Doctors – Take Our Professional Contentment [“Happiness”] Survey
By Ann Miller RN MHA
[Executive-Director]
www.BusinessofMedicalPractice.com
Today, when patients communicate through instant messaging, Twitter, Facebook, and other Web 2.0 electronic mediums, they might feel that health providers are already more like the virtual “Doctor” than the all-too-human “Bones.”
The Contemporary Practice Milieu
Before long, according to one technology expert, 20% – 50% of all doctor-patient communication will be virtual. But we suggest you pause before rocketing ahead into this brave new future that advocates call Health 2.0—the application of social media tools to the health care environment.
Electronic technology in all of its forms has obviously had a profound impact on medicine. We focus here on just one of its most notable effects: the changing doctor-patient relationship. We believe Health 2.0 has the potential to deepen this relationship—or not. It depends on how you use it.
Our Guidance
There are an almost overwhelming number of social media tools for managing the doctor-patient relationship. How do you choose the right ones? We offer some guidance in this essay by focusing on three issues:
- What matters most in the doctor-patient relationship?
- What counts as a good relationship?
- How should you use social media tools to build a relationship?
We have found that there is no one best way to use Health 2.0 technology. But, there is just one rule. As the novelist E.M. Forster said, “Only connect.”
The Survey
And so, we ask you to opine:
- Has your doctor-patient relationship changed in recent years with the rise of the Internet search engines like “Dr. Google and Dr. Oogle” [for dentists] and the push to empower patients to take a greater role in their own care via HD-HCPs, private or direct payment models, etc?
- Are patients more demanding of your time and attention than in the past? Do they understand the economic pressures that affect your practice? Do they care, or should they even care?
- How do you handle noncompliant or uncooperative patients? What strategies work best or least? Is this issue underappreciated by the people pushing to base a greater portion of reimbursement on quality measures and outcomes?
- How much time each week do you spend on paperwork, phone calls to payers, insurance companies, and other administrative tasks? How much has this increased in the last few years? Have you reached your breaking point, yet?
Assessment
Please give us your thoughts and opinions in the text box below.
Conclusion
Your thoughts and comments on this ME-P are appreciated. Feel free to review our top-left column, and top-right sidebar materials, links, URLs and related websites, too. Then, subscribe to the ME-P. It is fast, free and secure.
Speaker: If you need a moderator or speaker for an upcoming event, Dr. David E. Marcinko; MBA – Publisher-in-Chief of the Medical Executive-Post – is available for seminar or speaking engagements. Contact: MarcinkoAdvisors@msn.com and http://www.springerpub.com/Search/marcinko
Our Other Print Books and Related Information Sources:
Health Dictionary Series: http://www.springerpub.com/Search/marcinko
Practice Management: http://www.springerpub.com/product/9780826105752
Physician Financial Planning: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/0763745790
Medical Risk Management: http://www.jbpub.com/catalog/9780763733421
Healthcare Organizations: www.HealthcareFinancials.com
Physician Advisors: www.CertifiedMedicalPlanner.com
Subscribe Now: Did you like this Medical Executive-Post, or find it helpful, interesting and informative? Want to get the latest ME-Ps delivered to your email box each morning? Just subscribe using the link below. You can unsubscribe at any time. Security is assured.
Link: http://feeds.feedburner.com/HealthcareFinancialsthePostForcxos
Sponsors Welcomed: And, credible sponsors and like-minded advertisers are always welcomed.
Link: https://healthcarefinancials.wordpress.com/2007/11/11/advertise
Silverman, Jennifer. “Impact of Virtual Visits on Doctor-Patient Relationship Unclear: an end to ‘true medicine’?” Ob.Gyn. News 38.21 (2003): 29.
Filed under: Ethics, Information Technology, Surveys and Voting | Tagged: bedside manner, collaborative medical care, doctor-patient relationships, health 2.0, physician relations | 4 Comments »
Support our online development, and advance our onground research initiatives in free market economics, as we seek to showcase the brightest Next-Gen minds.
THE ME-P DISCLAIMER: Posts, comments and opinions do not necessarily represent iMBA, Inc., but become our property after submission. Copyright © 2006 to-date. iMBA, Inc allows colleges, universities, medical and financial professionals and related clinics, hospitals and non-profit healthcare organizations to distribute our proprietary essays, photos, videos, audios and other documents; etc. However, please review copyright and usage information for each individual asset before submission to us, and/or placement on your publication or web site. Attestation references, citations and/or back-links are required. All other assets are property of the individual copyright holder.
The Leading Business Education Network for Doctors, Financial Advisors and Health Industry Consultants 