When it comes to social media, healthcare leaders are often concered about the potential loss of control, including over brand image. But they should not be, writes John Haydon on his self-titled blog. For example, potential donors still have complete control over whether or not they choose to donate money to your non-profit and what they say to their friends about your organization, he says.
In this blog posting from "Hospital Impact," Nancy Cawley Jean offers answers to common concerns surrounding hospital communications, from getting sued to violations of corporate behavior standards to potential security breaches. The rise of social media makes people even more nervous, she says, but hospitals should "see the obstacles and work your way through them to be part of this new mode of communication."
Kellogg's, the nation's largest cereal maker, is being criticized by those who object to the swine flu-conscious claim now featured in bold lettering on the front of Cocoa Krispies cereal boxes: "Now helps support your child's IMMUNITY." The city of San Francisco has sent a letter to Kellogg and to the Food and Drug Administration asking Kellogg to prove its claim. "I am concerned the prominent use of the immunity claims to advertise a sugar-laden chocolate cereal like Cocoa Krispies may mislead and deceive parents of young children," said Dennis Herrera, the city attorney.
To cut healthcare costs, the Obama administration has advocated moving away from fee-for-service payments, which reward providers for doing more procedures, to a coordinated system that pays doctors and hospitals for doing better. Under that vision, providers would be given a few years to move to performance-based medicine, in which fees and results are published, money is directed to evidence-based therapies, and harmful errors such as preventable infections are reduced. But many are worried that the president's hopes to constrain costs could result in tepid half-measures on Capitol Hill, the Washington Post reports.
Time is running short for Congress to deliver a health bill to President Barack Obama before the end of the year, prompting lawmakers to prepare for the debate to carry into 2010. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid indicated that the chamber may not meet its goal of passing a bill in the next several weeks, the Wall Street Journal reports.
As part of the healthcare overhaul under consideration by Congress, lawmakers have included provisions intended to shed light on the financial relationships between the medical industry and doctors. The targets are common business practices like drug company payments to doctors for speeches and consulting services, which have the potential to influence patient care and increase medical bills. But if previous attempts by state legislatures, federal agencies, and academic hospitals are any indication, such efforts are all too vulnerable, the New York Times reports.