The problems with Healthcare.gov will no doubt eventually be repaired by IT pros, but the damage to reputations will sting for years to come. The challenge for the contractors involved is that the standard crisis communications playbook simply doesn’t apply in these situations. This playbook says that in a typical crisis where a corporate reputation is…
Survey data, new products, videos, infographics, press releases – these things are a surefire way to be mentioned in the news. You distribute it, media picks it up. We collect PR assets like we do dirty coffee mugs around RH. We pick them up from our clients almost daily and then we are challenged with…
Last week I attended the American Telemedicine Association (ATA) annual conference in Austin. For over 10 years I have been going to this conference – in person and remotely – to keep abreast of the latest developments in this unique segment of the healthcare IT industry. More Than an Academic Experiment As has been the…
Every day we see new survey findings in the news – everything from the cleanest city and the best beaches to the unhealthiest states and most stressful careers. Nationally known research companies such as Kelton Research, Gallup and Harris Interactive are making a killing organizing consumer surveys for foundations, corporations and consumer interest groups. However,…
A recent PBS special on the coming-of-age of Silicon Valley reminded me of the excitement I had dreaming up the seemingly endless uses for my family’s first home computer (a Timex Sinclair 1000, with 1.5k of built-in memory, circa 1982), and the epochal significance of the work everyone in the technology sector is doing today,…
This year, HIMSS was remarkable for many reasons. For me, it re-introduced the city of New Orleans and (after multiple negative experiences) the allure the city can have. It also represented a personal success in winning an iPad Mini from Cigna – thanks to 42,000 steps in a 24-hour Fitbit competition. But, more importantly, sitting with clients in…
Trends abound in technology. On a daily basis, I watch the transformation of multiple industries (healthcare, education and government, to name a few). What strikes me is the recent transcendence of a few key trends beyond each of these markets. A few weeks ago, I attended a conference for the legal technology industry – an…
For the past decade there has been lots of talk about the coming boom in healthcare IT spending, but little to show for it. Now the money is actually starting to flow. As a result, the healthcare industry has developed an insatiable appetite for hard-to-find skilled IT workers. Sunny Singh, CEO of health IT company Edifecs…
When rolling out a new product or service to your customers, establishing valuable and authentic communication is of vital importance. You want to tell them what’s new and at the same time communicate your value. A robust email campaign is a tried and true method for sending out the message. One of our clients, Clarity…
As public relations professionals, we are often like surfers – aware that epic waves will occasionally arrive and therefore doing our best to pre-position ourselves (for our clients) to catch and ride them all the way to media coverage glory. Â It doesn’t always work out that way, even when the approaching wave is a rare…
In recent weeks I’ve seen a number of news articles that highlight some of the tectonic shifts taking place in healthcare. For instance, this piece – written by David Ignatius of the Washington Post – underscores the notion that regardless of what happens to “Obamacare,” cost pressures will force healthcare providers to consolidate; deliver care…
The demise of Google Health is more proof that the health IT hype is no longer en vogue. The hype cycle is ebbing and a tide of real money is starting to wash into the sector. The press is hungry for IT implementation stories (as opposed to ‘idea stories’ about the promises of IT adoption).
