Field Notes Inside an Integrated Communications Agency

Nowadays everyone carries a mobile phone whether it be an ordinary flip phone, an iPhone, Blackberry, etc. With over four billion mobile phone subscriptions worldwide, accessibility to patients, via mobile devices is beginning to garner much attention in health care.

Several pharmaceutical companies and health care provider groups are using SMS messaging to remind patients of upcoming appointments and prescription refills and even opportunities to join clinical trials. This list can go on, but early study results have shown that such methods of communication are increasing patient adherence to medication and reducing the number of missed appointments -- which are key steps to improving patient care.

But what if this type of interaction between provider and patient was taken to the next level, say on Twitter? A recent blog post suggests Twitter may be a good avenue to communicate health care "support" activities. Below are a few ways that health care providers and pharma companies can use Twitter to disseminate information:

• • Prescription management, including pharmacy refill reminders
• • Daily health tips from authoritative sources
• • Clinical trial awareness & recruitment
• • Issuing dietary/lifestyle tips
• • Exercise management and encouragement

**For a complete list visit Phil Baumann's blog post here.

So I pose the question to you…have any of you opted in to receive text messages or other digital communication from your health care providers? What are your thoughts on the role of Twitter in this arena? Does it have a place? Is it crossing the line? Is it too public?

This Christmas, I was awakened quite early in the morning, at 7:47am to be precise. The sound that disrupted my sleep was not the sound of reindeer on our roof, or even a gift of breakfast in bed from my husband (worth a shot), but the persistent beep of an incoming text message on my cell phone. Being as I am not a morning person, I went back to sleep, which I enjoyed only for another hour, upon which I promptly received another text—from a west coast friend no less. What is she doing texting people at that hour? By the end of the day I had a clogged inbox on my phone and one annoyed husband, who wanted to know why my friends didn’t understand that their well wishes were costing him ten cents a pop.

While I am all about spreading the holiday cheer in any way possible, I soon began thinking about how I have always chosen to share my cheer—the annual holiday card. Now I am not one to make a big production with the Christmas cards…you will never get a photo in the mail of my dog and cat dressed up as Rudolph and an elf, but I do enjoy sending out my holiday greetings the good ole’ fashioned way, with a pen, a cute card and the help of the USPS. Call me overly traditional, or even a late adopter, but I just cannot convince myself that there is an appropriate substitution for a hand-written note.

After a little more thought, it became apparent to me that we did not receive nearly as many cards as we did last year. Either I have been a very bad friend, or possibly there is another reason for the lack of card-sending. At forty-two cents a stamp and the economy in a downward spiral, it makes sense that people would abandon a tradition such as holiday cards for a more economical means of sending their wishes. Or possibly the need to go green has spawned a new generation of people no longer inclined to see trees turned into glittery note cards. Or maybe technology is just making us lazy. Instant gratification sure beats hours of addressing, signing and stamping cards.

I realize that I work at a cutting edge communications firm and I, just like everyone else here, enjoys being on the forefront of technology. I mean, this is a blog, right? My point to this is simply that as new opportunities for communication become more widely accepted, will the standards traditionally upheld for generations go by the wayside for convenience, cost and environmental concerns? In today’s fast-paced electronic world, I personally think that a handwritten note still carries the most weight. Tomorrow, however, will my antiquated means of spreading holiday joy be laughed at? Will my children someday upload interactive videos to my live virtual reality wiki instead of writing me a thank you note? Someday will it be acceptable to RSVP to a wedding via text message?

I would love to hear your thoughts—is it appropriate to send a mass text message to your phone book en lieu of sending individual notes? Martha Stewart and Emily Post might say no, do you agree?