Healthcareshouldbetheleaderinmicrosharing. Whyisntit? 140 Health Care Uses for Twitter: Suggestions for Micro-sharing In the 21st Century byPhilBaumann,RNBSN @PhilBaumann

WhyShouldHealthCareMicroshare? [Thisebookisarepurposingofanoriginalblogpost140HealthCareUsesforTwitterpublishedJanuary16,2008.] Twittermayeitherbethegreatesttimewastingprankeverplayedontheinternetcommunity oritmaybethebestthingsinceslicedbread.It'seasytomakethefirstcaseifyoureadthe publictimelineforafewminutes.It'sabithardertomakethesecond,butI'lldomybestto makeit.Specifically,I'dliketotakeastabatoffering140healthcareusesforTwitter. Twitter'ssimplicityofdesign,speedofdeliveryandabilitytoconnecttwoormorepeople aroundtheworldprovidesapowerfulmeansofcommunication,ideasharingand collaboration.There'spotencyintheabilitytoburstout140characters,includingashortened URI.Couldthispowerhaveanyuseinhealthcare?Afterall,forexample,doctorsandnurses sharemedicalinformation,oftenshortburstsofdata(labvalues,conditions,orders,etc.). 140 Health Care Uses for Twitter (cc) Phil Baumann PhilBaumann.com 2

Unlikemostotherkindsofuses(dailyexchangesbetweenfriends,thekindofwork @Comcastcaresdoes,etc.),healthcarerelatedmattersposeuniquechallenges,includingbut notlimitedto: Patientdignityandprivacy Professionaloathstodonoharm Litigationconcerns Standardsandcomplianceneeds HIPAA ThepossibilitiesthatIbelieveTwitterofferscurrentlyfarexceedstheconstraints.Thisebook won'tofferworkaroundsolutionstotheseconstraints.Ratheritwillfocusonthepossibilities becauseonceweseethepotential,wemayhavestrongermotivationstodealintelligentlywith theconstraints.Sowhenreadingthislist,don'tgethunguponthedetails,thefears,the anxietiesthatmaybeprovokedbytherealitiesofhealthcareasitispracticedtoday.It'sthe 21stCentury:let'sbeimaginative,determinedandinnovative.Let'sberemarkable. Inthehealthcareindustrythereisoftenafinelinebetweencautionandfear.Itisthefearof changesocommoninhealthcarethatIhopewecanovercome.Twittermaybeaproving groundofhowweovercomeourfears,satisfyourcautionsandextendthereachofourhealth caresystemwithwebbasedtechnologiesandcommunities. 140 Health Care Uses for Twitter (cc) Phil Baumann PhilBaumann.com 3

Whatfollowsareusesthatcanbeadoptednowaswellasusesthatremaintobedeveloped. ThesuggesteduseswontnecessarilyfindtheirapplicationviaTwitteritself,butTwitter exemplifiesthepotentialofmicrosharing.Thesuggestionsformanargumentforchallenging ourselvestothinkpastastatusquowhichisfailing. Whatdoyouthinkhealthcarewilllooklikein2099?Willwestillbeusingpaperformedical recordsorwillwebeusingtechnologiesthateverybodyelsewillbeusing?Willwetranscend ouraccustomedwaysofthinkingandresocializeourselvesforhowweinteractwitheach other?Thatswhatisrequiredinthecomingageofmicrosharing.Ihopethatthislisthelpsto answerthosequestions. IfyouwanttolearnmoreaboutTwitter,pleaserefertotheTwitterResourcessectionat theendofthisebook. AllthematerialcontainedinthisfreeebookarelicensedunderCreativeCommons3.0.Refertothat documentbeforerepurposingthismaterial.Youareencouragedtosharethisebookwithothersforthe benefitofothersaslongasyoucreditthesourceback(alinktoPhilBaumann.comissufficient). 140 Health Care Uses for Twitter (cc) Phil Baumann PhilBaumann.com 4

Who Is This List For? You! You,theCNOofacommunityhospitalwhowantstobettermonitoryourfacility You,theCEOofahospitalwhowantstoknowwhat'sbeingsaidaboutyouandwhatyoucandoaboutit You,thenursewhoistiredofchasingafterinformationthatshouldbeatyourfingertips You,thedoctorwhowantstonetworkwithpeersandperiscopeforthelatestadvancesinmedicine You,thedisasterresponsepersonnelwhoneedtorecruitresourcesrealtime You,theepidemiologistwhowantstotrackinfectiousdiseasesanddevelopasleekalertsystem You,healthpolicyofficialwhowantstointeractwiththepublic You,thepatientwhowantstoconnectotherswithsimilarconditions You,thefamilymemberwhowantscommunitysupport You,thecitizenwhowantsavoicethat'sheard You,whodontfallintoanyoftheabovecategoriesyet 140 Health Care Uses for Twitter (cc) Phil Baumann PhilBaumann.com 5

140HealthCareUsesforTwitter 1. Tissuerecruitment(kidneyandotherorgan,blood) 2. Epidemiologicalsurvey 3. Disasteralertingandresponse 4. Emergencyresponseteammanagement 5. Supportivecareforpatientsandfamilymembers 6. Diabetesmanagement(bloodglucosetracking) 7. Maintainingapersonalhealthdiary 8. Adverseeventreportingintheclinicalsettingandotherpharmacovigilance functions 9. Emittingcriticallaboratoryvaluestonursesandphysicians 140 Health Care Uses for Twitter (cc) Phil Baumann PhilBaumann.com 6

10. Alarmingsilentcodes(psychiatricemergencies,securityincidents) 11. DrugsafetyalertsfromtheFDA 12. Riskmanagementcommunication 13. Augmentingtelemedicine 14. IssuingAmberalerts 15. Issuingalertsformissingnursinghomeresidents 16. Exercisemanagementandencouragement 17. Weightmanagementandsupport 18. Biomedicaldevicedatacaptureandreporting 19. Nutritionaldiaryandtracking 140 Health Care Uses for Twitter (cc) Phil Baumann PhilBaumann.com 7

20. Coordinatingpreoperative,perioperativeandpostoperativecare(among pharmacy,nursingandsurgicalservices) 21. Medicalservicecollaborationintheclinicalsetting 22. Triagemanagementinemergencyrooms 23. Censusmanagement/monitoring 24. Arrangingoutpatientcare 25. Crowdsourcingforhealthcareresources 26. Shiftbiddingfornursesandotherhealthcareprofessionals 27. Moodtracking(forpatientswithbipolarandothermooddisorders) 28. Patientcareremindersintheclinicalsetting. 29. Prescriptionmanagement,includingpharmacyrefillreminders 30. Dailyhealthtipsfromauthoritativesources 140 Health Care Uses for Twitter (cc) Phil Baumann PhilBaumann.com 8

31. Locationawarenessduringcrisis 32. Occup