presence online, foster collegiality and camaraderie within the profession, provide opportunity to widely disseminate public health messages and other health communication. Social networks, blogs, and other forms of communication online also create new challenges to the patient-physician relationship. Physicians should weigh a number of considerations when maintaining a presence online:

(a) Physicians should be cognizant of standards of patient privacy and confidentiality that must be maintained in all environments, including online, and must refrain from posting identifiable patient information online.

(b) When using the Internet for social networking, physicians should use privacy settings to safeguard personal information and content to the extent possible, but should realize that privacy settings are not absolute and that once on the Internet, content is likely there permanently. Thus, physicians should routinely monitor their own Internet presence to ensure that the personal and professional information on their own sites and, to the extent possible, content posted about them by others, is accurate and appropriate.

(c) If they interact with patients on the Internet, physicians must maintain appropriate boundaries of the patient-physician relationship in accordance with professional ethical guidelines just, as they would in any other context.

(d) To maintain appropriate professional boundaries physicians should consider separating personal and professional content online.

(e) When physicians see content posted by colleagues that appears unprofessional they have a responsibility to bring that content to the attention of the individual, so that he or she can remove it and/or take other appropriate actions. If the behavior significantly violates professional norms and the individual does not take appropriate action to resolve the situation, the physician should report the matter to appropriate authorities.

(f) Physicians must recognize that actions online and content posted may negatively affect their reputations among patients and colleagues, may have consequences for their medical careers (particularly for physicians-in-training and medical students), and can undermine public trust in the medical profession.

NLRB: Employees Protected Concerted Activity Extends to Faceboook and Social Media

Out of Connecticut comes an interesting case involving the use of social media in the workplace and its collision with employee protected concerted activity and employee freedom to associate without fear of employer retaliation under the National Labor Relations Act. The New York Times article, Company Accused of Firing Over Facebook Post, provides good background and details of the facts involved in the case.

American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc. and International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Local 443, Case No. 34-CA-12576 (NRLB - Region 34), involves a complaint filed against American Medical Response for firing an emergency medical technician for among other things violating the company's policy of negatively depicting the company on Facebook or other social media sites. American Medical Response had denied the labor board's allegations and claims that the employee was discharged on various other grounds. The complaint contains the full language of the employer social media policies involved in the matter.

For those unfamiliar with the National Labor Relations Act, "protected concerted activity" is an employee right under the National Labor Relations Act that protects employees from employer retaliation for discussing working conditions. The National Labor Relations Act provides employees the right to associate together to improve working conditions, self organize, assist labor organizations and bargain collectively. The Act applies to activities by union and non-union employees.

This will be a fascinating case to watch to see how the new world of social media communication, connection, and association will be applied in the context of existing employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act. Similar protections may also be provided to employees who report issues to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Employers who have implemented social media policies that restrict the rights of employees to utilize social media tools and website should review their policies to assess whether or not the policy unnecessarily restricts the rights of employees to associate and discuss their rights to discuss union related issues, wages, working conditions, and other rights protected by the Act.

Educating Physicians About Social Media

Great insight and advice from Bryan Vartabedian, M.D., the author of 33 Charts on "How to Speak to Physicians About Social Media."

Dr. V was responding to a request from Susannah Fox, Associate Director - Digital Strategy at Pew Internet & American Life Project, who will be speaking on a panel at the American College of Surgeons 96th Annual Clinical Congress next month. The session title is To Tweet or Become Extinct?: Why Surgeons Need to Understand Social Networking.

As someone who regularly speaks to groups of physicians I enjoy the opportunity every time (as long as I start off by saying I'm a health care defense attorney). As a group they are always engaging and inquisitive which leads to great discussions. As Dr. V points out the legal aspects and concerns over privacy and liability will be a topic not far below the surface. Like lawyers surgeons are trained to be skeptical technicians. I see that there is a lawyer, Rebekah A. Z. Monson, who is on the panel to cover the dos and don'ts. However, I hope you (Susannah) will weave into the legal discussion the consumer health and e-patient issues that often clash with the legal implications. Don't let the legal issues stand alone.

Dr. V's advice of ". . . discussion of patient-specific issues in public forums is off limits; discussion of patient non-specific issues is encouraged. Any attempt at patient-initiated discussion of specific medical issues immediately goes offline and onto the EMR for issues of record, liability and safety . . ." is excellent. I also like Dr. V's ethical dilemma recommendation for a possible case study approach during the discussion. One example you may want to explore using to address the clash between physician as authoritarian (transparency issue that Dr. V discusses) vs. patient as engaged consumer (e-patient) is the story of Johathan Zittrain's crowdsourcing his diagnosis. His story presents many great angles on social media's use in the health care environment by e-patients.

As for the legal implications of social media if you want to bone up on the topic take a look at the article I co-authored for AHLA earlier this year on the legal implications of health care social media, Risky Business: Treating Tweeting the Symptoms of Social Media.

Good luck Susannah and break a leg (no worries - there will be plenty of docs around to take care of you)!

Reversal of Conviction Because Undisclosed MySpace Friendship Between Defendant and Juror

Brian Peterson posts on a fascinating West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals decision involving the use of social media between a juror and defendant and the issue of disclosure of such connections during voir dire.

In State v. Dellinger, No 3573 (W.Va. Supr. Ct. June 3, 2010) (PDF version) the West Virginia Supreme Court reversed a felony conviction of a Braxton County Sheriff due to a juror's "complete lack of candor" during voir dire. The juror and defendant were MySpace friends, but hardly knew each other. The Court found that the juror should have disclosed the relationship.

The Court describes the juror misconduct as follows:

At the direction of the trial judge, an investigation into alleged juror misconduct was conducted concerning Juror Amber Hyre. During the course of the investigation and at the June 11, 2008, hearing, it was learned that on February 7, 2008, approximately one week before Appellant's trial began, Juror Hyre sent a message to Appellant on “www.MySpace.com,” a social networking website. In that message, Juror Hyre, known as “Amber,” wrote to Appellant:

Hey, I dont know you very well But I think you could use some advice! I havent been in your shoes for a long time but I can tell ya that God has a plan for you and your life. You might not understand why you are hurting right now but when you look back on it, it will make perfect sence. I know it is hard but just remember that God is perfect and has the most perfect plan for your life. Talk soon!

According to Juror Hyre, after she sent this message to Appellant, the two became MySpace “friends,” which allowed Appellant to view postings on Juror Hyre's MySpace page and vice versa.

At the end of the decision, the Court in footnote 11 highlights the need for lawyers and judges to instruct jurors of their responsibility and provides a cautionary note to them about using technology during the trial process and deliberation. The Court provides a link to the model jury instruction developed by the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the Judicial Conference of the United States. I previously blogged about this Model Jury Instruction here.

The footnote reads:

As noted above, Juror Hyre posted a message on her MySpace page during the course of the trial in which she wrote, “Amber Just got home from Court and getting ready to get James and Head to church! Then back to court in the morning!” Next to “mood,” she wrote the word “blah.” The trial court found that Juror Hyre “did not state which trial she was hearing or any facts or opinions about the trial.” Though this Court does not condone any communication about a case by a sitting juror, we agree with the trial court's apparent finding that Juror Hyre's posting was benign in nature. We believe that, standing alone, it was not sufficient to find that she engaged in juror misconduct. However, we also believe some cautionary words are warranted concerning the prominent presence of the internet and routine use of and dependence upon various technologies by everyday Americans called to jury service. In an effort to preclude jurors from using cell phones, computers and social media websites such as MySpace, the Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the Judicial Conference of the United States has endorsed a model jury instruction for federal district court judges to help deter jurors from using such technology for improper purposes (such as communicating about their case or conducting their own research). [Rules for Jurors: No Talking, Texting, Tweeting,] The National Law Journal, February 9, 2010, available at http//www.law.com/jsp/law technologynews/PubArticleLTN.jsp?id=1202442983764. For example, the jury instruction to be given before trial cautions, inter alia:
I know that many of you use cell phones, Blackberries, the internet and other tools of technology. You also must not talk to anyone about this case or use these tools to communicate electronically with anyone about the case. . . .You may not communicate with anyone about the case on your cell phone, through e-mail, Blackberry, iPhone, text messaging, or on Twitter, through any blog or website, through any internet chat room, or by way of any other social networking websites, including Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn, and YouTube.”

The jury instruction to be given at the close of the case similarly provides:
During your deliberations, you must not communicate with or provide any information to anyone by any means about this case. You may not use any electronic device or media, such as a telephone, cell phone, smart phone, iPhone, Blackberry or computer; the internet, any internet service, or any text or instant messaging service; or any internet chat room, blog, or website such as FaceBook, MySpace, LinkedIn, YouTube or Twitter, to communicate to anyone any information about this case or to conduct any research about this case until I accept your verdict.

We note that, presently, there are no similar uniform standards for jurors in state trials. Id.

Lesson: If you are called for jury duty be sure to review all your MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. contacts to make sure you have no connection to the parties in the matter. The case also highlights that technology has allowed all of us to develop new (more extended, not necessarily deeper) relationships with people that we don't really consider part of our "in person" social circle.The case also points out that jurors need to "go off the grid" during trial and deliberation process.

To get the full context of what occurred I recommend reading the full decision. Also, jump over to Brian's blog post to read more of his comments on the decision. I agree with his conclusion, "It's clear that voir dire and jury instructions need to catch up with technology."

UPDATE (6/15/10): Eric Goldman at the Technology & Marketing Blog and Molly DiBianca at Going Paperless provides additional analysis and thoughts on the decision.

UPDATE (6/18/2010): Ry Rivard at the Charleston Daily Mail covers the decision in his story, Web stirs problems in jury selection.

AHLA Teleconference: The Intersection of Social Media and Human Subjects Research

On May 4, 2010, I will be participating in a teleconference on The Intersection of Social Media and Human Subjects Research. The teleconference is co-sponsored by the American Health Lawyers Association Health Information Technology, Life Sciences and Teaching Hospitals and Academic Medical Centers Practice Groups.

The moderator for the teleconference will be Karl A. Thallner, Jr., Esquire, Partner, Reed Smith LLP, in Philadelphia, PA. The other panel presenters will be:

Naomi Halpern, Esquire
Partner
Frommer Lawrence & Haug, Washington, DC

Laura Odwazny, Esquire
Senior Attorney, Public Health Division
Office for Human Research Protections
Office of the General Counsel
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Rockville, MD

More information, including a description of the program and how to register, is available through the AHLA website.

AHLA Connections: Legal Implications of Health Care Social Media

The current issue of the American Health Lawyers Association's Connections magazine features an article I co-authored with fellow AHLA health lawyer, Jody Joiner, on the impact of social media use in health care.

The article, Risky Business: Treating Tweeting the Symptoms of Social Media (PDF version), is featured in the March 2010 issue of AHLA Connections (Vol.14, No. 3, March 2010), a health lawyer magazine for the health and life sciences law community.

We provide background context on the use of social media tools by health care providers, address why we think health lawyers need to understand social media, and explore some of the legal implications as social media and the law intersect. The article ends with practical guidance to health care providers and organizations on implementing policies emphasizing the appropriate use of social media.

You can peruse the complete digital edition of the March 2010 AHLA Connections (Vol. 14, No. 3, March 2010). AHLA members should also check out the article in this issue on the recently launch Health Law Wiki. Great to see AHLA adding a wiki resource for members to share their expertise and experience in the complex and ever changing health care legal and regulatory world.

Special thanks to the AHLA Connections staff for allowing Jody and I the opportunity to write the article and for their great editorial assistance.

Lesson for Hospitals and Health Care Providers: Photos of Shark Bite Victim

Martin Memorial too mum: Hospital staff violated privacy of shark victim, an article from the Palm Beach Post. The article highlights the impact ubiquitous mobile devices with cameras are having on our society and the potential liability risks associated with the use/misuse of these devices by health care employees.

The article indicates that various hospital employees took photos of a shark bite victim when he arrived in the emergency room. The article discusses the action taken by the hospital in response to the incident. Another article indicates that the photos were emailed to others.

This type of situation is a nightmare for hospital administration, the privacy officer and legal counsel. The effort and investigation that likely went into figuring out who took photos, where those photos went and the procedure for recapturing/removing the photos from the various sources was time consuming and expensive (both in $$ and reputation) for the hospital.

As such, this incident provides a good example for training and reeducating health care employees on patient privacy issues. Health care employees and professionals must always remember to start from a framework of protecting the health and privacy of their patients. As the use of mobile devices with cameras and social media tools becomes more ingrained in our every day lives -- the ability for private information to be captured, transferred and spread in a viral fashion has become much easier. Caution must be used and this case highlights the importance of retraining staff and highlighting the importance of protecting your patient's privacy.

AHLA Hospital's Friend or Foe: The Age of Social Media and Health 2.0

Today Jody Joiner and I presented at the AHLA Hospitals and Health Systems Institute on the use of social media by hospitals and health care providers. We provided an overview of social media use by hospitals and health care providers, discussed the pros/cons of using social media in the health care environment, presented case studies of the risks and legal implications and did a short role play involving tweets in the context of a medical negligence case. We also provided those attending with recommendations on developing social media guidelines and policies.

To show the speed and ease of using social media tools to spread information, news and photos we we did some live shots during the presentations using an iPhone that were then loaded up to my blog, Twitter and Facebook. We then pulled up the posts and tweets at the end of our hour presentation.

Great audience with great follow up questions. Thanks go out to Mark Browne (@ConsultDoc) and Peter Leibold (@HealthLawyers) for live tweeting during the session.

Model Jury Instruction: Warning Jurors on Use of Electronic Technology and Social Media

The Committee on Court Administration and Case Management of the Judicial Conference of the United States has issued a memo regarding Juror Use of Electronic Communication Technologies.

At its December 2009 meeting, the Judicial Conference Committee endorsed a set of suggested jury instructions that federal district judges should consider using to help deter jurors from using electronic technologies to research or communicate about cases while they serve as jurors. The recommended instructions were developed as a result of the increased use of web enabled mobile phones and devices that can be used to research information and communicated in a variety of ways, including email, social media, etc.

The Proposed Model Jury Instruction reads as follows:

Proposed Model Jury Instructions

The Use of Electronic Technology to Conduct Research on or Communicate about a Case Prepared by the Judicial Conference Committee on Court Administration and Case Management

December 2009

Before Trial:
You, as jurors, must decide this case based solely on the evidence presented here within the four walls of this courtroom. This means that during the trial you must not conduct any independent research about this case, the matters in the case, and the individuals or corporations involved in the case. In other words, you should not consult dictionaries or reference materials, search the internet, websites, blogs, or use any other electronic tools to obtain information about this case or to help you decide the case. Please do not try to find out information from any source outside the confines of this courtroom.

Until you retire to deliberate, you may not discuss this case with anyone, even your fellow jurors. After you retire to deliberate, you may begin discussing the case with your fellow jurors, but you cannot discuss the case with anyone else until you have returned a verdict and the case is at an end. I hope that for all of you this case is interesting and noteworthy. I know that many of you use cell phones, Blackberries, the internet and other tools of technology. You also must not talk to anyone about this case or use these tools to communicate electronically with anyone about the case. This includes your family and friends. You may not communicate with anyone about the case on your cell phone, through e-mail, Blackberry, iPhone, text messaging, or on Twitter, through any blog or website, through any internet chat room, or by way of any other social networking websites, including Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, and YouTube.

At the Close of the Case:
During your deliberations, you must not communicate with or provide any information to anyone by any means about this case. You may not use any electronic device or media, such as a telephone, cell phone, smart phone, iPhone, Blackberry or computer; the internet, any internet service, or any text or instant messaging service; or any internet chat room, blog, or website such as Facebook, My Space, LinkedIn, YouTube or Twitter, to communicate to anyone any information about this case or to conduct any research about this case until I accept your verdict.

FTC Exploring Privacy: Rountable Series

Over the next couple of months the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) will be hosting the Exploring Privacy: A Roundtable Services.

The roundtable discussions are day-long public roundtable discussions to explore the privacy challenges posed by the vast array of 21st century technology and business practices that collect and use consumer data.

The FTC indicates that the "roundtable discussions will cover topics including social networking, cloud computing, online behavioral advertising, mobile marketing, and the collection and use of information by retailers, data brokers, third-party applications, and other diverse businesses. The goal of the roundtables is to determine how best to protect consumer privacy while supporting beneficial uses of the information and technological innovation."

More information can be obtained on the FTC's Exploring Privacy website, including the dates and locations of the upcoming roundtable events in Berkeley, CA and Washington, DC, submitted public comments and other information.

The first roundtable was held this week in Washington, DC. Details of the event are available on the website including two interesting charts -- Data flow chart (personal data ecosystem) and Data flow charts (medical, social networking, mobile, behavioral advertising, and retail loyalty card).

AHLA Annual Meeting 2009: PHRs, Health 2.0 and the Impact of Social Media on Health Care

Today I am giving a presentation with Jud DeLoss on the topic of "PHRs, Health 2.0 and the Impact of Social Media on Health Care" at the American Health Lawyers Association 2009 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC.

As a part of the presentation we are sharing the slides from the presentation with the attendees via SlideShare. Below is a copy of the slide deck from the presentation.

PHRs, Health 2.0 and the Impact of Social Media on Health Care

View more documents from Bob Coffield.

Hospitals: The State of Social Media Use

Ed Bennett at Found In Cache does a wonderful job of giving us a statistical glimpse of the increasing (skyrocketing) use of social media tools (YouTube, Facebook and Twitter) by hospitals across the country.

His post, "Hospital Socia Media Stats," gives some interesting statistics into the adoption and growth of social media. To the right is a chart that he includes in the post. Check out the link for more interesting information.

For those of you who might not already know - a few months ago Ed started a tracking chart showing the adoption of social media by hospitals.

Health Affairs: Take Two Aspirin and Tweet Me . . .

The March/April 2009 Issue of Health Affairs concentrates on the topic of Stimulating Health Information Technology. Although I am not a subscriber to Health Affairs the issue looks to have some great articles on health information technology and the current changes in the field.

Included in the issues is a report from the field article by Carleen Hawn titled, Take Two Aspirin And Tweet Me In The Morning: How Twitter, Facebook, And Other Social Media Are Reshaping Health Care (pdf version). I had the opportunity to talk with Carleen about some of the interesting legal issues that are starting to appear as a result of the intersection of social media and health care. I was pleasantly surprised to see that she used some of our discussion in the article.

The article focuses on a number of health professionals who are on the cutting edge of integrating social media and health 2.0 type concepts into their health care practice and thinking about how social media can have a positive impact on traditional health care industry models.

Like others, I found it ironic when Health Affairs first issued the article online that they only made it available behind the firewall (subscription based). An article on social media, openness, transparency, etc. and yet hid it in an old world way. Well, it appears that the editor of Health Affairs does listen to the wisdom of the health crowd because a note is now listed below the article stating "EDITOR'S CHOICE - FREE ACCESS." Thanks to the Health Affairs staff for recognizing the value of providing free access to the article.

If you are interested in the article you might find interesting what others are saying about the article -- including e-Patient Dave, Jay Parkinson, MD, Ted Eytan, MD and others.

U.S. Hospitals: Using Facebook, YouTube and Twitter

Great post listing the U.S. Hospitals using social networking tools like YouTube, Facebook and Twitter. Check out the complete list of 150 hospitals and a related FAQ about the Hospital Social Networking List at Found In Cache: Notes from a Hospital Web Manager authored by Ed Bennett.

Thanks to @schwen for pointing out the list.

Medical Uses of Twitter: Twitter Consult

Two case studies pointing out additional medical uses for Twitter from Jennifer Texada at How to Go Web 2.0.

Her post, Health 2.0 Makes it to Twitter, discusses two separate cases. The first involved the use of Twitter by medical professionals seeking real time advice with a diagnosis. Call it a "Twitter Consult." The second involved a researcher looking for exercise study participants who were endometrial cancer survivors.

Sermo Physicians Launch Doctors Unite Campaign

Can online social networking by health care professionals be the catalysts for group action and change in the health care industry?

Fellow friend and health blogger,Fard Johnmar,at Healthcare Vox explores this question and more in his post, "Sermo Docs Launch An Online Health Reform Movement: Will It Matter?". A current effort social networking campaign lead by the physicians who participate in the physician-only social network Sermo (think Facebook for doctors).

The online effort - called "Doctors Unite" is an open letter to Americans to highlight the challenges physicians face in delivering appropriate patient care and targets three industry groups: insurance companies, government and malpractice attorneys. The counter currently shows over 5,200 signatures by Sermo physicians. You can click on the tabs "Our Story" and "Why Sermo" for more of the back story on the effort. Also check out the Sermo press release.

This effort will be interesting for those involved in the health care industry to watch develop. Will this be the grassroots social networking effort that drives change from the bottom up?

California HealthCare Foundation: Social Media's Impact on Health Care

The California HealthCare Foundation has issued a new report, The Wisdom of Patients" Health Care Meets Online Social Media, authored by Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, a health economist, management consultant and fellow health care blogger at Health Populi.

The report covers a lot of territory and provides a great overview of the quickly evolving and developing health care social media and health 2.0 movement. The report highlights how health care consumers are becoming empowered by social media and the overall impact the live web is having on patients, providers, insurers, etc.

Online health care is moving from one based on "health information retrieval" to patients and providers generating and sharing content online. This growing online collaboration is leading to unique approaches to care and a larger value proposition of harnessing the collective wisdom for other purposes including -- coordination of care, clinical insight, higher quality, prevention, etc. In the end, this may even lead to more cost efficient care.

A special thanks to Jane for interviewing me and acknowledging me in the report for my insight on some of the health care legal implications .

To borrow a quote from Secretary Leavitt courtesy of Fred Fortin who I have been following as he micro-blog via Twitter at the World Health Care Conference, "pong and Wii. We are just leaving the pong era in health care . . . "

For more on the new report check out CHCF's Press Release and a summary of the report (download full report).

HealthDot Interview: Health Care Blogging and Social Media

Earlier this month I attended and spoke on a panel addressing some of the legal implications for health care bloggers at the 2007 Health Care Blogging Summit.

During one of the breaks I had the opportunity with a couple of my health blogging colleagues, Enoch Choi, M.D. who blogs at MedHelp.org and medmusings and and Fard Johnmar of Envision Solutions blogging at Envision 2.0 and Healthcare Vox, to do an impromptu interview with Scribe Media who was capturing video content at the event.

We had some great discussion on the issues resulting from the growing use of blogging and social media by health care professionals and its potential impact on the health care industry.