Social media is a tricky kind of thing for healthcare professionals to try and utilize. There are some elements of social networking that offer significant value to the medical profession, but there are also plenty of elements that are just there to waste time. The trick is to find the social platforms that bring value and can help you to enhance your career.
The social media website known as Linkedin has become a powerful way for people to network with others within their industry. The problem can be that those networks will often get infiltrated with people who have alternate reasons for getting involved, such as trying to sell medical equipment to doctors or healthcare administrators. If you join a group to exchange the latest information on public health policy, then the last thing that you want is to get a barrage of emails trying to sell you the newest research equipment.
If you know what you are looking for on Linkedin, then it is not that hard to find useful groups you can join who will offer valuable information and contacts. Remember that one of the reasons that many people join Linkedin is to find a better job. If you are a healthcare manager or administrator, then the chances that you will get some unwanted resumes sent to you are pretty high. You may want to keep an open mind, because you never know when the perfect employment candidate will pop up in your Linkedin mailbox and save you thousands of dollars in recruiting fees.
- MyBio -This is a good Linkedin group to join for a couple of reasons. First of all, the majority of the people who provide information for this group are based in New York City and have their fingers on the pulse of the healthcare industry. Secondly, this is the group to join when you want to find out the latest in advocacy news for the healthcare industry. Anything that you see in the news headlines is bound to have a detailed discussion dedicated to it on MyBio. The group deals primarily with the biotechnology industry, but it welcomes conversations from other elements of the healthcare industry as well.
- DVHIMSS -This is the group for the Delaware Valley group’s arm of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. If you are having a hard time getting updated information on the latest in healthcare technology and IT systems integration technology, then this group can help. It tends to be a small group that will answer questions as opposed to constantly posting new topics and discussing them. But if you have a question about the relationship between IT technology and healthcare management, then this is a group to join.
- Digital Health -The worlds of wireless technology and healthcare are constantly colliding with new and innovative ideas. This group lives to discuss the many new ways which mobile computing devices are helping to enhance medical treatment, research and policies. One of the best parts about this group is that members within the group are constantly providing links to pertinent articles on a variety of healthcare topics.
- Healthcare Physician Practice Management -Simply put, this is a forum for healthcare administrators and doctors to discuss policies and procedures within the healthcare industry. The value in this group is that you get the perspective on each issue from a variety of valid points of view. The group tends to get deeply involved in political discussions as they relate to healthcare. For example, the Obama Healthcare Reform legislation has been a hot topic within the group for some time now. This group offers a voice to people who may not otherwise be heard in these important policy discussions.
- CareSeed Innovation Alliance -If you have a healthcare innovation that you are trying to get on the market, then this would be a good group for you to join. It claims to be a non-profit network for connecting innovators to business contacts started by Kaiser Permanente executive Nardo Manaloto. At the very least, this is a great group to join if you are interested in what kinds of medical equipment innovations are being discussed and developed. Healthcare administrators would find a significant amount of value in a group like this.
- Medical Devices Group – As medical technology continues to grow in significance, the Medical Devices Group continues to grow as well. This is the group that follows the largest medical equipment manufacturers in the world and reports on their progress in introducing new pieces of equipment. The group also discusses international healthcare policy innovations that could wind up changing the way that certain aspects of healthcare are treated in various parts of the world.
- Medical Information Group -This group deals with a broad range of issues that include policy discussions as well as discussions about treatment and research needs. It has a growing element dedicated to nursing and other healthcare professionals who work directly in the medical field but are not doctors. The group follows the various national medical conventions and opens up its forum to healthcare professionals looking for more information on lesser known resources.
- Medical IT Pros -If your world revolves around your work in the medical IT industry, then this group can help you to get some of the answers you need to the important questions of your day. Not only can the members of this group find out the latest innovations in medical IT equipment and software, but they also exchange information on working better with their respective healthcare organizations and good ways to integrate new technology into an organization.
- Medical Insight Inc. -Medical Insight Inc. offers a wide variety of publications and media resources that have to do with such topics as alternative medicine as well as home health products. This is an interesting group to be a part of if you want to be updated on the latest in home remedies and if you want honest reviews on some of the home healthcare products available.
- Medical Marketing Network -If you are a healthcare administrator who is looking to make contacts in the medical networking field, then this is the group that you have to join. The prime goal of this group is to allow a forum for medical administrators to swap marketing techniques and information with marketing experts. This group consists of healthcare managers, healthcare administrators, healthcare consultants and anyone who needs to think about marketing within the healthcare industry.
- Medical Imaging Affiliates -The Medical Imaging Affiliates group is the place to go for updates on medical policy and to address concerns about anything within the imaging industry. It is the place where imaging affiliates can go to discuss issues that are important to them and issues that could change the face of medical innovation.
- Medical Practice Management -This is a good group for healthcare administrators and managers to join because it deals with everything from insurance claim issues to staffing problems. It can tend to get bogged down with people looking for employment, but even those people have interesting insights to offer on the healthcare industry. This is a broad range of healthcare professionals who come together to help each other solve their issues.
