AHRQ and the health of Americans: Part 3

Here we are with post #3 on the article that I’ve been talking about this week. It is a good start into some conversations or topics I hope to continue with in the future on the blog.

In part 3 I’m kind of skipping to a question that has more relevance to the technology focus of the blog and the interview. And I must say that I am quite impressed with Clancy’s response so I’m just going to re-post it here for you!

Q: The role of social media and Web messaging continues to grow, which in turn changes the way all health practitioners must communicate with consumers. In what ways has AHRQ embraced the digital world?

We are fairly active on social media.  We have had Twitter accounts since 2009. Our main account,@AHRQNews, has almost 15,000 followers ranging from health care professionals to consumers and members of the media. Our main YouTube channel, AHRQHealthTV, has almost 700 subscribers and we have different playlists for audiences interested in patient safety and prevention, as well as both in English and Spanish.  We recently launched an AHRQ Facebook page as well (@ahrq.gov) where we communicate AHRQ’s research and tools with consumer-friendly messages.  We also feature a podcast series called Healthcare 411 on our website and it is also broadcast to about 2,000 radio stations across the country.  Achieving patient-centered care is all about getting valid, reliable information to where patients live, work and play – rather than relying only on information dispenses during a clinical encounter.  We really believe that adding these different communication tools helps us reach a wide variety of audiences where they are – and see this as a shared opportunity with our public health colleagues.

That is a heck of a lot of resources, general ones at least, to get a patient started on asking questions, getting information, and at the least starting their own technological path to health. OK, I’m stoked for the moment and have a lot more reading and video watching to do on this one!

So do you do any reading or have any sites that you frequent when you are looking for information? I know those in Texas have recently been concerned with West Nile virus so you may have some sites that you kept up with?

Post #1 or Post #2