Sunday, July 31, 2016

Price Your Own Healthcare: The K-Put Price-Is-Rite Stamp Gun

source: snl.jt.org
This morning, an article caught my eye: ZendyHealth doubles down on patient consumerism with Pick-Your-Price feature.  Name my own price for healthcare services?!  Sign me up!

How many times have you been shocked by the amount you owe after what you thought was a simple, quick office visit? Ever wonder why you pay so much in medical premiums each month only to have to pay even more than that monthly premium after a 10 minute procedure at your doctor’s office? Well there is a solution!


Note: The following adapted from one of my favorite Saturday Night Live skits.


Price Your Own Healthcare


[FADE IN on a woman standing in a doctor’s office at the discharge counter. She’s handed the statement from her office visit, looks at the amount due on the statement in dismay, and then frowns widely.]

Announcer: High cost of healthcare getting you down? Then get down on high healthcare prices with the new Price-Is-Rite Stamp Gun from K-Put!

[Just after she holds out her hands in resignation, a yellow Stamp Gun with a long roll of paper magically appears in her right hand. Sprightly, happy strings start playing in the background, like an old promotional film. She looks down at the Stamp Gun with wonder.]

Announcer: Simply snap in a K-Put price tag roll, adjust the fingertip control price dial, aim your Price-Is-Rite stamp gun over the Amount Due marking, pull the trigger, and presto! Look at this! An extended office visit (CPT 99215) for only 3 cents!

[The woman is seen setting up the Stamp Gun, then aiming it at a medical invoice. CUT to the LED of a credit card machine showing $000.03. CUT to the woman cradling her Stamp Gun and smiling slyly.]

Announcer: A new left knee for just 8 cents!

[The woman, in a wheelchair exiting a hospital, aims the stamp gun at a large stack of billing forms and the credit card machine rings up $000.08. The woman cradles her Stamp Gun and smiles in exactly the same way, then CUT to her being rolled into a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon’s office as if on a free shopping spree.]

Announcer: Save thousands of dollars! Cover your entire family for just pennies a day! Help your friends get ridiculously cheap healthcare --it’s fun and easy!

[FADE to the lady standing in the checkout lane at Walgreen’s getting two coins in change from a cashier. The cashier then yanks a three-foot-long receipt out of the register and drops it in her hand.]

Announcer: One trip to the drug store, and your K-Put Stamp Gun will pay for itself!

[CUT to the happy shopper displaying the Stamp Gun in one hand and two coins in the other. She smiles and winks at the camera.]

Announcer: Get all the healthcare you’ve ever wanted! There’s no better way to stretch your healthcare dollars!

[CUT to graphic of the Stamp Gun with the price flashing next to it.]

Announcer: K-Put’s Price-Is-Rite Stamp Gun. A steal at only $49.95 while they last. That’s $49.95...

[CUT to a slide of the mailing address.]

Announcer: To K-Put Price-Is-Rite Stamp Gun, Department 8, Shopping Mall, New Jersey. Void where prohibited by law.

[FADE to black]
= = =
The above adopted from the Saturday Night Live transcript shown here. You didn't think I could come up with this on my own did you? :)

Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Invert the #HIT100 List! Help Turn Health IT Upside Down!


Note: Survey is closed. Thanks to those who participated.

If you were nominated to the #HIT100 - even with one vote - would you mind checking out this survey and perhaps completing it?

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/35SXGGL


Background Info

Over the last week, the results of the #HIT100 have been published: The Complete Top 100, Top 5, Top 6 - 10 and Top 11 - 25. There have been other results: 'official' or 'unofficial' as I and others have shared here, here, here and here.

While there’s been a bit of controversy about the value of the list, the way some nominees gained entry to the list and the transparency of HIT100 nominations – some of which I'm proud to say that I created – I’d like to clearly agree that the #HIT100 event is a great way to identify and benefit from those who generate, curate, share and/or otherwise participate in the use of information technology in the healthcare space.

And to be sure, there are many great sources to be found among the Top 100. They're all 'good resources.' And there are also similar greatness among the other 600+ nominees not ranked in the Top 100. To help identify these greats, I've created a survey that I’d like all those nominated in the #HIT100 event to complete.

Based on the results of this survey, I'll generate and share general information statistics and profile some specific individuals

Thanks! Steve S

P. S. As much as it pains me to say this: I'm glad @theEHRGuy - aka. Michael Planchart - conceived of this event six years ago. (God that hurts!)

Thursday, July 14, 2016

How do Healthcare CEO's Use Social Media? Part 2

source: wearesocial.com
On Wed, 7/13/16, the Cambia Grove hosted a Leadership Focus Event: Social Media for Busy Execs where a panel of healthcare CEO’s discussed what they're doing on social media, and the tactics they use to engage consumers and peers alike.

In this previous post I shared some of what I was able to absorb from the panel. This post rounds out my gleanings.

Note: To be sure I didn't capture all the great information shared shared by these Healthcare CEO’s. If you want more, I suggest reviewing the video published by Cambia Grove. (updated 7/28/16)


How do you detach and decompress from social media?

Don: I try not to worry about decompressing away from technology. I get more nervous or anxious when I’m not connected to my smartphone or PC.

Dave: During exercise, on elevators, social media is sort of a quasi-meditation in itself. I try not to be the loser who checks out his social media when he’s with his kids. 

Note: Jennifer Lawrence-Hanscom exited the panel prior to questions from the audience

Questions from the Audience

What do you recommend as a social media outlet (best tool) for scientific people who can't convey their information in 140 characters?

Don: Look at the type of people you want to target and choose a tool that will enable you to reach them. It may be a specific organization or person directly and not need a tool. You may even just call them – that’s still social.

Dave: Use tools to find the people/groups in the tribe that best meets your needs. LinkedIn allows sharing at length. Use Twitter to point to more detailed info presented elsewhere.

Do you put any thought into segmenting your audience?

Don: I think about where a person or company best fits: professional vs. personal and what specific channel

Don: Different channel/tool has different targets and levels of reach – might be more global/general or more specific. Sometimes I will post to a specific LinkedIn group


How do you sync up with company-wide editorial calendar?

Don: I’m aware of editorial calendar and potential significant announcements. Need to be aware of what’s ok and what’s not ok to share. Try to avoid getting ahead of something. I track and be aware of what else is going on.

Marc Benioff (@Benioff) of Salesforce and John Legere (@JohnLegere) of T Mobile are LOUD people – why doesn’t someone of their personality exist in the healthcare space? Do you know anyone? Trying to emulate?

Don: I look at key social media figures and consider my own personality and that of the organization. You can leverage/use select pieces of another successful social media persona but can’t copy them outright or you may seem inauthentic.

Don: You can lift/copy portions of someone else’s Social Media personality – but you really have to be yourself. They're (Benioff & Legere) being provocative with their social media presence and we're not trying to be that way at Cambia

Dave: Healthcare is a pretty polite and risk-averse industry. Jonathan Bush (CEO of AthenaHealth) will likely be the Marc Benioff or John Legere type person 

How do you remain authentic on social media?

Dave: Give before you ask for something. Be humble enough to know that you can learn from other people. Make a deposit in the bank of karma before you make a withdrawal. 

Dave: I used to be much more compartmentalized between my personal and work lives on social media. But work gets pulled into personal and vice versa. These norms are shifting. Need to challenge the status quo. You can be provocative without being loud and dropping F bombs. 

Don: To be authentically engaging, you must consider the content you’re sharing. Is there a competitor referenced – in either a bad or good way? Does it feel right? 

Bonus Tips (Via @ehelm)
1. Listen for themes or FAQs related to your industry and determine where you can add value.

2. Schedule posts using social media management tools. Also schedule time to engage/respond.

3. Use social media to keep up with news and what people are talking about.

4. Engage with customers, peers, media, and policy makers.

5. Don't get too comfortable with any social tool or platform. Things change quickly.

6. Social media takes practice. Start with a plan and learn/adapt as you go.

7. Put up a profile photo. Or as @DonAntonucci put it, "Don't be an egg." 

For more information and insight into the business of healthcare data, technology and services; particularly in the realm of social media, consider following me on Twitter.

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

How do Healthcare CEO's Use Social Media? Part 1

source: digitaleyemedia.com
Today, the Cambia Grove hosted a Leadership Focus Event: Social Media for Busy Execs where a panel of healthcare CEO’s discussed what they're doing on social media, and the tactics they use to engage consumers and peers alike. The event was live-streamed on YouTube. Here's the recording
CEO Panelists


Don Antonucci (@DonAntonucci

  - President, Regence BlueShield of Washington

Dave Chase (@chasedave)
  - Managing Partner, hf Quad Aim Fund

Jennifer Lawrence-Hanscom (@WSMA_CEO
  - CEO, Washington State Medical Association

What did these CEO's Share?


Questions like the following were posed by moderator Jeremy Solly (@jsolly) to the CEO panelists: 

1. What value motivated you to start using social media?
2. How are CEO’s using social media?

3. What social media channels are you active on?

Here’s some information I gleaned from the healthcare CEO’s speaking at the event. To be sure, I took notes fast and furiously so I apologize in advance if I’ve misquoted or misinterpreted anything. I understand a recording of the event will be available on Cambia Grove’s YouTube Channel at a future date.

Introduction

To warm up the crowd: Jeremy Solly shared some information about use of social media in the healthcare space. Solly shared some information and stats from a report by communications marketing firm Edelman titled Trust and the CEO.
  • Why do CEO’s participate in social media? To build trust. 
  • Only 51% of people think the healthcare industry is trustworthy. Even less think healthcare CEO’s are trustworthy. 
  • Social media platforms are where consumers are active and as healthcare continues to move to a more consumer-focused business, social media is where CEO's and others need to be. 
  • CEO’s build trust by communicating with employees and sharing information to the public via social media channels. 
  • Among Fortune 500 CEO’s, about 39% have a Social Media presence - up 7% since 2014 
  • LinkedIn is the gateway drug – where many CEO’s start their social medial presence. Most then move on to Twitter (professional) and Facebook (personal). 
  • Interesting trend: Only 2% are active on their own YouTube channel but but 41% are frequently highlighted in their company YouTube channel. 
  • 57% of the public want CEO’s to share their views on Social Media to build trust 
And Here We Go!

What are social media channels that you have a presence on?

Dave: Twitter (by far). LinkedIn, a tiny bit of YouTube, Snapchat, and Instagram. Use’s Facebook for personal presence.

Jennifer: Professional: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook. Personal: Snapchat (to keep in touch/track of her three sons)

Don: Mostly Twitter. LinkedIn (95% professional) and Facebook (80% personal).


What was the first social media channel you joined?

Don: LinkedIn

Jennifer: Facebook for personal connections. But she gave up on Facebook after all the high school connections came out - a common refrain from all panelists. (and I can personally attest a reason I don’t use Facebook either)

Dave: Blogging was my first social media adventure. (Circa 2000: Dave's first post described how a ‘start-up’ effort at Microsoft went from scrappy & agile to bureaucratic.) Dave then got on LinkedIn in 2007, then Facebook and now is most active on Twitter.


What value did you see that got you motivated to use Social Media?

Jennifer: To have a real-time conversation with a variety of different audiences in a space people are gravitating too. Wanted a mechanism for getting content to people instead of a newsletter. A means to take info to others in a real-time manner. To stay on top of trending news and information.

Don: Social media is a primary, major source of industry-related news. It’s also a way to listen and connect with people and to stay in touch with people in my market (healthcare.)

Dave: Social media provides a way to humanize an organization. Keeping in touch with industry. A means to build trust. Social media can break down silos – especially with clinical resources that he didn’t have a strong connection with. Social media is a strong replacement for other media like newsletters and emails.


How much time do you spend on Social Media?

Dave: We probably all under-estimate the time we spend on social media. 2-3 times a day – breakfast, during meals, little random breaks, waiting for a bus, elevator, snippets. Probably about 1-2 hours a day.

Jennifer: Build time into your schedule. I do regular check-ins with all of my channels. And utilize randomly available moments with a lot of activity on a plane. Social media activity must be intentional. Usually three times a day: morning, mid-day and night.

Don: Varies significantly day to day in a range of 15 to 90 minutes depending on the number of time pockets found available. Also when notifications pop up I will go on and interact.


Do you schedule tweets? Use any tools to help with your Social Media?

Don: I use systems and processes for each channel. For instance, every business card I get results in a LinkedIn connection request. From there I’ll move certain relationships to other social channels. I also have assistance from the Strategic Communications team at Cambia.

Jennifer: Started with Hootsuite but moved away and now does things organically. Tries to coordinate with Social Media person. Tries to be strategic based on the audiences that follow me. Using tools seems to create more work so they're avoided.

Side note: Jennifer said she “learned a lot during the panel discussion just listening to Don and Dave.”

Dave: People comment to me: “Shouldn’t you be doing your CEO stuff and not wasting time on Social Media?” 

Dave responds: “Do people ask you the same questions over and over? We all have a set of FAQ’s that we can push out via Social Media.” 

More from Dave: 

“Sell your category and not your company. You’ll get your fair share of attention that way.”


<my recollection>

“The trick is coming up with: how do the questions I'm getting relate to what I’m interested in and how can I respond in a manner that addresses the question while advancing my interests?” 
</my recollection>

More to Come!

In the next day or so I'll share the rest of what I was able to capture from today's interview with these healthcare CEO's active on social media. So be sure to follow all of us and engage. See above links for information on the people referenced in this post. And consider also following me for more information and insight into the business of healthcare data, technology and services; particularly in the realm of social media.

Monday, July 11, 2016

Catch These 22 Great #HealthIT Resources!

To me, the primary value of the annual #HIT100 event (brainchild of Michael Planchart – aka @TheEHRGuy) is that you can use its results to identify some people in the healthcare space you may want to follow to get good information, ideas and current goings on.

Of course the Top 5 Nominees get the most attention. Kudos to them! Yet I suggest you dig a bit deeper into the list – look past the top 10 or top 20 #HIT100 nominees. 


To help you with your digging, here are 22 people ranked among the top 200 on the #HIT100 list who I suggest you take a following to; directly on Twitter or via a Twitter list.

These Folks Get Healthcare and IT!

Rank
Account
Twitter URL
31
@dandunlop
40
@lynnvos
47
@markwattscra
52
@chrissyfarr
55
@healthythinker
57
@dflee30
91
@richduszak
86
@erinewold
97
@lucienengelen
105
@grahamegrieve
108
@dididavis
110
@drexdeford
126
@fredtrotter
127
@sacjai
128
@berci
139
@carolflagg
140
@lacktman
170
@m_chasin
184
@pat_health
186
@amalec
191
@curemd
200
@hjluks

Indeed, each of the above individuals have strengths in certain areas within the general realm of healthcare and information technology. None of these individuals are wallflowers. They ALL share information on a regular basis via various channels. Some are actually very 'famous' in the realm of healthcare - just not highly ranked among the #HIT100. Go figure! :)

Dig Deep for Value!

To be sure, some of you knowledgeable Health IT people may chuckle at the fact that more than half of these people are not even in the “Top 100” of the #HIT100 list. Just goes to show you that value is not always right in front of you.


For more info on the #HIT100, check out this information I shared yesterday: here and here. And consider following me on Twitter so you can stay on top of current healthcare and related data, technology and services topics.



Twitter Metrics for #HIT100 Top 5 and Their Nominators

source: keepmiddletownbeautiful.com
The top 5 nominees of the 2016 #HIT100 event were announced today and they include the following:

1. Mandi Bishop: @MandiBPro

    Title: Global healthcare analytics consulting division head - Company: Dell Services

2. Christoph Trappe: @CTrappe

    Title: Senior director of content marketing + content creation - Company: MedTouch

3. William G. Esslinger, Jr.: @billesslinger

    Title: Chief Executive Officer - Company: Fogo Data Centers

4. John Nosta: @JohnNosta

    Title: Founder - Company: NOSTALAB

5. Linda Stotsky: @EMRanswers

    Title: CEO - Company: LSC Consulting

What Type of Twitter Activity Do Top 5 Nominees Have?

I used a tool (audiense.com) to pull the Twitter stats on all of the people involved with the #HIT100 event - both nominees and nominators. Here are the key Twitter metrics for the top five #HIT100 nominees. 

Account
Followers
Accounts Followed
Number of Lifetime Tweets
Number of Lists
Number of Tweets per Day
MandiBPro
16789
7765
47805
1933
32.92
CTrappe
65588
26993
68792
2538
29.14
billesslinger
19775
15181
1524
235
0.56
EMRAnswers
14468
7616
38585
1074
15.14
JohnNosta
30913
22940
64608
2182
23.76

In terms of followers and the number of people each Top 5 nominee follows, they're all fairly similar. The major difference shown by the above is the relative dearth of tweets 3rd ranking #HIT100 nominee @BillEsslinger has made and the number of times he's listed by others. Obviously the number of times a person tweets can indicate the amount of information and commentary they are sharing. And the number of lists a person is included on can be a good indicator of their status as an 'influencer.'

Who Nominated the Top 5 on the #HIT100?

When I saw the above, I thought to myself: “What type of Twitter presence do the people who nominated these five individuals have?” So I pulled the Twitter stats on all of the people who nominated each of the five top #HIT100 nominees and calculated the averages of the same stats presented above. Here’s what I found:




Nominators Twitter Statistics
Rank
Account
Nominators
Average Followers
Average Accounts Followed
Average Number of Lifetime Tweets
Average Number of Lists
Average Number of Tweets per Day
1
MandiBPro
67
8407
3637
22924
560
11.7
2
ctrappe
52
13447
9351
31326
1117
29.5
3
BillEsslinger
48
639
421
1509
35
0.7
4
JohnNosta
48
16731
8046
23416
645
13.5
5
EMRAnswers
46
6093
3456
21551
528
12.9

You can see that the 48 people nominating Bill Esslinger had very anemic Twitter metrics compared to those who nominated the other four in the Top 5.

So What Might This Mean?

While you can make your own decision as to what this might means, if anything, it seems to me that for future events where ranking is important and where the ‘winners’ may receive significant media coverage, some type of adjustment might be made based on the social media presence or activity of both nominees and nominators. Yes, what I’m saying is that there should be some sort of entry level qualification to be nominated and that some votes should count for more than others. And I’m sure this won't endear me to certain people.