By Ed Bennett and Chris Boyer

It has been six months since the HCSM Summit in Rochester, Minnesota  hosted by the Mayo Clinic. Many of the same presenters will be in New York for the two-day Connecting Healthcare + Social Media conference (May 17-18).

If you couldn’t go to Rochester, here are the top ten reasons you should attend Connecting HCSM:

#10 – NYC has the subway system. Rochester has an underground mall.

#9 – Direct flights.

#8 – You can find something to do after 9pm (or 3am).

#7 – Your Significant Other will want to join you for a long weekend.

#6 – Restaurants? New York City has a slight edge over Rochester.

#5 – You get to see Lee Aase in shorts.

#4 – Which sounds better? A conference run by a guy named Ragan, or one run by a gal named Bunny?

#3 – Six months = six years for Social Media.

#2 – Ed Bennett hopes to bring Dozer.

…and the number 1 reason a Spring HCSM conference in New York City is better than Rochester in the Winter:

#1 – Chris Boyer has had six months to practice ukulele.

If you need to give your boss real reasons to attend the  Connecting Healthcare + Social Media conference check out the agenda and speaker list. Contact Ed Bennett or Chis Boyer for more information and conference fee discount codes.

Price Waterhouse Coopers has a new research document called – Social media “likes” healthcare, From marketing to social business.
(PwC download page)

It’s based on:

• A survey of 1,060 consumers by their Health Research Institute
• A survey of 124 health industry executives – members of the eHealth Initiative foundation
• 30 in-depth interviews with industry executives (including Lee Aase, Kathryn Armstrong, Brad Crotty, MD, Josh Goldstein, Vince Golla, Brad Herrick, Richard Hutsell and myself)
• Three case studies, including one with Texas Health Resources
• Monitoring of industry and consumer health related social media activity

The results are interesting:

• One third of consumers now use social media sites for health-related activities
• 40% of consumers have sought out reviews of treatments, physicians, and other patient experiences
• 45% of consumers say information from Social Media sources would affect their decisions
• 73% would welcome social media based tools like make an appointment, or ask a question – but expect a quick response
• 54% are comfortable with their doctors using online physician communities for advice related to their health situation
• Consumers are significantly more likely to trust social media  information from their doctors or hospital, less likely to trust insurers or drug companies

I’d like to see the actual survey questions before passing judgement, but it appears consumers are getting comfortable with Healthcare Social Media.

(but you already knew that)

An amazing story – I’m so proud to be part of this organization.

This video tells the story:

More background

A Google Map using data from the Hospital Social Network List. Filter by hospital type, and drill in for detail on each hospital. You can also use it full-screen

A big thank you to Silja Chouquet (@whydotpharma) for setting up this map.

View U.S. Hospitals with Official Social Media Accounts in a full screen map

Why you are seeing censorship banners today:

Presentation by Sharon Boston and Ed Bennett

Note – the following essay was included in Mayo Clinic Social Media Residency Handbook 

My passion for social media was sparked by two events separated by ten years.

In the late 1990’s, back when the commercial web began, I helped dozens of organizations develop their first web presence.

Many business leaders understood the radical changes a web site could bring, but they were in the minority. Most belittled the idea, sticking with business as usual. (“Our customers use the Yellow Pages.”) Sadly, the most skeptical industry was healthcare. Some major hospitals didn’t have a web site until 2006.

Three years of hospital list data summed up in two charts. Any questions?

(Thanks to Josh McColough for the graphs)

My presentation for the conference – Links and resources below.
Your comments and feedback are welcome.

I’d like to introduce you to Virna Elly – a transplant patient, diabetic and passionate patient advocate. I met her last week and was impressed with her background, knowledge and communication skills.

 Virna has applied for a scholarship to the Mayo Clinic Social Media Summit. If you have a moment, read her essay and give it a “I like This” or leave a comment (free registration required.) 

Here is her speech at the 10′th National Donor Recognition Ceremony:

From her blog Patients’ Perspective:

I have lived with type 1 diabetes for 31 years and chronic kidney disease, including dialysis and a successful kidney-pancreas transplant during the last 11.

I am committed through my work as a patient advocate (professionally in the past, now as a volunteer) to educate and inspire those with diabetes and kidney disease to leverage every available resource to create a healthier and more meaningful life.  I rely on my personal experience and professional background to create and deliver presentations that provide patients, caretakers and healthcare providers with useful ideas and strategies for improving communications, understanding and, ultimately, patient health.

I have lobbied on Capitol Hill, participated in coalitions such as Kidney Care Partners, delivered speeches and presentations  for groups such as Amgen Pharmaceuticals, the Washington Regional Transplant Community,Toastmasters International, the American Kidney Fund and the Department of Health and Human Services.

You can follow Virna on Twitter at @nograpefruit