Physicians, healthcare executives, pharmaceutical companies and others have been slow to jump on the blogging bandwagon. The primary reason is because they have a negative opinion of blogs. Some believe that blogs are filled with inaccurate information and cannot drive sales of healthcare products and services.

In some respects, this negative perception of blogs is justified. This is because
blogs are far from a perfect communications medium. Some of the reasons for this
include:

- It Is Difficult To Vet Blog Content: Currently, there is no standard set of
criteria people can use to determine whether a blog is credible

- There Are No Metrics: There is a lot of anecdotal evidence indicating
that blogs may impact a company’s bottom line, but no hard statistics showing how
blogs have driven sales or changed customer perceptions

- Blogging Is Hard Work: Blogs take a lot of time and effort to develop
and grow. Unless a blog is integrated into an organization’s long term
communications strategy, it may not be successful

Why Blogs Deserve A Serious Look

Despite the many drawbacks associated with blogs, executives, physicians and other
players in the healthcare industry should take them seriously. Blogs are poised to
significantly impact many aspects of healthcare, including perceptions of medical
products and the relationship between providers and patients. Following is a brief
overview of some of the key ways blogs may influence the healthcare industry.

Healthcare Blogs and the Provider-Patient Relationship

In July 2005, Harris Interactive released a poll indicating that 117 million Americans
have turned to the Internet for healthcare information. Think about this for a
moment. This survey suggests that online health information may be having a
profound influence on the healthcare provider-patient relationship. This means that
people may already be using information posted by providers, experts, patients and
others on blogs in conversations with their physicians.

Healthcare Blogs and Market Research

Healthcare blogs are already affecting healthcare-related communications activities,
including market research. Nielsen BuzzMetrics, an Internet monitoring firm, reports
that 14 of the world’s top 15 pharmaceutical companies are already using its
services to track “buzz” about their products on blogs and other “consumer-
generated content” (i.e., bulletin boards, podcasts, etc.). As the healthcare
“blogosphere” expands, the influence of blogs may only increase.

Healthcare Blogs and Disease Management

Healthcare blogs are also having an impact on medical treatment. For example, a
number of physicians have developed blogs that provide information to healthcare
providers on how to manage common and rare medical conditions. These blogs are
highly ranked on major search engines and are widely read.

Blogs and Healthcare: More Than Hype

So, should healthcare executives, pharmaceutical companies and others believe the
hype about blogs? Maybe so, maybe not. However, at the very least, they should
learn as much as they can about what blogs mean for healthcare and think about
whether launching one is worth the effort. When it comes to blogs, knowledge is
power.

Fard Johnmar is founder of Envision Solutions, L.L.C., a full-service healthcare
marketing communications consulting firm. Envision Solutions provides
innovative products and services to not-for-profit and for-profit
organizations. For more information and insights on blogs and healthcare,
pick up a copy of Envision Solutions’ report, “The Emerging Healthcare
Blogosphere: What Is It & Why Does It Matter?” Please visit
http://www.envisionsolutionsnow.com/spotlight.html to learn
more about this first-of-its-kind report.

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“It is our duty to remember at all times and anew that medicine is not only a science, but also the art of letting our own individuality interact with the individuality of the patient.” Albert Schweitzer (1875-2965)

Word-of-Mouth is the world’s most effective marketing strategy. As the old ads used to state “Friends tell friends and so on and so on….” Medical blogging has the potential to convey a provider’s/ physician’s sense of caring and knowledge about medicine. If used as a tool to improve communication to your patients/customers, medical blogging could be part of a plan to make you known as the most famous and friendly doctor in the community.

First a short story:

Two weeks ago, one of the physicians I work with was walking a patient to the reception area after seeing her. They walked right past my door and I could hear the patient asking the doctor for some advice on things she could do to improve her health status. The doctor responded with two brief suggestions and then stated, “Why don’t you visit my blog. I’ve got a number of other helpful suggestions there.”

Evidence and clinical research data seems to suggest that the
patient-provider relationship can influence treatment adherence and health outcomes in a variety of different disease states.

In fact a study by Felicia Trachtenberg and colleagues (2005) at the New England Research Institute published in The Journal of Family Practice , found that increased levels of trust in physicians is associated with greater willingness to seek care, to follow recommendations, and to grant physicians decisional authority over treatment. Additionally, higher trust in a specific physician is strongly associated with greater reported adherence to treatment.

In the days of 10-15 minute physician appointments, the patient-provider relationship is tenuous, at best. How could any sense of trust be built in such a short time? Doesn’t trust building require finding some commonalties between two people?

I would venture that given the current system, many patients feel that physicians are interchangeable. That’s just a travesty. Most providers go into healthcare because they really want to help people. However, the system they work in has squeezed the bedside manner and art of caring out of most work days. How can anyone be passionate about their job if their customers view them that way?

I would pose that medical blogs, while an investment of precious time, can be a tool to foster patient-provider relationships. Blogs are supposed to be a bit personal. However because of today’s climate in healthcare I avoid using an identity-type blog (Mommy blogs, or web diarys) as a communication tool with patients. Instead, perhaps utilize a more fact-based tone where key concepts and best clinical practices are emphasized with personal examples.

Example: Lets say you want to give some detailed information on how patients can fit more activity into the day. Instead of just writing down a list of ideas, you could frame the list as “6 things I’m trying this month to increase my activity level.” You are giving the same information, but you are adding a personal tone to it.

So how is this going to help?

In closing, I’m not claiming that blogging is the only tool needed in a healthcare marketing toolbelt. However, it can have some time-saving benefits and can help patients take a more active role in their healthcare. I also believe it could possibly make you the most-likable Doc in your community!

“The treatment of a disease may be entirely impersonal; the care of a patient must be completely personal.” Francis Weld Peabody, MD, Harvard Physician (1881-1927)

Carol is the Vice President of The Promedica Research Center. She has a masters degree from Mercer University in Health Policy and Administration and currently teaches a master’s level course on Health Care Organizations for the University of Phoenix (Online), College of Health Sciences.

In October 2005, Carol started a blog for her continuing education company to help to provide a value added resource to the programs her company provides. Starting in December 2005, she began consulting with physicians help them determine a blog strategy for their businesses. Carol is also a co-writer with Marketing Diva, Toby Bloomberg of a Medical Marketing column that appears at http://www.healthvoices.com. In the future, she hopes to use her knowledge about adult, professional, and patient education to promote and implement new blogs as customer-oriented marketing tools for the healthcare industry. Drop by Carol’s Blog to for further contact information.

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