Using Social Networks to Build Consumer Affinity

By Heather Rast, Director of Strategic Services

In her recent book “Groundswell,” Charlene Li of Forrester Research suggests “The groundswell is a social trend in which people use technologies to get the things they need from each other, rather than from traditional institutions like corporations.”

This trend could be in response to the myriad and pervasive reach of advertising messages and the natural skepticism that can grow as a result of constant pressures to align with a particular brand or candidate. 

A Kick or a Stroke?

By Devendara Shrikhande, Senior Project Manager

With the Olympics going strong last week, it might come as surprise to some that there are sports beyond swimming! With their gargantuan investment, one can understand (though probably not agree with) NBC’s wall to wall coverage of Michael Phelps. While no one can fault NBC for leveraging the Michael Phelps phenomenon as it is a truly remarkable feat (and though I have not met him personally) he seems like a really nice guy.

MOSS Improves the Olympics … and Geonetric

By Josh Griffin, Director of IT

Whoa how about that Michael Phelps!  He is shattering world records and winning gold each time he hits the water – it’s an exciting thing to witness. But what does all this have to do with IT you ask?  I just read two great articles in this month’s Windows IT Pro: “SharePoint Goes to the Olympics” and “Gold Medal SharePoint Applications in Beijing.”  Both articles focus on how NBC is utilizing Microsoft Office SharePoint Server (MOSS) to bring the coverage of the Olympics to us on TV and the Internet.  They are also using it to simplify data entry, form requests and set up a help desk. 

Service Line Strategies: More than just Marketing

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & eHealth Evangelist

As I’m pulling together my presentation for the upcoming Geonetric Educational Series Webinar on utilizing your Web site for service line marketing, I’ve found one resource to be particularly valuable at understanding the business dynamic around the shift by acute care hospitals towards a greater service line focus, operationally speaking.  Service-line strategies for US hospitals appeared in the July issue of McKinsey Quarterly.

How the Microsoft Release of SQL Server 2008 Impacts the Healthcare Industry

By Jason Adams, SQL Developer

Microsoft has recently released Microsoft SQL Server 2008.  As with the most releases of Microsoft software, it has made major improvements with features, scalability, and security.  The three big features in this release that will impact the healthcare industry are the advanced data auditing, change data capture, and transparent data encryption features.  These new features make major strides to helping healthcare organizations meet HIPAA and other regulatory requirements.

What did you learn today?

By Linda Barnes, Vice President of Strategic Services

Have you taken the StrengthsFinder profile? It’s a very interesting way to pinpoint your talents (strengths) and build success based on them. If I’m loving my job, you can bet it’s because I’m getting the opportunity to maximize my natural strengths.

Excited about PHRs or just excited about Google?

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & eHealth Evangelist

It seems that the level of chatter about Personal Health Records has really jumped in the last few months with the entrance of Google Health and Microsoft HealthVault into the space.  On the whole, I’m excited about the move, but I am forced to wonder if the excitement is truly about PHRs or if it’s simply an expression of our fascination with all things Google.

Your Consumers Are Driving The Bus – Are You Strapped In?

By Heather Rast, Director of Strategic Services

Have you read the book “Buying In:  The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are?” The book extends the notion about how closely intertwined brands have come with our personal identities.  Author Rob Walker suggests that “. . .consumers interact with brands, defining and controlling them as companies struggle to keep up.”

Healthcare goes mainstream!

By Ben Dillon, Vice President & eHealth Evangelist

It seems that every time I pick up a magazine or newspaper or turn on the radio these days, there’s a piece about healthcare.  SLASH HEALTH COSTS and still get great care…(Money), HOW TO CHOOSE A HEALTHCARE PLAN (Inc.), WHY AMERICANS ARE GOING ABROAD FOR HEALTHCARE (Fast Company) or AMERICANS CUTTING BACK ON MEDICAL CARE (one in a lengthy list of healthcare topics covered on NPR). It’s no surprise as coverage of healthcare is booming!  A quick search of American News Magazines on NewsBank for the term “healthcare” yielded the following trend:

• 2005: 220 results
• 2006: 296 results
• 2007: 425 results
• 2008: 313 results (and it’s not August yet!)

A Strategy Framework for eHealth

By Eric Engelmann, President & CEO

There’s a conceptual diagram out there that Gartner and others have assembled that tries to outline the progression of eHealth. It looks something like this:

Source: http://www.envision-ebusiness.com/piicm_printerfriendly.asp?recordid=2