Panel Picker Guide: SXSW 2011 Health Track

by carissao on August 27, 2010

Whoa, how did this happen? There are mere hours left to vote for your favorite South by Southwest (SXSW) panel proposals! And if you work in healthcare, you’ve probably heard that SXSW added a new Health Track this year. No doubt it was a welcome addition by many because they were flooded with a ton of quality submissions and 84 made it to the panel picker. Yes, 84! But don’t you worry. If you don’t have time to review all 84 panels, I’m here to help. I already did, and below are my picks for the Top 15 panels, in no particular order. Consider it your own little SXSW Health Cliffs Notes. Feel free to cheat. I won’t tell.

Health Data Everywhere: Not a Drop to Link?
Indu Subaiya, Health 2.0 / Developer Challenge
The Health 2.0 and Open Gov movements have helped unlock large repositories of data, but much remains to be done to connect these disconnected islands of data to generate information that’s meaningful and actionable by end users. This session brings together some of the leading voices in the Health 2.0 movement to discuss and demo technologies that help access, mine, display and distribute control of health information across a wide variety of interfaces and devices. By the looks of the proposed panelists, this could be a hot one!

The New Frontier of Social CRM in Healthcare
Earl Whipple, AstraZeneca
While consumers are increasingly turning to digital media to talk about health, healthcare companies lack guidance to engage in an appropriate, responsible way—even when the conversation involves their own company or brands. In this discussion, the speaker will explain the nuts and bolts of social CRM and will explore the nuances as they relate to healthcare.

Will Online Patient Communities Replace Primary Care?
Greg Matthews, WCG
Patients with chronic conditions are turning more and more often to their peers instead of (or optimally, in addition to) the medical community for guidance. As online health communities such as Patients Like Me and CureTogether continue to grow and spread, how will that change primary care? Could patient communities actually replace your primary care doctor altogether? This is sure to create a vibrant discussion about the ideal role of online health communities.

Patients/Caregivers on Facebook: Establishing Boundaries Without Barriers
Ed Bennett, University of Maryland Medical Center
While it’s not unusual for those with chronic health issues and long-term medical problems to build close relationships with care providers “in real life,” legal, ethical and practical issues emerge when patients/clients seek to add care providers to online networks. Panelists for this session have developed ways to establish appropriate boundaries without creating barriers to health education and empowerment. Ed promises that attendees will develop a more sophisticated awareness of privacy and engagement within online communities.

Improving Patient’s Health Literacy Through Technology and Design
Samuel Pettyjohn, Health Literacy Missouri
It is estimated that low health literacy costs the United States upwards of $236 billion annually. Health literacy is one of the few fields in medicine that can directly benefit from creative design and programming to simplify patient and doctor interactions, promote healthy activities, and make patients compliant with doctor’s orders and prescription drugs. Health Literacy Missouri is extending an invitation to the creative community of SXSW to develop partnerships and collaborations in developing the newest technological advances in health communication.

Crowd Sourcing Cancer
Alicia Staley, The Staley Foundation
Not only do I believe in Alicia, she’s a friend, and she’s proposed a great panel. With social networks and the explosion of health communities, we have an opportunity to reach out, connect, and begin to address the issues that plague patients undergoing treatments for cancer. While a cure may still be elusive, much can be done to dramatically improve quality of life. Alicia is an inspiring 3-time cancer survivor who will lead this session through her powerful strategy of Seek. Source. Solve. Survive.

Social Media: The RX for Improved Adherence?
Jody Schoger, Women With Cancer
An ASCO study released June 28, 2010 demonstrated that fewer than 50 percent of women complete the entire course of recommended treatment (generally 5 years) with the lowest adherence rates among women under 40, who may have a higher risk of recurrence simply because they have longer to live. Jody will take us through a social media program she’s designed to capture data for breast cancer, but this could just as easily be applied to other disease categories. The data she seeks may help healthcare providers and pharma increase adherence, helping to improve health outcomes and generate income for further development.


$cience: Can Healthcare Advocates Crowdsource Philanthropy?
Amy Murphy, American College of Cardiology
For an advocacy group to effectively lobby for patients, it needs one thing (and lots of it): dollars. How can an organization’s presence and visibility through new media affect its reach– and its bottom line? What about positively or negatively affecting connections to patients, families and caregivers? The panel will pull from experiences from several advocacy groups to understand how social media is ideally used to promote programming.

Health and Wealth: Economically Viable Health Online
Nick Dawson, Bon Secours Health System
Today’s healthcare system is financially driven by a reaction to illness and it traps valuable expertise that is only accessible in times of illness. Doctors are paid when they see patients, not when they keep people out of their office. So, the system is designed to serve those seeking treatment, not prevention. There is a sustainable solution using the interactive web, social media and the associated APIs in conjunction with the existing third party reimbursement model of the healthcare industry. Providers can make money promoting wellness, freeing them to serve their communities in a capacity as the trusted source of health and wellness. This will be an exciting, non technical look at the opportunities that exist for providers and individuals to connect online to encourage health and wellness.

Social Networks: A Bad RX for Your Identity?
Bill Morrow, www.csidentity.com
Medical identity theft is the fastest-growing crime according to privacy experts and legislators. Social networks have transformed the lines of communication for all involved; however, with insecure data privacy practices and fraud, they are put at greater risk. The growing utilization of mobile applications for finances and healthcare are contributing to the threat. This session will discuss how to protect sensitive data and be HIPAA compliant. Bill promises attendees will learn multiple strategies to reduce risk, fraudulent claims, exposed health records and the related damages – to your bottom line and organization’s reputation.

Minority Report: Social Media for Decreasing Health Disparities
Aimee Roundtree, University of Houston-Downtown
Media research shows that, in the United States, minorities use social media as much—if not more—than most for connecting with friends, family and community. On the other hand, health disparities research finds that minorities do not receive the healthcare that they need, while they disproportionately suffer from chronic, serious illnesses that impact their quality of life and the future of the US healthcare system. This session will cover current uses of social media to connect with the minority communities, discuss the problems and potential of these applications, and share opportunities and incentive programs for developers.

Unruly Guide for Geek Health
Christie Dames, TechTalk StudioWe’re busy geeks working in healthcare, but we can’t forget our own health! The wild life of the interactive genius requires extra attention. The rules of the past don’t apply any more — this is not your parent’s healthcare plan. Christie will help us learn strategies, tools, and techniques to feed and protect our brains and all our systems. She will cut through the unnecessary and confusing information and help us simplify what we need to feel, look and operate at optimum performance.

Mobile Health in Africa: What Can We Learn?
Douglas Naegele, Infield Communications
There were a few mobile health panel submissions this year, but I like the approach this one takes. Giving examples of how mobile devices are bringing healthcare to underserved communities in rural Africa, they’ll show how we can diagnose pneumonia with a $5 machine hooked up to a cell phone. Do you know how a glowing pill bottle and a cellphone connection ensures that 85% of people take their HIV drugs in South Africa? Douglas has a worthy goal: to discuss how the US can learn from these experiments vis-a-vis privacy, rural access, and cost containment.

Healthy Privacy: Can Health Insurance Companies Be Social?
Tammy Young, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota
Until recently, only a handful of health insurance mavericks had forayed into social media, but that’s beginning to change. But, while companies are looking for ways to engage their members, consumers are hesitant to relate in the same way they have with other brands. They may be eager to fan a favorite soda on Facebook, but not many want to “like” a health insurance company. I’m interested to see the panel discuss the perceived pitfalls of social tools for health insurance and the innovative ways that companies are engaging with their customers while navigating their privacy concerns.

Social-Powered Ethics: Healthcare Faces a New Curve
Carissa Caramanis O’Brien, Red Box Communications
That’s me! While you’re considering worthy panels, I’d appreciate a vote for mine. I’m bringing together a panel of smart folks who are on the front lines of merging social media and healthcare to talk about the tricky landscape of ethics in social health. Challenged with the need to comply with FDA marketing policies, but limited by the lack of any social media guidelines, healthcare organizations have been left to figure it out as they go along. Our panel of experts will discuss best practices for regulatory compliant communications and real-world strategies for accountable community engagement. And just to keep the session interesting, we’ll invite an interactive designer to do live, free-flow sharing of images and words that relate to the conversation as it’s happening. It’ll move fast and we’ll hope you’ll join us.Want more?

Here are another handful I found interesting that you may also consider:

Health: Is There Really an App for That? – Jane Sarasohn-Kahn, THINK-Health
Healthcare Social Media: Lawyers Don’t Always Say No - David Harlow
Suicide Mission: How Text Messages Can Save Lives – Christopher Hall, HealthCentral
Does Health Care Need SM Content Curators? – Sandeep Pulim, MDLinx
Health Communities: Superheroes Who Need a Justice League – Jennifer Prokopy, ChronicBabe.com
Why Nurses Are Vital In Emerging Technology – Phil Baumann, CareVocate LLC
Employee Wellness: Farce or Untapped Potential? – Fran Melmed, Context Communication Consulting LLC
Healthcare in Your Hand: The Future of Mobile – David Saggio, DAS Digital Consulting
Can Prognostication Science Save the Future of Medicine? – Christian Sinclair, Kansas City Hospice & Palliative Care
Caregiving Online: Helping Someone Not Lose Hope – Benno Schmidt, 100lb Brain
“Bad Mushrooms”: Rooting Out Dangerous Health Stories – Gary Schwitzer, healthnewsreview.org
The Case for SocialMedia When Your Hospital Resists – Daniel House, Huntington Memorial Hospital
Creative Alternatives: What if we Reinvented Healthcare Today? – Robert Fabricant, frog design

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Changing the rules of the pitch

by carissao on August 6, 2010

Ted Williams once said in order to be a successful hitter in the Major League, you had to pick a good pitch to hit. He didn’t say this lightly. The man had data. He analyzed the science of hitting a baseball, and then perfected it as an art. The result? He knew if he only hit pitches that landed in a certain area of the strike zone, he’d have a higher batting average. It’s a beautiful thing.

Williams' Strike Zone

Photo Courtesy of the Sons of Sam Horn

My friend Tim Walker wrote a brilliant post a while back that introduced me to this telling infographic demonstrating Williams’ point (if you look closely, or enlarge the image by clicking through, you’ll see the higher batting averages coincide with his identified area of the strike zone). With the picture so clear, it’s easy to see what pitches to focus on and which to avoid, right? So, can we apply this to the business we pursue and how we pursue it?

Throwing vs. pitching

I’m amazed at the number of cold calls I still receive. I’m also amazed that I somehow feel guilty for not returning them. As a business owner and a former agency flack, I can relate to the need to generate new clients, so I guess that part of me feels bad for leaving them hanging. But then I realize why I’m not returning the call. There’s no relationship there. There’s no real connection to who I am, what I need and how I do business. My world is public enough that virtually anyone trying to secure me as a client can learn what makes me tick, and even what I might be looking for in a new partner or vendor. So, my expectations are higher, and they need to realize that they can no longer just throw at me what they’ve got, but rather craft a pitch that’s tailored to what I need.

The pitch has forever changed. There’s no longer any room for throwing something up against the wall to see if it sticks. We know now, of course, that you need to be there way before the sell. That means the dialogue can no longer start with the ask, unless (maybe) what you’re asking is, “What do you need, and how can I help?” In today’s socially-driven marketplace (and really, everything in business is social…we’re not just talking platforms here), you need to give and share, and prove your value to the process, before you can take or expect anything in return. So, get out there and make it clear EVERYDAY the type of work that drives you, that you’re uniquely qualified to tackle, that will make others successful for having chosen you.

Getting off the bench

But, what are you to do if there’s a project staring you in the face TODAY that excites you, but you have no previous connection with which to pursue it? Ask yourself some questions. what’s lighting that fire? If you’ve been in your field for ten minutes or ten years, what got you there? Why do you want a seat at that table today, and what makes you deserve it? Do you know the answer? Well, put it to good use. If you understand your passion, share it with your prospective customer. Let them know you care, why you care, how much you care. I guarantee they’ll be ten times more interested in working with you if they know you share their passion and demonstrate how you much you’d care to help them meet their goals. But, fair warning. Don’t fake it. You have to be real. If the passion isn’t y there, just stop. Because if you don’t have passion, or worse, you attempt to fake it, you’ll be found out. Your customers are savvy. They might not see it immediately, but they WILL see it and when they do, it’ll knock you so far back, your head will spin. And you’ll have deserved it.

Standing in the box

You know what you want. In the meantime, can you go about your business, confident in your ability to do good work, prove your value, stare down the right pitch when you see it, and know you can hit it out of the park? If not, what will it take to get you there? Williams might have told you to first try getting the bat on the ball. Find a good pitch and take a swing. You might hit a grounder or line-drive or two, but those will only prepare you for the big hit. So, don’t let perfection paralysis stifle you. Get in the game.

What’s a good pitch to hit in your world? What pitches would you rather let sail by?

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Ready to Cook

August 3, 2010

I love experimenting with new combinations of ingredients and techniques to create my own recipes or a fresh spin on something traditional. In fact, in the past year, I’ve found this has dominated my cooking…as well as my approach to work and life.
But even those of us who love cooking find themselves in a dining [...]

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Communications, Content and Community, Oh my…at South-by!

March 15, 2010

Color me torn. I’ve never had such a hard  time deciding where to be at a conference. This week, I’m at South by Southwest (SXSW or “South-by”), the annual conference of interactive, film and music professionals held in Austin, Texas, a mecca of all things awesome in the aforementioned disciplines. This is my first [...]

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Adapting our recipe for better communication

March 11, 2010

I love to cook. I love to try new foods, new recipes, new ways to surprise my family and friends with flavor. I especially enjoy experimenting with new combinations of ingredients and techniques to create my own recipes. In fact, in the past year, I’ve found this style has dominated my cooking…as well as my [...]

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