Next year will be my fourth year in attendance and I absolutely plan to attend even if my own panel isn’t accepted.

I think all three ideas are great and I would be excited to see any of them at the conference.

One tip I’d add for those submitting panels is this: remember that SXSWi is a HUGE conference and it’s attended by many people who aren’t health care professionals. While it may be tempting to submit panels that would be of interest to providers, I think it’s also an opportunity to reach out to consumers who are interested in policy and transparency in health care services.

Tons of attendees will be voting on the panel picker, and while one does not have to attend SXSW to vote for panels, it can’t hurt to choose a panel that appeals to attendees outside of the medical fields.

Lastly, if anyone is planning to submit a panel related to mental health, private practice, or social media issues, these are my specialty areas and I’m always excited to collaborate with other folks. So keep me in mind if you know someone looking to put together a panel.

Media research shows that minorities use social media as much–if not more–than most. Health disparities research, on the other hand, reveals that minorities do not seek or get the healthcare that they so desperately need. Since social connections and community play an important role in patient awareness and maintenance of health, social media seems ripe for helping alleviate some of the health disparity. This session would cover current uses of social media toward these ends, discuss problems and pontential of these applications, and share opportunities and incentive programs for developers.

I’m looking for (1) suggestions for questions to answer in the session and (2) suggestions for panelists. (I can think of several colleagues to enlist, but I’d like your suggestions, too.)

Bottom line is these are tough choices. My gut tells me “tear down the wall’, though I see significant return from focusing on any net gain, one year later if you will; as well as the boundary conversation afforded by the ‘follow me’ decision.

Yet, I’ll stick with the tear down the wall metaphor as it resonates with a ‘burn down the mission’ re-purposed Elton John lyric/insight specific to the culture of silos and moats associated with too many of our paternalistic and complex institutionalized health care cultures.

Good luck my friend!