I attended the first-ever Connecting HealthCare and Social Media Conference (#hcsmny) conference last week in New York City. A joint effort between the NYC Health Business Leaders, Mayo Clinic, and Continuum Health Partners, the conference was a 1.5-day session jam-packed with great information on leveraging social media in the broader context of health care.The word "pharma" was not uttered once during the conference. But I'm a pharma marketer, so why did I attend this conference, you may ask?
Here's why: If we are truly looking at things from the patients' perspective, we need to understand their entire health care experience. In truth, medications are only a small part of a patients' health care journey. Co-mingled with medication decisions are doctors, nurses, hospitals/clinic experiences, payers, peers, caregivers, and a whole host of other experiences and influencers. This conference helped me better understand the perspective of the patient, the physician (especially those that see the promise of social media) and the hospitals (who have just as many challenges as pharma - if not more - when it comes to engaging).
There was tons of great information shared from physicians, patients, and social media powerhouses such as Mayo Clinic. But today I'd like to share two key "a-ha" moments from the patients' perspective. I've already found myself relaying these stories to several people in our industry - they are truly a sign of the times ...
- Mom/patient Loring Day spoke passionately on a panel with her orthopedic surgeon, Howard Luks, MD (See their bios here) Loring's story is interesting in that it was actually
Dr. Luks that introduced her to social media. Dr. Luks said his social presence enables him to "humanize his practice and share knowledge beyond the four walls of his office.” Dr. Luks advised Loring to get involved on social media, and referred her to his blog. Loring explored, and quickly saw the value in Dr. Luks blogging about information relevant to her. She understood that she was getting a lot more information and value out of their relationship. She was so hooked, in fact, that when it came time to find a pediatrician for her baby, a social media presence was an absolute pre-requisite. After she'd explored and interviewed a number of very good pediatricians, she chose her doctor based on the fact her doctor had a blog. How's that for an empowered patient?
Loring Day - At one point an audience member relayed his story of being new to New York City and in need of a physician referral for his plantar fasciitis. How did he find a doctor? He looked at reviews on Yelp! Yelp is an online review site where many people go for information and reviews on restaurants, shopping and nightlife. It turns out that a site where you might find the best pizza in town is also where patients are finding their next doctor. How long before a pharmaceutical or treatment category is created on Yelp? Are you prepared for it if they do?
Congratulations to Bunny Ellerin and all the speakers on a fantastic grassroots event.

