Found In Cache

UPDATE – The survey is now closed.

Note – this post was originally published on Ragan’s Healthcare Communication News Reposted with permission 

This new survey by Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media wants to find out so it can prepare a white paper and toolkit based on the findings.

By Jessica Levco | Posted: November 7, 2012

Hospitals have a disjointed attitude when it comes to accessing social media.

Ed Bennett, an advisory board member for Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, bemoans the “blocking versus unblocking debate” at many hospitals that can pit the marketing department against the hospital board, or its IT and legal departments.

“There are a lot of hospitals that invest money and resources into their social media sites to reach their communities, but then they block them for their staff,” Bennett says. “It tells the staff, ‘We don’t trust you.’ It sends the wrong message.”

Moreover, he says, it seems to discredit social media as a communication platform.

“It’s just like saying, ‘Yeah, the telephone is great, but we’re not going to give you one at your desk because you’ll talk to your friends all day.’ We’re just going through another cycle.”

Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media is trying to address the issue by conducting a survey. Bennett, who is the chairman of the employee access task force, is leading the efforts.

In the online survey, each hospital communicator is asked whether his or her hospital opens or closes social media access for employees. The survey takes about five minutes to complete and is open to any hospital communicator.

So far, 130 people have responded. Ideally, Bennett is hoping for a sample size of 400. At this point, there isn’t a deadline for closing the survey.

Once results are final, the team will create a white paper and a toolkit to help hospital communicators make the case for unblocking social media.

Bennett wants to see which social media sites are getting blocked the most. He’d also like to know whether the blocking of social media is an IT, HR, or compliance issue. This information will give him a better sense of the obstacles that communicators are facing.

The white paper is expected to be about 2,000 words, featuring the voices of five to 10 people who are also working on the project. The toolkit is intended help hospital communicators to respond to certain departments that are blocking social media. Both the white paper and toolkit are free.

Lee Aase, director of Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media, says this survey is an example of the kind of contributions it wants to make within the health network. By banding together, MCCSM wants to tackle these types of issues hospital communicators deal with.

“By gathering the most data, it will help us understand the reasons why employees are blocked from accessing social media,” Aase says.

To take the survey, click here.

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On July 21, I announced my decision to archive the Hospital Social Network List (HSNL), asking readers to provide information for a final update in August.  Today, I’m delighted to announce that HSNL will in fact continue with a new name and a new home.  It’s moving forward under the auspices of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media (MCCSM), and will be part of a larger Health Care Social Media List (HCSML)

How did this happen?  The short answer is, of course, “social media.”

Social media has provided new and very real connections. Social media is how those of us committed to using these platforms in the service of health and health care have met and learned from one another over the past four years.

By the time my first version of HSNL went live in January 2010, the #hcsm chat founded by Dana M. Lewis had been attracting participants for a year.  Other health care chats would soon emerge to meet needs specific constituencies within our industry (e.g., Phil Baumann’s #RNchat).  Beginning in 2008, Twitterati were meeting one another IRL (In Real Life) at Mark Scrimshire’s HealthCa.mp un-conferences.

Healthcare social media received a major legitimizing boost when the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media was launched in July 2010. This has been especially true for its use by hospitals, organizations that have historically been resistant to innovation.

It’s now 2012 and the environment for health care social media is much more hospitable. Today’s senior management understand that social media platforms are essential tools for communication among and between providers, patients, and caregivers.  As a result, the number of hospitals using at least one social media platform has increased significantly – so has data management for HSNL.

My decision to move the location and maintenance of HSNL to MCCSM was a no brainer. Click here for a post by MCCSM Director, Lee Aase, about future plans. Highlights include providing online tools that will transform it from a static list to one with greater functionality for users and visitors alike.

Again, I’m delighted to migrate my manual labor of love to an organization I respect with a leadership team of friends as well colleagues.

As for my plans, I’m focusing on what I view as the next challenge that’s already here for the health care industry: opening access to social media tools, especially as hospitals shift to becoming accountable care organizations. Plan to read more here about Open Access Task Force in the coming weeks.

Is your hospital already on the HCSML? Click here to update your information via MCCSM.

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After a long run, I’ve decided to archive the Hospital Social Network List. The final update will be published at the end of August.

Additions and corrections must be received by Friday, August 17, 2012. The list will remain available as an archive, but no changes will be made after this final update.

Thank you for participating – it’s been fun. I’ll answer any questions in the comments.

UPDATE – July 23, 2012
I’ve had several questions via Twitter, email and the comments below, so I’ll answer the main one here:

Why are you shutting down the list?
This wasn’t an easy decision, but there were several factors leading me to this choice:

Time – Maintaining the list was a manual process, and took more time as it grew. I wanted to automate the process, but never found a programming partner.

Passion – The last update was in October, 2011, almost ten months ago. I used to do updates every month, but over the years maintenance became a chore and updates lagged.

But the most important reason is:
My goals have been achieved. The purpose of the list was simple – make hospital leadership pay attention to Social Media and take it seriously. When I started the list in 2009 Social Media was a sideshow, something to fear not embrace. The list was a tool for hospital Web, Marketing and Communications staff who wanted to change that perception.

Things are different now, and I believe the list had a part in that transformation.

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My presentation at the AAMC 2012 Compliance Officers’ Forum

Notes and References:

Price Waterhouse Coopers
Social media “likes” healthcare, From marketing to social business.
Full study and charts

Primary Reasons for Visiting Professional Online Networks
Society for New Communications Research Study

Employee Expectations – When IT Policies are Ignored

Doctors Active in Social Media

• Mayo Clinic –   A 12-Word Social Media Policy
• Ministry Health Care - Employee Social Media Policy
• Inova Health System - Social Networking / Communications Policy
• Dartmouth-Hitchcock Social Media Tips for Employees - YouTube Video
• Univ. of Md Medical Center - HR Social Media Policy - Training Presentation

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Traffic to U.S. Hospital Web Sites (according to Hitwise)

Monthly Visits – U.S. Traffic Only

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