Best Practices

Is Your Hospital Blog Blocked by Websense?

by Ed Bennett on August 29, 2010

in Best Practices

It’s possible.

Websense is a Web filtering tool used by many large organizations. It lets management control employee access to web content based on category definitions provided in a Websense database.  There are over 150 categories, and each Websense client can choose what to block and what to allow.

Make sure your site is in the right category, since being in wrong group could limit your visibility.

A recent check of 85 hospital blogs found the following Websense  groupings:

  • 44 – Health
  • 16 – Uncategorized
  • 14 – Blogs and Personal Sites
  • 3 – Social Networking
  • 3 – Business and Economy
  • 2 – Educational Institutions
  • 1 – Society and Lifestyles
  • 1 – Sports
  • 1- Traditional Religions

The 17 hospital blogs categorized as “Social Networking” or “Blogs and Personal Sites” could have a problem. Some Websense clients block that group for productivity reasons. Note – Almost all of these hospitals used free hosting services from Blogspot, Typepad or WordPress, and had sub-domain URL’s of these services. (For example, innovishealth.wordpress.com)

Fortunately, you can request a category change in two ways:

1. If your organization uses Websense,  sign up for a Support Account and use the Site Lookup tool. This tool will let you check sites and suggest changes.

2. If you are not a Websense customer, then send them an email at suggest@websense.com

Ed’s recommendations:

1. Check your Websense category at least once a quarter – make sure there are no surprises.

2. Get your own domain name, and don’t use the free blogging services. That gets  you automatically grouped as a “Blog and Personal Site”

3. Be proactive for others – if you see a site blocked because it’s in the wrong category, suggest a change. It helps everyone.

Wondering about your hospital blog? Check the list here – The Hospital Blog Websense List Note – link goes to .xls Excel file. Use right-click “save as” to download


{ 14 comments }

Inova Health gets Fit For Fifty

by Ed Bennett on August 23, 2010

in Best Practices

A few weeks ago Chris Boyer sent me a private message on Twitter, inviting me to check out his latest project for Inova Health System.

I’m glad I did! Fit For 50 is a program that looks simple, but actually has significant content and resources.  It also integrates social media into everything it offers. Read on for my interview with Chris.

Chris, tell us a bit about yourself.

Chris Boyer

Ed, thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk about this project.

I’m the Senior Manager of Digital Communications at Inova Health System, managing the social media and online marketing efforts of this six-hospital system, which serves the Northern Virginia and Washington, DC metro area. i’m an active member of the #HCSM community and is the original author of the blog Hospital Online Marketing. Before working at Inova, I consulted with nearly 100 hospital and health systems, developing a variety of innovative marketing and business development solutions.

What’s the 60 second description of FitFor50?

FitFor50 is a health and wellness partnership between Inova Health System and former Washington Redskins cornerback Darrell Green, designed to promote a fit and active lifestyle. Using a free interactive website , as well as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter communities, FitFor50 shares both inspirational and clinical daily video tips from Darrell and Inova doctors.  On the FitFor50 site, participants can create an online playbook to record and track their personal fitness goals and measure their progress. Over the course of 50 days (September 10 through October 30)

, FitFor50 fitness events, clinics and screenings will give the community a chance to meet Darrell in person. In addition, Darrell is writing a blog on the site, and there is a contest where winners can meet Darrell in person.

That’s a major initiative – How does it fit into the marketing / business goals for Inova?

As part of our nonprofit mission and our dedication to the communities we serve, a fitness / wellness campaign is a perfect fit with our overall brand. Inova Health System focuses on not only providing the best medical care, but proactively encouraging preventive care and healthy living. It’s perfect timing because more and more people are now open to learning about fitness and wellness tips, because they know how it affects their health and their daily lives.

From a business standpoint, the FitFor50 program gives us a platform to weave in education about our key service lines (cardiology, ortho, spine, pain management, OB, etc.), so we will be top-of-mind when people need to use those services.

Doctor participation is significant here; part of the content is provided by Inova Health System physicians. This program is a creative way to allow community members to engage with doctors and showcase our strengths (within Stark restrictions of course).

Darrel Green is your spokesman, and has made a big time commitment to this project – what’s his motivation?

Darrell Green is a natural for this project. He has been committed to fitness all of his life: in the NFL, he was known as the fastest man in football — and at 50, he is nearly as fast. Plus, Darrell has been in the Northern Virginia community for more than 27 years. When we approached him to be part of a program to spread wellness and fitness to the community, he naturally jumped at the chance. The fact that Darrell is a local celebrity attracts a lot of attention, and it’s a bonus that the message is authentic to him.

Best of all, we were thrilled to see that Darrell is a natural in front of the camera –his video segments show how fun and entertaining fitness can be.

More of the interview with Chris and a Fit for 50 Video after the jump

{ 4 comments }