Running a hospital

This comment is meant with complete respect, but I thought it noteworthy to read Paul Levy’s blog recently.  It can be found here.

Running a hospital

If you don’t know him, Paul is the CEO of Beth Israel Deaconness Medical Center (I don’t know if he is Mr. Levy or Dr. Levy, so I’ll call him Paul here).  He has been a pioneering blogger that has focused on transparency in the healthcare industry, using his blog to address issues that other healthcare professionals might find uncomfortable to discuss in public.  I admire Dr. Levy’s leadership and boldness in using Web 2.0 tools for this purpose, and many others share this admiration.

Nevertheless, I find it odd that Paul has not responded at all on his blog about a recent event that happened at BIDMC.  For the first time in 10 years, a woman died during a c-section procedure there.  This event garnered the attention of me and my wife, because we had the same procedure there with our son a year ago (and had a very good experience all around, BIDMC is a great hospital).

My question is this, however, when someone takes to the blogosphere advocating information transparency, what are the implications of failing to address such a high-profile issue?  I think people expect high profile-bloggers to be straightforward and forthcoming, particularly ones who are using the blog platform to advocate greater information transparency and safety.

I am certain there are alot of reasons Paul chooses not to discuss the issue in his blog – patient confidentiality, liability, lack of information – all of which are legitimate.  The silence unnerves me, though.  I think a wiser approach would be to acknowledge the event (it’s all over the local news), explain what is being done internally, or simply be straightforward on why he chooses not to address it in his blog.  That’s what Dell did when the laptop batteries caught fire.  They simply said, “we don’t know why this happened, but we are going to do everything we can to find out why.”

I think that a better approach would be for Paul to be forthcoming in his blog, in whatever way is most appropriate.  Acknolwedge the issue, express sympathy for all concerned, and address what is being done or why he can’t talk about it now.  I think people would understand if the response was limited and didn’t provide any details beyond what was found in the news.  Silence in the face of a high-profile tragedy simply doesn’t seem right from a genuine leader who is stepping forward to champion a very important cause of greater information transparency…but I guess it’s times like these that true leadership is tested.  Speak, Paul, speak!

How Companies Use Twitter to Bolster Their Brands

How Companies Use Twitter to Bolster Their Brands

I have to admit, I don’t quite get Twitter.  I suspect that’s becuase I’m not terribly mobile.  Most of my day is spent deep in profound thought at my desk (that’s what university professors do all day, isn’t it?).  Twitter is sort of a mobile, real-time blogging platform.  This b-week special report does a good job explaining how some companies are leveraging this platform to create more intimate relationships with their customers.  In a sense, Twitter (and other Web 2.0 tools) allow others to “overhear” our conversations and companies have wisely decided to listen in and respond if they come up in your conversation.  I like the way the article describes it, “cool, but kind of creepy.”  I think the smarter technology gets and the more intertwined it becomes with our lives, this will increasingly describe our experience.

Although I don’t “get it,” I do think mobile technologies will be the next great flattener in the IT platform.