Thank you notes

I’ve had all day and two separate Thanksgiving meals to think about what I’m thankful for at the Clear Medical Solutions family.  I thought I would share a couple of these thoughts with you.

• Thank you to those who have helped form our new ideas.  You are some of the best and brightest in our industry.
• To all those who dared to try our new ideas, those who could see the vision before others could:  Thank you!  (It was visionaries like you who brought us the airplane, submarine, and spaceship)
• I’m thankful for the lessons of life that make us better, more caring, stronger.  They’ve made us who we are, even though they hurt so much.
• To those who choose to work with us, and allow us to pursue our dreams.  Thank you.  We will not forget your gift. 
• To those who keep working, when the going gets tough.  Your strength inspires us.  Thank you.
• To those who’ve said “Yes”, when it was easier to say “No”.  Thank you.  (It was your “Yes” that gives us a tomorrow and a future.)
• Thank you to the friends who share our story with their friends and colleagues.  You are the sponsors of our tomorrow.

To our team members, friends and family:  Thank You for your support!

You mean the world to us.

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare. 

The Things We Make…

…Make Us.

At least that’s what the Jeep said this summer when they unveiled their newest creation (here’s the YouTube link: http://bit.ly/b9TFd2).  It just begs the question:

What do you make?

“A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business” - Unknown

When we started our group back in 2007, we decided that we were going to “make” happiness for the people we work with, and guess what? 

It “makes” us happy.

With so many nurses, physicians, therapists, HIM’ers, and leaders suffering from fatigue, burnout, and mountains of paperwork, we figured happiness is something that would make a huge impact in our industry (and more importantly, our world).

So now every day we get together to pursue happiness for our people.  I always say that I’m the luckiest guy because I get to love my work, help people, chase goals, and make a career out of it every single day.  Yeah, it’s a battle sometimes (especially in this economy)…but it’s a battle worth fighting. 

Thanks for all the support.

If you know of any healthcare organizations that need someone, our people can be the solution.  We’ve built a nationwide medical community and we’d love to put it to good use making a difference. 

Let’s work together.

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare. 

Presentation Day

In preparation for my HFMA webinar today, we’ve taken the last week to discuss Social Media in healthcare, and how it can be helpful for work related activity.  Obviously there is a lot of information out there and so much changes every week.  Don’t hesitate to ask a question on the comments section below if you have one. 

For all of my friends in the HFMA, feel free to join us at noon Central today for my presentation called “Making Social Media Work for You”.  I plan to make the case for why it’s important in the professional world, and spend some time helping ease the transition into the world of Social Networking.

Space is limited for this free webinar, so reserve your seat now at: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/402846665.  After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the Webinar.

Have a great day!

Aaron

Linkedin for Healthcare 101

Linkedin does such a great job of keeping you in contact with your professional network that I personally believe it will replace your Rolodex or address book.  It’s inevitable. 

It updates itself, allows you to ask questions of your entire professional network in one shot, and keeps you in touch with your offline groups and associations.  With a new member every second, it won’t be long before nearly every one of your colleagues is on it.

The first step is to register on Linkedin.com and go through the setup process.  For help on getting started, make sure you follow each step and check out this guide for new Linkedin users.

In the Information Age, people can Google your name and find out if anyone’s complained about you online, anytime you’ve been in the local paper, or just about anything else that people write about you.  When using Linkedin, you will be able manage the information that’s publically available about you and create a search result that is positive, professional, and near the top of the search results.  This is especially important for leaders, physicians, and others who depend on their reputation for their livelihood.

You can also gain new information and insights from other professionals in private group settings.  This can come in handy if you have a simple problem/question, but don’t want to pay a consultant for the answer.  Your peer network can and will help.  I use several groups to get peer support all of the time, and I swear by it.  Guide to asking questions on Linkedin

In the coming years our industry will face severe shortages for just about every type of work.  One benefit to Linkedin will be the ability to post job openings or do networking in order to find the right candidates for openings in your department. 

Just like facebook, some great communities have formed on Linkedin to provide peer support and helpful Q&A.  Here are some of my personal favorites:

• Nurse Circle
• Doctor’s Forum
• Clear Medical Network
• Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)
• HIM Circle – The Forum for Health Information Management Professionals
• WI ACHE Young Professional Network

I would recommend using the search box on the top right of the Linkedin screen to find other associations that you are a member of offline.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them as comments below.  I’ll help you out!

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare. 

Facebook for Healthcare 101

For the sake of keeping this short enough, I’m going to assume that you’ve registered on facebook.com and have gone through their quick setup process.  For help getting started, follow facebook’s recommended setup steps and check out this 8 minute guide for new facebook users.

Congratulations, you are now part of the largest social network in the world!

Here’s some basic info about the human network you’ve just joined:

• Earlier this year, it was named #1 most visited website in the US (more than Google)
• Every month 30,000,000,000 pieces of information (links, pictures, videos, etc.) are shared by its 500+ million users
• People spend 700,000,000,000 minutes per month on facebook

That’s a lot of zeros! 

During the sign-up process, you should have gone through facebook’s step by step guide to setup your profile and find your friends.  Don’t worry if you don’t have many friends on facebook right away.  Believe me, they will come.  (An 80+ year-old relative of mine signed up a couple months ago and has at least 20 friends now on facebook) 

Now let’s bring the professional side into it.  I truly believe that facebook has the potential be a major force in supporting healthcare professionals to reduce burnout, share best practices, and get quick answers to issues.  Using facebook as a tool, communities have formed to provide peer support and helpful Q&A.

Here are some of my personal favorite facebook communities:

• Facebook Association of Respiratory Therapists
• HIM Circle (For Health Information Management professionals)
• Clear Medical Network (A network for healthcare people, but I’m a bit biased on this one)
• Curbside Consult (For doctors)
• Nurse Circle (For nurses)
• Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)
• American College of Healthcare Executives (ACHE)

Specifically, notice how the first two groups have a lot of people answering the questions of their group members on their “Wall” tab.  I would recommend using the search box on the top of the facebook screen to find other associations that you are a member of offline. 

Next step?  Jump in!  Comment.  Post questions.  Help others.  These communities are built on us, and they are at their best when you and I are sharing.

Have questions about facebook?  Post questions you might have in the comment box below and I’ll see if I can help.

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare. 

Part 3: How to Start Using Social Media

In my last couple posts, I hope I’ve done a decent job of convincing you that Social Media might be worth a try.  Now the question is “How?”

The first step is to join some of the free Social Networking sites available.  I’ll talk more in-depth about each one in following posts, but first we need to pick a couple to start with, visit their home page, and register. 

Which ones to join?

There are literally thousands of different social networks to choose from, but for starters, I recommend starting with these two:

facebook.com – Their stated goal is to recreate the human network, and they’ve done so quite successfully.  With active groups, helpful pages, and a system that allows you to focus on people you know, this social network of over 550,000,000 people is the gateway to the world of Social Media.  It’s not just for college kids anymore (you might be surprised how many of your friends are on it).

Linkedin.com – This network of more than 80,000,000 is primarily for leaders and professionals.  With excellent groups and many of your colleagues already on there, it’s a great place to share professional information and stay informed.  Every Fortune 500 company has members on it, and it’s a must for anyone looking to lead others during this digital age.

(Extra Credit)  

twitter.com – If you’ve already joined facebook and Linkedin and find yourself looking to try more, I recommend twitter.  Twitter is simple.  Twitter is easy.  160,000,000 people are using twitter to share bite sized (140 characters or less) messages with the world.  You can follow the “tweets” of industry leaders, colleagues, consultants, and friends as they share news, links, videos, and blog postings.

If you have any questions, feel free to post them as comments here on the blog site and my colleagues and I will attempt to answer them as best as we can.

What’s next? 

I’ll dive into the professional side of facebook.com and discuss how you can make it work for your work in the healthcare industry.  The following day, we’ll focus Linkedin.com.  If you’d like to get these sent to you via email, just subscribe on the upper right side of ClearMatters.com.

See you tomorrow!

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare. 

Part 2: Why Should You Care about Social Media?

Yesterday I made the point that we aren’t just using the Internet as a tool anymore, but rather that we are becoming a part of it.

If you buy into that point, then you need more than a modem or router to access this new internet.  You need Social Media.  All the helpful information shared by your peers, industry changing discussions taking place right now, real-time news…it’s available through Social Media. 

Social Media is what connects us to each other.

We need to care about Social Media because it’s the new way people are interacting with the world.  Every Christmas I get fewer and fewer Christmas letters from family and friends, and they’re not coming in email either.  Their updates are happening every day (or every hour sometimes) on facebook, YouTube, twitter, and other Social Media sites.

The fact of the matter is that if you don’t embrace Social Media, you risk missing out on pictures and videos of family, invitations to events, or exciting announcements like engagements, babies, or awards.  Basically, you risk missing out on a big part of our world.

That includes your work world too.

Industry news, peer support, and networking are all happening online right now on the new internet, the social internet.

Now that we’ve established the “Why”, I’d like to talk about the “How” tomorrow.  If you’d like to continue the discussion, I invite you to subscribe to this blog on the upper right side of the blog page (http://www.ClearMatters.com).

Have a great day!  We’ll continue this tomorrow.

 

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare. 

Part 1: What is Social Media?

 

I’d like to start this series by defining ”What is Social Media?”

The definition of social in this case refers to living within a community, not necessarily the fun or trivial type of social you might picture when thinking of parties.  Social means community. 

As for the word “media”, there is no clear definition of what makes a website or online service “social” and just like many concepts, it has taken on a life of its own.  However, one thing remains clear:  The rise of Social Media and the activity of “Social Networking” marks a fundamental change in how we use the Internet.

In the past, the internet was a tool you used to get information from websites in a one way fashion, from the website to you.  Now, the Social Media revolution has created a more social, collaborative, interactive and responsive web.  This marks a change in us as a society and the Internet as a technology.

Today, we aren’t just using the Internet as a tool — we are becoming a part of it.

What is Social Media? It is the group of tools that create the new web, the human web.

 

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare. 

The Thing about Social Media

 

Do you remember when email was the “new thing”? 

How about the internet, word processors, or even computers?  It sounds funny now, but I remember people doubting if those tools would be anything more than just a passing fad.  Fast forward to 2010 and I earnestly believe that Social Media is the same sort of “new thing” that we’ll need to learn and embrace to be effective leaders in the coming years.

The only reason I bring this up now is that my last post about “Social Surgery” caused quit a stir.  However, despite all the publicity surrounding social networking, I still see a lot of healthcare leaders questioning the need to join and engage on any social networks at all (i.e. Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter).  They just don’t see the need. 

Maybe I can help by sharing some of my experiences and research.

All around the world, social media is helping build revolutionary communities that are impacting how people get their information.  Just recently, a study showed that 3 out of 4 Americans get their news from social media or email.  Never before has information or peer support been more available, and social media is playing a big role.

In addition to gathering information and finding free support from peers, social media also makes information about you and your organization (both good info and bad) easier to find and share.  If you’re a leader at a medical facility, this could potentially make your work life easier or more difficult, depending on your ability to recognize both the opportunities and threats facing your department or organization stemming from Social Media.

Learning about Social Media is key, just like learning how to use email was important years ago.

Next week on Tuesday, I’ll be doing a webinar for my HFMA chapter called “Making Social Media Work for You”, and I’ll be sharing some thoughts and research in a series of short morning blog posts until then.  Hopefully they’ll be good practice for my HFMA webinar and helpful for anyone wondering about the value and future of social media. 

If you’re interested in the discussion, comments are encouraged and you can subscribe to the blog postings on the upper right hand side of the ClearMatters.com blog website.

Have a great Sunday!

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare. 

Social Media Causes a Stir in the Medical World

As you can imagine, I got a lot of feedback after yesterday’s post (Social Surgery?  Your Patient is Tweeting About You… ).

Surprisingly, many people were:  

1. Shocked that someone would post information like that about a surgery
2. Surprised that the hospital would allow this
3. Confused that one person could cause such a stir

Unfortunately, for those who were shocked, there’s more to come. 

The world has changed.

I’ll explain more in my next post, but I’ve got to run to a couple meetings right now.  I really want to help explain it.  Stay tuned…

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About the Author:  Aaron lives in Milwaukee, WI with his wife and two children and is the President & CEO of Clear Medical Solutions.  When he’s not leading new initiatives, he periodically takes on interim leadership or consulting projects.  He also enjoys teaching, speaking, writing, and sharing his passion for people and their healthcare.