The Nov/Dec 2011 issue of Healthcare Executive includes an article I wrote for the Satisfying Your Customers column, titled Engaging Staff with Social Media.  In the article I describe how successful leaders will prepare for the shifts occurring in the healthcare workplace; including the push for efficiency and new generations.  I also include a few examples of where social media is contributing to a more effective workplace in hospitals. 

Social media technologies are tools that can help increase customer, physician and employee satisfaction. I hope you will take the time to read the article and share your thoughts.

Another blog post that includes a few great workplace examples is list of 20 hospitals with inspiring social media strategies. 

I was interviewed for a recent article in Becker's Hospital Review that explores the common belief that older adults have more difficulty accepting and using technology.  It includes some great comments about "digital natives" and "digital immigrants" by the other interviewees.   

Speaking for myself, as a late Boomer, I can say that I certainly am a digital immigrant who has embraced technologies as I have found value to my work and life.  And, I believe that this applies to older adults in general.  There are differences in the generations and the oldest may need the most convincing and support, but it isn't that they can't incorporate technology into their daily life.

I remember older adults thinking it was a bit silly for people to carry around a cell phone.  But, once they began to realize value - they feel safer because they can call for help -- then older adults start using the technology just as anyone else.   If I'm correct, I also I believe this is how telephone adoption went.  It took a long time for it to catch on and for people to find value in the technology.  

Health IT is just one more advancement that needs to progress through the adoption cycle.

I've posted on the subject of volunteers, young people working in hospitals and those considering a career in healthcare administration, previously.  However, this last week, I've been specifically researching Candy Stripers, who are sometimes referred to as Junior Volunteers.

Candy Stripers at Doctors Memorial Hospital, FL

I'd love to here your thoughts or stories about the youngest of our hospital workforce!  If you prefer something more personal, send me an email: Christina {at} cthielst {dot} com

I'm thinking I should also start researching the Pink Ladies, too!

The American College of Physicians has released an update to its Ethics Manual and new or expanded sections include, among others, confidentiality and electronic health records, health system catastrophes, boundaries and privacy, social media and online professionalism.  I really appreciate the manual and have pulled out a few key points based upon the topics I cover often on this blog.

• Communication through email or other electronic means can supplement face-to-face encounters; however, it must be done under appropriate guidelines. Issuance of a prescription or other forms of treatment, based only on an online questionnaire or phone-based consultation, does not constitute an acceptable standard of care. (Exception: on-call situations) (pg 75)

• Shifting principles guide the patient-physician relationship during catastrophes and physicians need to be prepared for decision making and the just delivery of healthcare. (pg 80)

• Physicians who use online media, such as social networks, blogs, and video sites, should be aware of the potential to blur social and professional boundaries.  They therefore must be careful to extend standards for maintaining professional relationships and confidentiality from the the clinic to the online setting.  Physicians must remain cognizant of the privacy settings for secure messaging and recording of patient-physician interactions, as well as, online networks and media and should maintain a professional demeanor in accounts that could be viewed by patients or the public. (pg 81)

 All Changes to the Manual since the 2005 (fifth) edition

Healthcare-associated infection data on all hospitals in Califorinia has been released by the California Department of Public Health (CDPH).  This means anyone can see the nosocomial infection rates of their local hospital by unit.  But, I urge some caution among consumers with comparing rates of different hospitals and units. Instead, this data should be used to prepare questions and for a discussion with your physician or the hospital.  Hospitals may be interested in using this data to benchmark themselves against other hospitals.

Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) are infections that patients develop during the course of receiving healthcare treatment for other conditions. They can happen following treatment in healthcare facilities including hospitals as well as outpatient surgery centers, dialysis centers, long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and community clinics. They can also occur during the course of treatment at home. They can be caused by a wide variety of common and unusual bacteria, fungi, and viruses.

HAIs are the most common complication of hospital care, occurring in approximately one in every 20 patients. The following HAIs occurring in hospitalized patients are required to be reported to the CDPH by all California general acute care hospitals:

• Central-line associated bloodstream infections;
• Clostridium difficile infections;
• Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (bloodstream)
• vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (bloodstream)
• Surgical site infections

Data is also available on a couple of hospital practices that that contribute to a reduction in HAI rates and length-of-stay.

• Central-line insertion practices 
• Staff influenza vaccination rate 

I participated in this morning's Gartner Worldwide IT Spending Forecast.  Gartner, the technology research giant, brought together some wonderful speakers who shared information that I feel is important to healthcare -- especially at this moment in time.  The issues will have major revenue implications for vendors (perhaps leading to service changes) and could delay current and planned IT initiatives (EHR adoption, HIE, etc) of healthcare organizations.

The floods in Thailand in October of 2011 severely impacted fabrication facilities and this has lead to a shortage of hard drives. It is predicted that it will take at least until the 3rd or 4th quarter of 2012 for the industry to get back to meeting demand.  There is some uncertainty about this timeline.

This means:

• There will be storage and server component shortages.  Storage will not be cheap and providers will need to be efficient.
• Virtualization (the cloud) may be a more affordable option.
• We can expect longer lead times for delivery, backlogs and double ordering of products.
• We can expect an increase in costs over the short term (re-assess those budget projections you made last year)

One lesson that comes from this situation is to have multiple geographic locations for the manufacturing of components to help prevent business disasters like this one.  In this case all of our (the world's) eggs (hard drives) are manufactured in one basket (Thailand).

PC and software spending is down due to the downturn in the economy.  But, there was one bit of good news that I pulled from the discussion on software.  Spending on software (tools) for collaboration is increasing.  Companies are investing in technologies that will help them stay competitive and this means tools that will help their employees collaborate will reduce the need to bring on additional people. 

Now, I've been seeing this in other industries and have started to see it trickle into healthcare.  With health reform upon us, I hope my friends in the hospital start thinking a little more out of the box and how they too can leverage collaborative tools (aka social media) to improve efficiency and effectiveness in the workplace.