It took an Olympic swimmer, Rio bronze medalist Cody Miller, to raise public awareness of pectus excavatum: a chest wall deformity characterized by a caved-in appearance. The condition can cause compression of the heart and lungs. Pectus excavatum can be corrected through a surgical procedure known as the Nuss procedure. Jackie Hurley is Surgical Coordinator for Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // It took an Olympic swimmer to raise public awareness of pectus excavatum. Cody Miller won a bronze medal in the men’s 100 meter breaststroke in the Rio games, and then followed up with a gold medal in the men’s 4 x 100 meter relay. It was a triumph that Read More
At Intermountain Healthcare, patient engagement is a top priority, and the organization is tackling the issue from all sides. We spoke with Craig Kartchner, Senior Director of Marketing, to get an update on Intermountain’s digital strategies, successes, and challenges. “We want it to be convenient and easy for people to access tools and resources that Read More
An Interview with Craig Kartchner, Senior Director of Marketing // By Jane Weber Brubaker // At Intermountain Healthcare, patient engagement is a top priority, and the organization is tackling the issue from all sides. We spoke with Craig Kartchner, Senior Director of Marketing, to get an update on Intermountain’s digital strategies, successes, and challenges. “We Read More
The most influential source in selecting a physician may be a recommendation from a friend or family member, but it doesn’t stop there. “When you get a recommendation from someone you know, one of the first things you do is look online to find more information about that physician,” says Matt Gove, Chief Consumer Officer Read More
IBM’s cognitive computer Watson became a household name and overnight sensation in 2011 when it beat two of Jeopardy’s top contestants, smoothly handling the show’s lineup of cleverly named categories and obscure facts. Soon after Watson’s victory, IBM began to get inquiries from physicians, particularly oncologists, interested in knowing if cognitive technology could be applied Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // In 2014, Piedmont Healthcare was the second health system to go live with physician star ratings based on Press Ganey survey data. “The reason we did it was because there’s no more powerful voice in helping consumers understand the experience with a service or product than the voice of Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // IBM’s cognitive computer Watson became a household name and overnight sensation in 2011 when it beat two of Jeopardy’s top contestants, smoothly handling the show’s lineup of cleverly named categories and obscure facts: “Dialing for Dialects for $800,” says Watson, choosing a category in the opening round. Host Alex Read More
A March 2016 editorial in JAMA authored by three University of Michigan physicians, “Health System Loyalty Programs: An Innovation in Customer Care and Service,” begins as follows: “Many people belong to loyalty programs for coffee shops, hotel chains, or airlines. Despite a highly consumer-oriented approach in some health systems, similar types of loyalty programs have Read More
“If talk of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) brings to mind comically unfashionable goggles, a dearth of useful applications, and headache-inducing graphics, we’d understand. Until two or three years ago, we thought the same—they were technologies of the future and always would be. But we’ve come full circle in our thinking and so Read More
// By Kyra Hagan // One of the most significant transformations in healthcare today revolves around consumers’ growing interest and involvement in their health. The consumerism of healthcare has profound implications for marketers, care delivery teams, and IT professionals. New challenges as well as opportunities are emerging, and deciding when and how to leverage technology Read More
eHealthcare Pulse // By Jane Weber Brubaker // A March 2016 editorial in JAMA authored by three University of Michigan physicians, “Health System Loyalty Programs: An Innovation in Customer Care and Service,” begins as follows: “Many people belong to loyalty programs for coffee shops, hotel chains, or airlines. Despite a highly consumer-oriented approach in some Read More
// By James A. Gardner // “Virtual reality was once the dream of science fiction. But the Internet was also once a dream, and so were computers and smartphones. The future is coming.” —Facebook’s founder and CEO, Mark Zuckerberg If talk of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) brings to mind comically unfashionable goggles, Read More
Recently, eHST Editor Jane Weber Brubaker spoke with Patrick de la Roza, CEO of EASE Applications, to learn more about an application credited with raising patient satisfaction scores from 80 percent to 97.5 percent at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Ohio. “EASE” is an acronym for Electronic Access to Surgical Events. The EASE app is essentially a secure Read More
St. Louis Children’s Hospital was an early adopter of mobile apps. Kid Care, its first app, launched more than six years ago as a symptom checker for parents. “Back in January 2010 it was just cool to have an app,” says John Odom, Webmaster at St. Louis Children’s. “But as we thought about it over Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // After Ashley Hodge finished the book, If Disney Ran Your Hospital: 9 ½ Things You Would Do Differently, she was thinking about ways to make the experience of the families at Nationwide Children’s Hospital even better. But how do you improve on an 80 percent patient satisfaction score? The Read More
eHealthcare Pulse An Interview with Patrick de la Roza, CEO, EASE Applications // By Jane Weber Brubaker // In this interview eHST Editor Jane Weber Brubaker speaks with de la Roza to learn more about the EASE application that is credited with raising patient satisfaction scores from 80 percent to 97.5 percent at Nationwide Children’s. (“EASE” Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // St. Louis Children’s Hospital was an early adopter of mobile apps. Kid Care, its first app, launched more than six years ago as a symptom checker for parents. “Back in January 2010 it was just cool to have an app,” says John Odom, Webmaster at St. Louis Children’s. “But Read More
Patients have high expectations for their online health care experiences these days. They expect to have the same seamless, integrated digital interaction they enjoy with Amazon Prime or Uber when they interact with their health system or provider. “Ease of mobility is what’s important to them,” says Pamela Landis, Vice President of Information Services at Read More
“One of the most important things marketers and digital strategists can do is align their digital activities with marketing and organizational business goals,” says Daniel Fell. “But often, in the urgency to adopt these new technologies and move projects forward, good strategic thinking can take a back seat to just getting things done. That’s unfortunate Read More
// By Daniel Fell // One of the most important things marketers and digital strategists can do is align their digital activities with marketing and organizational business goals. But often, in the urgency to adopt these new technologies and move projects forward, good strategic thinking can take a back seat to just getting things done. Read More
// By Jane Weber Brubaker // What happens to patients with chronic diseases between office visits? What if their vital signs need to be checked more often than every few months? As health systems shift to population health management, staying connected with high-risk patients is one way to prevent conditions from escalating. Many healthcare organizations, Read More
As hospitals and health organizations move toward population health and engage in value-based contracting, managing patients with chronic diseases effectively and efficiently has risen to the top of the agenda. “It would be great if the patient is giving you information every day in a way that helps drive workflow around urgency and kicking out Read More
One way to accelerate consumer-facing digital technologies in established health care organizations is to carve out a dedicated team focused on innovation. “When Massachusetts General Hospital formed the Healthcare Transformation Lab, a startup group within the 200-year-old institution, the organization made technology in healthcare delivery a priority,” says Shawn Gross, Chief Digital Strategist and Health Read More
Mass General’s Healthcare Innovation Lab and White Rhino’s Addictive Health Lab explore consumer-centric apps and technologies with the goal of delivering a higher level of personalized service, satisfaction and a better overall patient experience. // By Shawn Gross // “As patients behave more like consumers, healthcare organizations need to deliver a higher level of personalized Read More