Business of Healthcare Conference

Today I was up in Evanston for the 2009 Kellogg Business of Healthcare Conference. They had an outstanding set of speakers and panelists at the event, and there was a lot of great dialogue on healthcare, reform and technology. For me the standout session was the "Leveraging Interactive Marketing Tools in Healthcare" panel, which featured speakers from many different segments of healthcare and social media. Panelists included:

Michael Millenson, President, Health Quality Advisors, LLC
Lee Aase, Manager, Syndication and Social Media, Mayo Clinic
Sarah Campbell, Partner, Assoc. Director of Content Strategy, Ogilvy Interactive
Beatrice Ellerin, Managing Director, InterbrandHealth
Marker Wiegand, Director of Consumer Marketing, Amgen

The big message at this panel was that technology (specifically social media and mobile technology) is changing the face of healthcare. It's enabling the delivery of a more personal and customizable product to consumers. The panelists gave several examples of successful applications of this new trend in the industry. From doctors using social media to connect with their patients, to the Mayo Clinic sharing stories to build awareness of medical conditions and to empower their patients, there's a definite lean in the industry to forming a more personal and direct relationship with consumers (just as it is in any other industry). One thing to keep in mind is that this 'connection' process needs to be simple, easy to use, and transparent. This is where social media really comes into play, since it has already established itself as all those things. Other industries are already leveraging social media to connect with their consumers, and it's time for the healthcare industry to realize this and get on board with the movement.

My favorite panelist was Lee Aase, Manager of Syndication and Social Media at the Mayo Clinic. He shared with us the social media tools the Mayo Clinic is using to connect with their patients. It was surprising to see such a conservative organization using tools like YouTube and Twitter, but I guess Lee has convinced the Mayo execs of the power of social media and the net positive returns they can receive through these tools. What's pretty funny is that he was tweeting during the event, using the hashtag #KelloggHC to tag his posts for others to follow. Of course I pulled out my phone and followed his tweets, which made the whole event feel very meta-esque.

Here's Lee's Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/LeeAase