In the latest installment of our 10th anniversary blog series, Dodge Communications’ president and CEO is interviewed to discuss Dodge’s history over the past 10 years. To view earlier installments please click here.
Brad Dodge is president and CEO at Dodge Communications. To listen to the interview, click on his picture or view the transcript below.
Question 1: When you started the company 10 years ago, where did you think Dodge would be on its 10th anniversary?
Brad Dodge: It’s an interesting question because we didn’t really think about that back then. We were tied up in the day-to-day activities because we were starting a new business. There were so many variables, unknowns and challenges in getting started that we didn’t really think about what the future would hold. Instead, we had to think about what each day would hold. We were doing our own client management and writing our own brochures and things, so we didn’t really think that far ahead. Frankly, we didn’t know if it would be possible to grow the company strictly in the healthcare vertical, and it wasn’t until several years later that we said, “Wow, I guess this thing really can be all healthcare.” We started to get some successes and some long-term clients under our belt, and it became clear there was a real need for these services in the B2B healthcare space; it became obvious we’d be able to grow the business that way.
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Alan Zloto, D.O. is the owner of a private internal medicine practice in Tampa, FL.
In the following entry, he weighs in on how healthcare reform is impacting physician practices.
What impact have recent healthcare reform initiatives, such as the HITECH Act, had on your organization?
We’ve had to convert all files to paperless and purchase electronic medical records which included medical billing and scheduling which are all integrated. In addition, our practice purchased tablet PC’s that enable handwriting recognition so all notes are immediately transcribed. This saves transcription costs but also has a learning curve.
How is your organization moving towards meeting meaningful use criteria? What future impact do you feel the new initiatives will bring?
We are awaiting the upgrade of our software which will allow us to comply with all the requirements of meaningful use. We are in the process of assessing whether our security in place will meet the HITECH standards. We’ve enrolled in the Medicare program for reimbursement, but one problem we’ve encountered was getting onto the PECOS system in order to qualify for the reimbursement program. We found that the Medicare website was not user friendly and trying to find someone to help you was very difficult. We had to go to the supervisory personnel before we were able to get on the program.
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New social media platforms spring up every day, and allow the world to learn even more about your company from Web sites such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Buzz and blogs, etc. In the healthcare industry, it’s become vital to have a strong social media strategy in place to ensure that your brand is well protected and that material presented on your behalf is consistent. In addition, messages should be in line with your mission, vision and strategy.
This sometimes proves challenging for healthcare organizations and the vendors that serve them. The goal is not to create such a controlled environment that employees feel constrained or that they cannot express themselves. Rather, you want to give employees the freedom necessary to put a friendly human face on the corporation – a particularly important consideration in the healthcare industry.
This article from PRSA offers tips to keep in mind when implementing a new social media policy to help your organization retain its professional and image, while still allowing employees to exercise creativity. Strategies include:
- Understand the culture, then develop a policy
- Define who can initiate media on behalf of the organization
- Focus on putting out material that brings value to readers and the healthcare industry as a whole
- Define what’s personal and what’s professional
- Generate new content consistently to keep people engaged
As technology evolves daily, it seems that the jargon used to reference the industry changes just as frequently too. You probably don’t hear people around the office referencing dial-up Internet, beepers or floppy discs, since they have all been replaced by terms such as DSL, iPhone and flash drives.
Business Week has put together a humorous article – ‘12 Words You Can Never Say in the Office,’ – a refreshing read for anyone who wants to make sure they are up to date on the latest expressions for blogging (microblogging or Twitter) or how to refer to ‘surfing the Web’ (Google). This article is also useful for the 20-somethings in the office who may not always understand what their more experienced co-workers are talking about when they start mentioning ‘long-distance calls.’
By now, most people are aware of what Twitter is and how a “tweet” works. One unexpected aspect of this social media tool has been its positive impact on the relationship between journalists and PR professionals. We have found that an increasing amount of healthcare publications and journalists are utilizing Twitter as a vehicle for assembling story ideas, finding sources, and informing “followers” about important events or deadlines. For PR pros, this provides another venue for effectively accessing the media and ensuring that story pitches are as timely and targeted as possible.
This American Journalism Review article provides the journalists’ perspective on Twitter, including its effectiveness as a journalism tool and a news-dissemination channel.
With social media becoming a more critical strategic tool every day, our healthcare IT clients often ask how to best approach this new space to maximize their message. Although there are many networking sites to choose from, one popular site commanding a lot of attention right now is Twitter, which functions as a service to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent messages.
Here are four techniques to become a successful Twitterer:
- You have only 140 characters to capture the attention of your followers, so tweet about interesting subjects. Updates do not always have to be work related, but writing about your pet all the time is not something others necessarily care to hear about.
- Linking back to your blog or your company’s blog every day is also not appealing to your followers. Remember they can subscribe to your RSS feeds if they want to read your blog.
- Don’t follow hundreds of people who you don’t know on Twitter, just because you can. Follow people you are truly interested in because they are talking about topics you care about (whether it’s healthcare, technology, or your love for a certain sports team).
- When your company decides to create a page, nominate a spokesperson from upper management to actively update and maintain it, so the page accurately reflects the corporate perspective and a positive image.
A great example of an organization taking advantage of this social medium is HIMSS. They used Twitter a great deal before and during the recent 2009 HIMSS Conference to keep attendees informed and in the loop about everything that was taking place.
While Twitter, Facebook, Digg and similar sites have not replaced phone calls or e-mails, they are certainly providing new ways for the healthcare industry to conduct business, connect with consumers and reach different audiences. Maybe it is time to give it a try.
Some content based on Bulldog Reporter’s webinar on 4/2/2009: Journalists Speak Out on Twitter for PR: Top Reporters Reveal How the Press Uses Social Media Networks to Generate Story Ideas and Buzz.
