Images of health workers in full-body protective suits and frail, suffering civilians have become the faces of West Africa’s Ebola epidemic in the media. But today the Washington Post shows a different depiction of the outbreak, through murals painted on bright red backdrops and colorful posters decorating communal areas. It highlights how leaders in West […]
Dear Healthcare: No one is watching your commercials or reading your flyers b/c they are outside doing the #IceBucketChallenge #hcldr — D’Anna Holmes (@PoPculture_px) August 27, 2014 What started as a grassroots campaign has raised more than $100 million for the ALS Association in the last month. Not to mention, it’s gotten Medtronic CEO Omar […]
Closing cancer health equity gaps require medical breakthroughs made possible by new funding approaches.
The viral marketing campaign for ALS known as the ice bucket challenge has boosted the profile of rare disease philanthropy and permeated pop culture in a way that orphan diseases typically don’t, from the sublime to the ridiculous. Of course, ALS is just one of the 6,600 rare diseases in the world. Rare diseases affect […]
That ice bucket challenge that you can’t seem to ignore even if you wanted to over the past week is now making it’s way to at least one major healthcare provider. After the likes of Mark Zuckerberberg, Bill Gates, Derek Jeter and scores other celebrities and failed attempts on YouTube, the Ohio State University Wexner […]
Social media and healthcare are an odd couple, at least for Facebook. It turns out that only about 9.5 percent of Facebook pages about chronic diseases are used for actual support, while about 32 percent of such pages are marketing ploys, according to a study in the Journal of Medicine Internet Research. The study also […]
GlaxoSmithKline, better known as GSK, has launched a new web effort aimed at providing both information and inspiration for people with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, in what the company says is arguably the most engaging platform in the marketplace. The rollout of the new COPD.com goes beyond what was previously offered, certainly by GSK but possibly […]
As technology advances, AI-powered tools will increasingly reduce the administrative burdens on healthcare providers.
As the use of digital health tools continues to become common practice in people’s lives, it’s always useful to quantify that. An infographic released this week (displayed below) showed that 60 percent of households have some sort of digital health device — such as a digital scale or glucometer. Although 25 percent used digital health […]
A Pew Internet research study estimated that 72 percent of Internet users searched for health information on their mobile devices, so the next logical question is, what were they looking for? Advertising company PageScience analyzed page impressions and concluded mental health issues topped Web page impressions, specifically bipolar disorder, according to a company statement. Searches […]
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen at least one of Weird Al Yankovic’s new videos. His latest album, “Mandatory Fun,” debuted at #1 on the Billboard album chart. His marketing plan was genius. He released 8 videos in 8 days and partnered with a different website for each one, ranging from Nerdist […]
Hospitals appear to be getting better at harnessing the power of the web. Dayton Children’s Hospital in Ohio was the only healthcare organization to be a “featured business” in a new report from search engine giant Google, which said its economic impact on a national level totaled $111 billion. The report, which highlights dozens of […]
The future looks bright for the integrated specialty pharmacy model – for health systems, providers, and most importantly, for patients.
The TED talks have built a brand around influential thought leaders known for their keen ability to deliver compelling insights on complex subjects on a minimalist stage. Although TEDMED has changed ownership a few times since 1998, it’s established itself as a must-see conference with exciting perspectives in healthcare and medical technology accompanied by innovative […]
If you walked around UnitedHealthcare’s exhibit space at the recent AARP Life@50 conference in Boston, it would be tough to find anything that was explicitly designed to appeal to seniors. The emphasis on activities like art and dancing classes balanced with healthcare screenings underscored the point that it wasn’t just seniors that were the focus […]
One of the most useful social media resources is Reddit. Its Ask Me Anything sessions offer readers the chance to glean some interesting insights from all manner of professions, including healthcare entrepreneurs. Dr. Jay Parkinson, the co-founder of Sherpaa, took part in one of these sessions last month. He weighed in on wearables (they’re nonsense), […]
Senior Americans’ grasp of the Internet and mobile devices is more complex than most people may realize, according to a new report from Pew Research Center. About six in 10 Americans aged 65 and older use the Internet and about 47 percent say they have broadband access at home. But age and income make a […]
The pharmaceutical industry is warming up to direct to consumer advertising on YouTube, but Google, which acquired the media channel in 2006, would like drug companies to get a lot warmer.