Sunday, May 25, 2014
8-2: Best Practices
The blog I chose for this assignment is
located at the following address: http://georgevanantwerp.com/.
The purpose of the blog, “Enabling Healthy Decisions” as stated is: “This blog (formerly The Patient Advocate)
contains my thoughts about healthcare. It is generally focused on marketing
related issues from a patient perspective. After working in healthcare, my
opinion is that most companies today think of patients as claims. I advocate
that healthcare needs to be more like consumer products and think differently
about how they interact...both for their own personal benefits and for the
patients”. It is written by George Van
Antwerp, Vice President of Product Development at inVentiv Medical
Management. As detailed in the "About" section of the blog, Mr.
Van Antwerp has extensive experience in the business and product development
functions of both healthcare and non-healthcare related companies, and offers
his insight on numerous healthcare related topics.
I find the information Mr. Van Antwerp provides to be of great interest,
especially as it pertains to my work within the prescription benefit management
field. As implementation of the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) moves forward, healthcare companies are quickly
moving to change the way they operate on a day to day basis in order to ensure
compliance with the mandates and offer their clients and members the most
optimal care. Van Antwerp’s experience
and knowledge in the field provides analysis and offers best practice solutions
for those within the healthcare field to help best operationalize new
technology to engage patients and in the long run, achieve better health
outcomes.
As far as best practices, I believe the Van Antwerp’s blog offers a
number of them:
-Given the overwhelming amount of political talk and opinion regarding the
ACA and healthcare in general, and the wealth of disinformation on the web,
finding sources that simply break down the facts in a way that is easy to
understand and to digest is invaluable.
Van Antwerp’s analyses of subjects ranging from drug trends to the rise
in specialty pharmacy utilization to the use of new media to communicate with
patients and providers, is thorough and well thought out.
-As mentioned, Van Antwerp writes about a variety of subjects related to
healthcare, providing a broad picture of the “holistic” approach that is
becoming more prevalent among healthcare companies and service providers,
offering an all-encompassing look at the many different aspects of
healthcare. From the issue of legalized
marijuana versus drug abuse prevention, to how best to address the obesity
epidemic that is proving to place more and more of a burden on our healthcare
system, Van Antwerp provides measured, logical analyses that are positioned to
engage and encourage discussion.
-Van Antwerp also posts on a regular basis, an aspect that is very
important especially given the changing nature of healthcare and services as
new innovations are discovered and implemented.
Overall, I believe that the information Mr. Van Antwerp provides is
useful, and not just for those who are working in the healthcare
environment. As new innovations and
strategies regarding the best way to deliver optimal healthcare services are
devised and implemented, anyone can benefit from having access to the knowledge
that Van Antwerp provides, because one of the best ways to help bring
healthcare costs down is to have an informed and empowered customer/patient
base who are engaged in their care for now and for the future.
The purpose of the blog, “Enabling Healthy Decisions” as stated is: “This blog (formerly The Patient Advocate)
contains my thoughts about healthcare. It is generally focused on marketing
related issues from a patient perspective. After working in healthcare, my
opinion is that most companies today think of patients as claims. I advocate
that healthcare needs to be more like consumer products and think differently
about how they interact...both for their own personal benefits and for the
patients”. It is written by George Van
Antwerp, Vice President of Product Development at inVentiv Medical
Management. As detailed in the "About" section of the blog, Mr.
Van Antwerp has extensive experience in the business and product development
functions of both healthcare and non-healthcare related companies, and offers
his insight on numerous healthcare related topics.
I find the information Mr. Van Antwerp provides to be of great interest,
especially as it pertains to my work within the prescription benefit management
field. As implementation of the
Affordable Care Act (ACA) moves forward, healthcare companies are quickly
moving to change the way they operate on a day to day basis in order to ensure
compliance with the mandates and offer their clients and members the most
optimal care. Van Antwerp’s experience
and knowledge in the field provides analysis and offers best practice solutions
for those within the healthcare field to help best operationalize new
technology to engage patients and in the long run, achieve better health
outcomes.
As far as best practices, I believe the Van Antwerp’s blog offers a
number of them:
-Given the overwhelming amount of political talk and opinion regarding the
ACA and healthcare in general, and the wealth of disinformation on the web,
finding sources that simply break down the facts in a way that is easy to
understand and to digest is invaluable.
Van Antwerp’s analyses of subjects ranging from drug trends to the rise
in specialty pharmacy utilization to the use of new media to communicate with
patients and providers, is thorough and well thought out.
-As mentioned, Van Antwerp writes about a variety of subjects related to
healthcare, providing a broad picture of the “holistic” approach that is
becoming more prevalent among healthcare companies and service providers,
offering an all-encompassing look at the many different aspects of
healthcare. From the issue of legalized
marijuana versus drug abuse prevention, to how best to address the obesity
epidemic that is proving to place more and more of a burden on our healthcare
system, Van Antwerp provides measured, logical analyses that are positioned to
engage and encourage discussion.
-Van Antwerp also posts on a regular basis, an aspect that is very
important especially given the changing nature of healthcare and services as
new innovations are discovered and implemented.
Overall, I believe that the information Mr. Van Antwerp provides is
useful, and not just for those who are working in the healthcare
environment. As new innovations and
strategies regarding the best way to deliver optimal healthcare services are
devised and implemented, anyone can benefit from having access to the knowledge
that Van Antwerp provides, because one of the best ways to help bring
healthcare costs down is to have an informed and empowered customer/patient
base who are engaged in their care for now and for the future.
Sunday, May 18, 2014
7-2 Press Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 22, 2012
Multiple sources have confirmed that Joe Paterno, legendary coach of
the Penn State Nittany Lions football team, has passed due to complications
from cancer.
Paterno, who was diagnosed with cancer in November 2011 after a visit
to his doctor for a bronchial issue, succumbed to complications from the
disease while surrounded by his family at a local hospital. Mount Nittany Medical Center released a
statement confirming that Paterno had passed Sunday morning of “metastatic
small cell carcinoma of the lung”, a condition indicating that the illness had
spread from one part of the body to another unrelated area.
The family released a statement Sunday morning which announced his
death. "He died as he lived,"
the statement said. "He fought hard until the end, stayed positive,
thought only of others and constantly reminded everyone of how blessed his life
had been. His ambitions were far reaching, but he never believed he had to
leave this Happy Valley to achieve them. He was a man devoted to his family,
his university, his players and his community."
Paterno took over head coaching duties of the Lions in 1966, upon the
retirement of his predecessor, Rip Engle, and went on to become the most
successful college football coach, including a record 409 wins, as well as
appearances in 37 bowl games and two national championships through the course
of his tenure. Over 250 of his former
players went on to the NFL where they found success.
Paterno built a program focused not only on the football, but which also
stressed academic achievement for his players in the classroom, and preached “success
with honor” to his players. He
implemented what he referred to as his “grand experiment” in which graduating
players was as important as the wins achieved on the field. He was a frequent guest speaker at alumni
gatherings around Pennsylvania, and was a frequent speaker on the topic of
ethics in sports.
Paterno’s career and his legacy were tarnished by the events of the
Jerry Sandusky scandal that rocked the Penn State community during the latter
end of 2011, and he was fired on the evening of November 9, 2011 after stating
that he was “absolutely devastated” by the case that had also ended the careers
of two university administrators due to charges of perjury and failing to
report incidents of abuse of which they had been made aware. In a statement announcing that he would
retire at the end of the 2011 season, prior to being let go by the board of
trustees, Paterno said that the incident was, “one of the great sorrows of my
life. With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more."
FACEBOOK POST
The entire Penn State community is mourning the passing of Joseph
Vincent Paterno, legendary head coach of the Penn State Nittany Lions football
team. Paterno succumbed to complications
from cancer the morning of January 22, 2012.
During tenure as head coach, Paterno led the Lions to more wins than any
other coach in major college football, but was relieved of his duties in the
wake of the Jerry Sandusky scandal in late 2011.
Reference
ESPN.com. (2012, January 23).
Joe Paterno, 85, dies in state college. Retrieved from http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/7489238/joe-paterno-ex-penn-state-nittany-lions-coach-dies-85-2-month-cancer-fightSunday, May 11, 2014
6-2: Social Media Tools
There is no doubt that social media has brought enormous changes to the
way information is communicated to the masses.
Both corporations and charitable organizations utilize these tools for various
reasons. In the case of corporations,
social media is a key tool in communicating values, creating brand awareness
and loyalty, and on an increasing basis, a way for customers to communicate in
real-time with corporate representatives.
For charitable organizations, social media serves as a way to bring an
issue to light or to demonstrate a need for assistance from the public, such as
in times of disaster or emergency. For
this analysis, I chose one of my favorite charities, Our Hen House (www.ourhenhouse.org) to review the ways
they utilize social media to communicate with the public.
Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated to the cause of animal rights and its stated mission is “to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals” (www.ourhenhouse.org). I realize that this is a polarizing topic, but my purpose with this blog post is not to proselytize on the subject of animal rights, but rather to analyze how OHH uses these tools in order to achieve their mission by their stated method:
Podcast
OHH’s podcast (http://www.ourhenhouse.org/podcast/) is a weekly audio show hosted by the founders of Our Hen House, Mariann Sullivan and Jasmin Singer. It offers listeners an entertaining and informative view of the world of animal rights. The podcasts deal with personal stories of both Mariann and Jasmin, as well as discussions of news items and interviews with personalities involved in the animal rights movement. The podcasts are supported by donated funds, and has been named an official honoree of the 2013 Webby Awards.
Our Hen House is a 501(c)(3) organization that is dedicated to the cause of animal rights and its stated mission is “to effectively mainstream the movement to end the exploitation of animals” (www.ourhenhouse.org). I realize that this is a polarizing topic, but my purpose with this blog post is not to proselytize on the subject of animal rights, but rather to analyze how OHH uses these tools in order to achieve their mission by their stated method:
Our Hen House
produces resources that you can use in order to find your own way to create
change for animals. Using video, audio, interviews, reviews, and the
written word, it provides daily updates on what you need to create change.
Changemakers come in all shapes and sizes –artists, grassroots activists,
academics, lawyers, students, business moguls, media darlings, etc. No matter
what your niche is, Our Hen House aims to give you what you need to be part of
a new world for animals (www.ourhenhouse.org/About).
It should be noted that the website serves as the main “hub” for access
to all of the social media tools and more, including a weekly TV show, a mode
of donating to the organization, a news tracker, and reviews and columns, as
well as space for member-created content.
Facebook
Through OHH’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/OurHenHouse),
followers are notified when new podcasts or other content such as blog posts
are loaded to the main website. In
addition, links to news items of interest to followers, culled from various
other news sites, provide a quick way to access the most up to date information
including links to provide a “deeper dive” into a particular item. This format encourages engagement and the
sharing of information across the Facebook platform, information that may not
show up in a standard news feed.
RSS Feed
OHH’s RSS feed (www.ourhenhouse.org/shortfeed/default)
offers followers another way to access information quickly. Updates, including those which are also
posted to Facebook, are listed by date and easily accessible via applications
such as Feedly or Bloglovin’ as well as through smartphone technology via the
web. This RSS feed provides another
level of connectivity to followers who may not participate in other social
media tools such as Facebook or Twitter, or may not have time to search through
the main OHH website for the article they want to read or podcast they want to
listen to. Podcast
OHH’s podcast (http://www.ourhenhouse.org/podcast/) is a weekly audio show hosted by the founders of Our Hen House, Mariann Sullivan and Jasmin Singer. It offers listeners an entertaining and informative view of the world of animal rights. The podcasts deal with personal stories of both Mariann and Jasmin, as well as discussions of news items and interviews with personalities involved in the animal rights movement. The podcasts are supported by donated funds, and has been named an official honoree of the 2013 Webby Awards.
These are just a few of the tools that OHH uses in order to spread its
message of animal rights in support of its stated goal. Recently a venture within the world of
e-publishing was announced, and the first work in that vein was released. The website also offers general information
regarding what animal rights and veganism are, and further information for
anyone who is interested to get involved.
In the world of animal rights, there are many voices, but I always
appreciate the voices of Mariann and Jasmin, as they offer measured analysis
and tone of what is almost always a hot button issue that tends to put people
on the defensive. Their use of social
media and outreach, and even the fact that they have “put themselves out there”
in such an open way is admirable.
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