My Top 10 Social Media & Technology Resources in Health

I gave a presentation recently to a group of social media newbies. I thought it would be good to leave them with a list of resources for future reference. It was a great opportunity to think about the sources I turn to when wanting to keep up-to-date on technology's impact on health and the delivery of healthcare. There are many more excellent online outlets, but these are ones I think are top-of-the-line.

  1. iHealthBeat - This daily newsletter is a publication of the California HealthCare Foundation, although it is really written and edited by The Advisory Board.  It covers all things related to the intersection of technology and health. I love it, and find so many useful articles, summaries and stats. Subscribe!
  2. Pew Internet & American Life Project - Susannah Fox is the resident expert on Health at Pew. Her analysis and insights are always first-rate. I read everything she publishes and always turn to Pew for recent data related to social/digital/mobile and health. Follow Susannah on Twitter, too.
  3. Dose of Digital Pharma & Healthcare Social Media Wiki - Jonathan Richman, Director of Social Media at Bridge Worldwide, provides the healthcare industry with one of the most useful resources available in the social health sphere. He has organized the go-to list of patient and professional communities (sponsored and independent); pharma and healthcare pages on Twitter, YouTube and Facebook; blogs from patients, caregivers, industry and observers. And more! Check it out and bookmark it.
  4. CDC’s Health Communicator's Social Media Toolkit - For those who think that government can't get it done, think again. I remember seeing Ann Aikin of CDC at a social media event and was so impressed by how well they had integrated social, digital and mobile media into their communications strategies. Now they have documented their hard work and lessons learned in this amazing piece of work. It is a how-to guide on using RSS, podcasts, blogs, video, Twitter, social networking sites, widgets, mobile, ecards, online games...and more. And it's available to all at no charge.
  5. FDASM -Fabio Gratton, Chief Innovation Officer of Ignite Health, put up this site in late 2009 to help the industry keep up-to-date on the FDA's Social Media Hearings (Nov 12-13, 2009). He has assembled all of the materials (documents, videos, presentations, interviews, resources) related to the hearings and continues to update it as new information emerges. It's also a great place to see how crowded the agency space is in health and pharma. Peruse all the logos on the right-hand side of the page.
  6. Social Media University Global - Lee Aase is a name you should know if you're interested in social, health and doing it right. Lee has attained rock star status within social media circles as the Director of Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media.  But that's just his day job. By night he is the Chancellor of Social Media University Global (SMUG), a site he created to help others navigate the new social order. It is a rich resource that provides practical, hands-on training in social media with "101" (intro) courses on topics like social networking, blogs, tagging and wikis. He also covers Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and YouTube.  Lee has also written his own 35 Social Media Theses. Watch out Martin Luther!
  7. MediGuard - This is my go-to site to find out how patients really feel about the drugs they are taking. The quantitative data about satisfaction, usage and side effects is a good barometer and the verbatims provide excellent context. Anyone can register to use the site.
  8. Fierce Mobile Healthcare - Everyone is talking mobile health. I find this site's newsletter to be a great way to keep tabs on what's going on. Fierce Mobile Healthcare  is part of the Fierce empire  (Fierce Biotech, Fierce Healthcare) and provides a solid round-up of news in the space.
  9. iMedicalApps -  This is a physician-led site where practicing doctors provide commentary and reviews of mobile medical technology and applications.  For people interested in understanding what is really valuable to a physician (vs. what agencies tell you is valuable), then the site is a must.
  10. e-Patients - A window into the thinking of "equipped, enabled, empowered and engaged" patients. It turned me on to the Society for Participatory Medicine, and I like to read the perspectives of the many contributors.

Happy New Year - let's make 2011 a great one.

Bunny Ellerin