TMAIT Insights - A monthly newsletter for Texas physicians

Can Twitter Help Your
Medical Practice?



These days, more and more physicians and healthcare organizations are utilizing social networking sites like Twitter.

On January 9, 2009, Dr. Craig Rogers, a surgeon at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, performed a robotic procedure to remove a cancerous tumor from the kidney of a 60-year-old patient, while the chief resident, Dr. Raj Laungani, wrote real-time Twitter updates throughout the procedure. Updates included, “The tumor has been completely excised, 20 minutes left to repair the kidney,” and “There is bleeding from the base of the tumor, but it’s being adequately controlled.”

The Twitter updates (or “tweets”) gave a play-by-play rundown of the surgery, and were followed by those who had signed up for Henry Ford Hospital’s Twitter feed. The male patient, whose identity was kept confidential, consented to having his surgery featured on the social media site.

The surgery attracted a lot of media attention, and many other hospitals have followed suit. While the real-time surgeries on Twitter are getting the most attention, many physicians and small medical practices are also giving Twitter a try.

Twitter 101

So what is Twitter? And what does it mean for you, as a physician?

If you’re familiar with blogging, then you can think of Twitter as “micro-blogging.” Each Twitter update must be 140 characters or less. As a physician, your tweets might include important health information (like H1N1 updates), a question to solicit feedback from other physicians, or breaking news about you or your practice.

Dr. Christian Sinclair, a physician for Kansas City Hospice, said in The New York Times that he uses social media to strengthen the doctor-patient bond. “I can help to inform the public, I can put the knowledge I have out there. And if there are patients or families who need this knowledge, I can help them because of this network.” Recently, he helped individuals he met through Twitter connect with local hospice services.1

Other Ways to Use Twitter

Here are more ways physicians are using Twitter to help their patients and their practices:

  • Stay informed of industry news and trends.
  • Market a medical practice. Physicians post news, links to articles, and information to followers to provide value to current and prospective patients.
  • Find out about employment opportunities. Physicians follow medical recruiters or employment websites on Twitter.
  • Expand professional networks by following other physicians on Twitter and sharing information with their network of followers.
  • Answer questions about general health concerns (without attempting to diagnose or treat anyone).
  • Expand an already-established web presence. Using Twitter-approved widgets, Twitter users can automatically post their tweets to their blogs, websites, and/or Facebook pages.

Best Practices in the Wild West of Social Media

Uses for Twitter are numerous, but there are potential downsides to consider. Some physicians fear Twitter will be one more activity that consumes their valuable time, and are not sure the benefits are worth it. Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe, CEO and editor of the website PediatricsNow, says of Twitter, “I think the chips are still out. It’s kind of like an election where we’re not going to see the results for a while.”2

Other physicians have privacy concerns. And still others worry that Twitter introduces the possibility of a communication breakdown with patients. For example, a patient may attempt to contact a physician via Twitter when a phone call would have been more appropriate. Physicians are wise to remind patients not to contact them via Twitter for any medical emergency.

Social media sites like Twitter are still new, and it may take a while for the healthcare community to determine official guidelines for their use. But if you do decide to join Twitter, here are a few things to consider:

  • Do not post personal information about patients or employees.
  • Do not post any information you don’t want your patients to see.
  • Do not give medical advice. Guide your followers to reputable sources of information and, when appropriate, encourage them to seek medical attention.
  • Check to see if your employer has social-media policies you need to follow.
  • Consider having separate accounts—one for your personal life and another for professional purposes.

If you want to give Twitter a try, you can set up an account for free at www.twitter.com. If you’re already on Twitter, e-mail us and let us know how you’re using it. Send an e-mail to contact@tmait.org.

1From the article “Medicine in the Age of Twitter,” by Pauline W. Chen, M.D., The New York Times, June 11, 2009.
2From the article, “Should Doctors Twitter?” by Pamela Lewis Dolan, www.amednews.com, posted June 29, 2009.

Medical Organizations
Using Twitter

To get an idea of how several medical organizations are using Twitter, check out the following:



Group Insurance and the
Challenge of Rising Costs

Offering insurance to employees while keeping costs down is a challenge. Here are a few tips to help you reign in the cost:

Lower Contribution Level – If your practice cannot afford or does not choose to pay 100 percent of your employees’ premiums, the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors recommends you ask yourself these questions before determining an appropriate contribution level1:

  • What can your practice afford?
  • What level of contribution will give the benefit value to employees?
  • What message are you trying to send to employees through your contribution level?
  • What are other employers in your industry charging?

Answer the first question with a dollar amount, and see how your answers to each of the following questions change that amount. When you’re finished, you should have a contribution level informed by the right major considerations.

Educate Your Employees – The expense of the insurance claims of your employees can affect the rates of everyone in the group. Educate your employees about their role in helping to keep rates down by maintaining good health and limiting unnecessary claims.

Consult an Expert – Physicians and medical practices have unique needs not found in other business environments. An experienced advisor can work with the carrier of your choice to obtain the coverage you need at the lowest rates possible and help you get only the coverage you need—nothing more.

To consult an insurance advisor who specializes in group insurance for medical practices, call TMAIT at 1.800.880.8181.

1“Keeping Employee-Benefit Costs Down,” by Jason Lombardi, October 2009, http://advisortoday.com/200910/employeebenefits.html.



TexMed 2010

Don’t miss out on TexMed, April 30 – May 1, 2010, in Fort Worth. Registration begins February 8 and is free for TMA members and their families. To find out more, go to http://www.texmed2010.org.

AMA National Advocacy Conference

Mark your calendar for March 1 – 3, 2010, to attend the AMA National Advocacy Conference. Speakers include Kathleen Parker, Stuart Rothenberg, and Nancy Snyderman. The conference will be held in the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. Click here to register.

Recovery Audit Contractor Seminars sponsored by TMA

Plan to attend one of several Recovery Audit Contractor (RAC) Seminars sponsored by TMA. The seminars will cover Medicare’s new RAC post-payment review program and how to prepare your medical practice.

Seminars will be held at the following locations:

March 23 – Austin
March 24 – San Antonio
March 25 – McAllen
April 7 – Houston
April 8 – Lubbock
April 13 – Dallas
April 14 – Tyler
April 15 – Fort Worth

The seminar fee is $129 for TMA members and their employees, and $179 for non-members. For more information and to register, click here.

   

Can Twitter Help Your
Medical Practice?


Group Insurance and the
Challenge of Rising Costs


TexMed 2010


AMA National Advocacy Conference


Recovery Audit Contractor Seminars sponsored by TMA


TWITTER TERMS

Tweet – A short update (140 characters or less) that shares information you’d like your followers to know.

Followers – People who subscribe to your tweets. Your tweets will appear on their Twitter homepages or be sent to their cell phones via text message if they set it up to do so.

Following – You can follow other people on Twitter by clicking the “Follow” button on their Twitter homepages.

Direct Message – A short message sent directly to one of your followers or from one of your followers directly to you. Direct messaging is similar to e-mail, but the service is limited to your Twitter homepage or cell phone, depending on the settings you choose. Physicians using Twitter would be wise to set up notifications that alert them when they receive a direct message to limit the chances of communication breakdown with patients.

Retweet – Post a tweet originally authored by a fellow Twitter user to all of your followers.

Hashtag – The hashtag (#) is used to identify keywords or terms so that they can be easily found again in a search. If you put the hashtag in front of a term in your tweet, Twitter will activate that term as a link, so that it will take you to a real-time feed of everyone tweeting about that same keyword.

@ symbol – The @ (or “at”) symbol appears before a Twitter username.


MEMBER FEEDBACK
We’d Love to Hear From You

Do you have a story to tell about your experiences or achievements as a physician? Something you’d like to share about a personal, career, or family milestone that might interest other physicians? Is there an insurance or risk-related topic you’d like to know more about?

Share your story, or let us know about a colleague who might be interested, by contacting us at contact@tmait.org. And in your message, please let us know what stories or topics you’d like to see in future issues of Insights.

ABOUT TMAIT

For more than 50 years, the Texas Medical Association Insurance Trust (TMAIT) has been helping to protect the personal and professional interests of physicians, with products and services that help ensure physical and financial well-being.

Created and endorsed by the Texas Medical Association (TMA), we’re dedicated to protecting the things TMA members have worked so hard for by providing experienced counsel and quality products. And like TMA, we’re committed solely to the needs of Texas physicians and their families.
 
 

Get in touch with us! www.tmait.org 1.800.880.8181 P.O. Box 1707 Austin, TX 78767