How hospitals can use blogs
Jun 15, 2009
by
Jeremy Dietz
Managed properly, a blog has enormous potential for helping hospitals and health plans engage the people in their community. A blog can be used to promote services or physicians, deliver news, or communicate with community members about an important or sensitive topic.
If you allow comments from the community on your blog, you can get a real sense of how your organization is viewed and work directly to change any negative perceptions—and to reinforce positive ones.
Here are some examples of ways hospitals have successfully used blogs:
- Promoting a service. Pick a service line, such as bariatric surgery, and have experts on your staff write posts and answer questions about the service. This can be a great way to advertise your expertise and to interact with people who may be interested in using the service.
- Following an ongoing project. For example, if your facility is undergoing a major renovation or addition, a blog can be a good way to provide updates, answer questions and communicate important information.
- Communicating with employees. An employee-only blog can help you communicate information on policy changes, answer staff questions and generate ideas.