Posts Tagged ‘Technology’

Anthony LaFauce
Anthony
LaFauce

Mobile and Health Work Hand in Hand

Friday, May 21st, 2010

Last night I had the privilege of attending a Washington Health 2.0 event at The Barking Dog in Bethesda, MD. The night was full of both tech and health care folks talking about great projects they have worked on. Great food, drinks, and digital/health conversation were on the menu but my interest was sparked by two particular presentations.health-20

Doug Naegele, CEO of Infield, gave a great presentation focused on using mobile in developing nations as an ad hoc field hospital. The long and short of it is this, in nations where hard lines and hospitals are at a minimum, innovative people can use the MMS and live video feeds from even the most basic cell phone to provide doctors in other regions with important information for diagnosing.

africaDoug also mentioned how creating an innovative text to phone program allowed users to request a free phone call from a friend if the text message was sponsored by a non-profit interested in providing health care information. Viewership on the host site went up 140% in a relatively short period.

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Posted in Community Involvement, Health 2.0, Health Care Industry
By Anthony LaFauce | 3 Comments »

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kmaynard
Katherine
Maynard

Mass Migration Online Presents Powerful Opportunities to Influence Consumer Experience

Friday, February 12th, 2010

Manhattan Research released findings from a study that confirmed what many of  us in communications know to be true -  online channels have significantly more influence over consumer health decisions and actions than traditional channels like print, T.V. and radio . Even more interestingly, the study claimed that editorial content still has significantly more influence on consumer health actions than various forms of social media, reinforcing the need for a compelling story if you want your messages to resonate with your most influential audiences.

But the continuing mass migration online (more than half of adults under the age of 65 now search the Internet for health information) presents powerful opportunities to influence the consumer experience, one of the last areas where companies can truly differentiate themselves among increasingly discerning and information savvy audiences.

Increasingly, successful communications programs will keep the customer experience front and center by fostering meaningful engagement whether that means real time feedback, nimble customer service or relevant education and content that help patients navigate the many choices they need to make throughout the continuum of their treatment and disease management process. (more...)

Posted in New Media, PR Industry, Technology
By Katherine Maynard | No Comments »

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Christina Plourde
Christina
Plourde

Part II: Public Health in Philadelphia

Tuesday, November 10th, 2009

Today was the first full day of sessions and posters at the American Public Health Association Annual Meeting in Philadelphia.  Our Spectrum team spread through the conference and heard some interesting things, including:

Menu Labeling and Policy

In a session on menu labeling in New York City, Portland, and Seattle, research and policies were compared.  The Spectrum blog has previously written about research conducted in NYC.   The session started off with a discussion about why menu labeling is important; James Krieger asked the room to guess how many calories are in a variety of fast food meals, ranging from Burger King to Pizza Hut.  The Pizza Hut Cream Chicken Alfredo Pesto Pasta has a startling 3,270 calories per serving.  That's nearly double the recommended calories for adults in an entire day.

There are currently 16 jurisdictions that have passed and/ or are currently implementing menu labeling initiatives.  Additionally, the health reform legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives on Saturday evening includes a menu labeling provision, which would preempt any state and local legislation.  The provision would only require calorie information to be posted, unlike some jurisdictions where fat, sodium, and other nutritional information is made available. (more...)

Posted in Health Policy, Public Affairs, Research, Technology, Tweets, Uncategorized
By Christina Plourde | No Comments »

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