Archive for the ‘Healthcare’ Category

A Live-Tweeted First

Monday, April 9th, 2012

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, social media provides us with yet another example of its ability to connect people and share unexpected activities. As reported by Mashable last week, doctors at Houston’s Memorial Hermann Northwest Hospital recently live-tweeted the first ever open heart surgery, making both medical and social media history.

Dr. Michael Macris performed the double-coronary artery bypass while wearing a video camera attached to his head while Dr. Paresh Patel provided Twitter updates, pictures and videos throughout the procedure and answered questions submitted by followers of the hospital’s @houstonhospital Twitter account. Dr. Macris also wore a video camera attached to his head.

Meeting its goals to educate and raise awareness around Heart Month, the event attracted media attention from around the world, with Dr. Patel’s tweets being translated for readers as far away as Azerbaijan, India and China.

The hospital has embraced digital technology for the past several years, hosting more than 50 webinars including a recent live social media-broadcasted Q&A about colonoscopies for Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month. The live-tweeted open-heart surgery was born from that same spirit of education through technology. “We were talking about what we could do for Heart Month. Last year we did something where you could share a glass of red wine with someone online, but we wanted to take it farther,” said Natalie Camarata, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System’s digital marketing manager. “So we came up with the Twitter-cast idea to pull back the curtain on something that happens every day in all of our hospitals.”

This is sure to lead the way in how the healthcare industry and academia leverage creativity and digital innovation to educate the masses. It will be interesting to see what other activities or events organizations and brands will have us participating in and sharing in the future.

Charlotte Cavaretta is a Account Supervisor and Social Media Strategist at MSL New York. She specializes in digital influencer marketing and always on social media strategy and execution.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Healthcare Trends | No Comments »

Health Reform Not Just a Matter for the Courts

Tuesday, March 27th, 2012

Attention is focused this week on the Supreme Court as it holds an unusual three days of oral arguments about the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. At issue this week and in the ruling expected by the end of June are those provisions affected by the so-called “individual mandate,” which is really more of a proposed penalty than it is a mandate. In 2014, tax payers who do not certify to the IRS on their annual income tax filing that they have health insurance would be forced to pay a penalty. Whether you agree with it or not, the underlying reason was based on the fact that insurance markets work best when everyone is in the pool.

Somebody will find controversy in virtually any part of this law, which critics like to deride as Obamacare (ignoring that the individual mandate took life as a Republican idea).  Health insurance exchanges are another – government-created marketplaces for individuals and small business to buy health insurance.

But beyond these controversial measures, the law is also a cauldron of vital experimentation about how to improve the cost and delivery of health care. And no matter what happens in the Supreme Court, on this aspect of reform there will be no going back. The people who provide care have begun to understand that for the people who purchase care and those who get care we can no longer sustain the crippling health care price inflation that is hamstringing employers and governments alike. In city after city, school boards are being forced to choose between higher health care costs and smaller class size.

The country is at last coming to grips with the fact that at $2.6 trillion and growing, health care is now gobbling up more of GDP than we can afford, about one in six dollars. The incentives in our system today reward doctors to produce quantity, not quality, when it comes to health care. They get paid for volume, not value. People know more about the quality of the toasters they buy than the health care they receive, and no one, not even your doctor, know what the care really costs.

Reforms that attack the quality and cost of the system – that is, to raise quality and lower cost – are here to stay.  Purchasers and providers are both on record saying this genie cannot be put back in the bottle. And that’s a good thing. Because if something doesn’t change, we’ll continue to stagger toward a future in which health care swallows the economy.

Chuck Alston

Chuck Alston is senior vice president and director of public affairs at MSL Washington. He works on public affairs, marketing, policy and reputation issues for diverse corporate and non-profit clients, with a specialty in health and medical issues.

Tags: , ,
Posted in Government Affairs, Healthcare, Politics | No Comments »

Homing in on Disease Targets: The Rise of Personalized Medicine

Monday, March 5th, 2012

In medicine, one size doesn’t fit all. Two people who take different doses of the same medication may have very different responses. One may experience troublesome side effects, while the other has minimal or no side effects.

Of course, healthcare professionals have always been alert to variations between patients. But scientific understanding has grown to the point where physicians can individualize care at a new level. For example, scientists know which genes code for certain enzymes responsible for breaking down more than 30 different classes of drugs. Less active or inactive forms of the enzymes can cause drug overdose in patients. Clinicians use a genetic test to see how long it takes a person to metabolize the drug, and come up with a proper dosage range to prevent potentially dangerous complications.

Drug safety is one of the forces driving innovation in personalized medicine. Another is improved outcomes. As scientists better understand the heterogeneity of tumor types, they develop new clinical responses to cancer. Instead of focusing on the organ in which a tumor appears, they find the genetic changes underlying an individual’s cancer and target those changes with specialized medicines. Time magazine recently reported that two companies will jointly market a new drug designed to interfere with the receptor that contributes to one-quarter of breast cancers.[1]

Advancements in genomics have also led to a host of new diagnostic tests. The Time article says a genetic test is heading to market that scans biopsies of early-stage tumors to determine if they are likely to spread – helping patients and doctors make informed, individualized treatment decisions.

Personalized medicine is transforming the business model for key healthcare stakeholders, creating strong incentives for companies to invest in genomics research. Many of our biotech and pharma clients are leading the charge. They understand the ROI from innovations that could offer better care at lower cost because conditions are predicted sooner, diagnosed more accurately and treated more effectively.

Jeff Young is Vice President of Editorial Services and  Healthcare at MSL New York. As a senior medical writer and editorial consultant, Jeff specializes in interpreting complex data and fusing the science and brand imperatives into a compelling story.

[1] Alice Park, “Drugs Zero In.” Time. January 9, 2012.

Tags: , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Healthcare Trends | No Comments »

Silver Tsumami Blog: Can You Hear Me Now?

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Remember those heavy metal concerts? And all the nights cramming for exams with Handrix and Cocker screaming through the headphones?

They may be history, but the hearing damage they caused might be just getting started.

About 36 million Americans have hearing loss, according to the National Institute of Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD).[i] It’s one of the most common ailments of older people, affecting one-third of people over age 60 and half of those over 85.[ii]

Age-related hearing loss, called presbycusis, develops gradually as a result of changes to structures or blood flow to the inner ear, the hearing nerve or the way the brain processes sounds, says the American Academy of Audiology.[iii]

Exposure to loud noise can damage hearing and may cause a ringing or hissing sound in the ears known as tinnitus, which affects 25 million Americans, including 12.3% of men and nearly 14% of women 65 and older, says NIDCD.

Other causes of hearing loss can include infections, heart conditions or stroke, head injuries, tumors or medications.

Yet, despite the dire figures, a study published in late 2010[iv] reported that a comparison of hearing surveys 40 years apart suggests that Americans have better hearing today than they did in the early 1960s, particularly in higher frequencies. Loss of hearing in the upper frequencies makes it harder to distinguish speech in the presence of background noise. Researchers aren’t sure why hearing has improved in the last four decades, but they suggest that greater attention to overall health, including reduced smoking, better treatment of childhood ear infections, and improved health care for people with diabetes and cardiovascular diseases may play a role. Workplace policies that require construction and manufacturing plant workers to wear ear protection also are likely to have reduced hearing loss for many people, the researchers say.

Hearing loss is treatable, and, as with many other conditions, the sooner it is detected the more effective treatment is likely to be, says Johns Hopkins Medicine,[v] which recommends a baseline test at least once for adults between age 21 and 60. Follow-up tests are needed if the screening test detects a problem.

Hearing aids – including new, sophisticated devices that fit in or near the ear canal, products that amplify the phone or TV, and special sound systems used in auditoriums, churches or other large spaces – are among options to improve life for people with hearing loss.

Paying for a hearing aid can be a challenge, though. The AARP says prices vary from $1,200 for a low-end device to $3,700 for a top-of-the-line hearing aid, and 80% of people need two.[vi]

Medicare doesn’t cover them and in most states, private insurance doesn’t either (exceptions are New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Arkansas, which require insurance companies to offer some coverage for adults). Many audiologists will reduce retail prices in some cases or establish a payment plan, and there are non-profits that offer assistance. Veterans can receive coverage if their hearing loss is related to their service or a condition being treated at a VA hospital, or if the loss interferes with daily activities.

Even though hearing loss can reduce quality of life for older people, it’s not likely that insurers, whether private or government-funded, will expand coverage to include hearing aids. Given that reality, it may be up to community groups, audiology associations, manufacturers and family members acting as advocates to step in, to make sure hearing tests are performed and that no one who needs a hearing aid has to do without one.

Anita Manning is a former award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. During her more than 28 years with Gannett and USA Today, she covered a wide range of health topics, focusing primarily on infectious diseases, vaccines and diabetes. Her beat areas also included pandemic preparedness, bioterrorism and food safety. Anita also has served as a media consultant, working with clients, including pharmaceutical companies and non-profits. She has been a featured speaker or panelist at meetings sponsored by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

[i] http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/statistics/Pages/quick.aspx

[ii] http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/Pages/older.aspx

[iii] http://www.audiology.org/resources/consumer/Documents/AgeRelated_hearingLoss.pdf

[iv] http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/news/releases/10/Pages/121710.aspx

[v] http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hearing/hearing_testing/index.html

[vi] http://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-05-2011/paying-for-hearing-aids.html

Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in Healthcare, Healthcare Trends, Silver Tsunami | No Comments »

When Politics, Advocacy, and Social Media Collide

Friday, February 3rd, 2012

Stephanie Smith, North American Director of Media Serivces

Watching Susan G. Komen Foundation–Planned Parenthood story unfold over the last 48 hours has been a fascinating study in crisis communications, politics, and the power of social media.

It is the perfect storm of issues.
-The politicization of health issues in an increasingly divided government.
-An organization making a decision fundamentally at odds with the beliefs of its core advocates.
-The swift torrent of outrage in social media.
-Savvy reactive strategy to leverage the controversy.

Wherever you may fall on the political spectrum, the last two days have provided a window into how quickly public sentiment is voiced now and how communication strategy in turn has to evolve. Facebook, Twitter and other social media have played an increasing role in the narrative of major stories–that’s not surprising to anyone in the public relations industry. But the size, scope and swiftness of the online reaction to Komen’s decision to defund Planned Parenthood has been simply stunning. The flatfooted response from Komen seems to indicate that leaders at the non-profit had no idea the online and then real world backlash would be so immediate and forceful. In this era where social media is the ultimate sounding board and forum, people vote their dissatisfaction. Instantly.

It should be noted that the battle between these two non-profit giants is not exclusive to the left; this type of conflict could have arisen between two organizations on the right side of the political spectrum just as easily. The fundamental issue here is that two non-profits, ostensibly with similar values, ended up very much at odds.

Planned Parenthood-sponsored hashtag.

Planned Parenthood’s savviness.
The attempted demonization of Planned Parenthood has been underway for quite some time, and ironically the Komen decision has emboldened Planned Parenthood’s advocates in a way that attacks from opponents have not. Planned Parenthood’s handling of this controversy from a communications POV is spot on, taking to social media, emailing their supporters with fundraising requests, and engaging like-minded politicians such as Mike Bloomberg. Planned Parenthood has portrayed itself as the David in this David and Goliath story, and has savvily shaped the narrative to reinforce public sentiment in its favor. It is a case study in effective crisis communications.

Damage done.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Susan G. Komen Foundation. In attempting to recover, CEO Nancy Brinker has given changing explanations to justify the pulling of funds to Planned Parenthood. Komen now faces an uphill battle–creating a consistent message strategy and trying to allay the outrage from supporters. Management could choose to stick with their decision and simply withstand the criticism, hoping the controversy will simply wane. But the perception of having given in to what is a politically motivated issue is taking a severe toll on the organization. Brands, who account for millions in donations to Komen, may pull back, concerned that the organization is playing politics and has become tainted in the minds of consumers. Consumer boycotts are also likely to damage Komen’s fundraising efforts further.

Know your customer.
What is at the core of this controversy is that the Komen foundation either fundamentally forgot or misunderstood the beliefs and values of their core advocates. It’s critically important that a brand understands who its core customers are, who its advocates are, and what values they align with. By moving away from its core values, Komen has alienated a substantial percentage of their stakeholders. If Komen is going to stand for different values moving forward, then they will need to build a new base of support. In the meantime, Komen will become the cautionary tale for any major organization or brand.

Stephanie Smith is senior vice president, North American director of media services at MSL New York. She joined MSL New York from ABC News where she was a long-time network news producer who covered a wide-range of breaking news and feature stories for “World News Tonight with Peter Jennings,” “Good Morning America” and “Nightline.”

Tags: , , , ,
Posted in Blog, Crisis communications, Digital, Healthcare, Social Media, Sports, media | No Comments »