From the Editor: Social Technology and Healthcare

  Have you ever accomplished something at the eleventh hour? By the skin of your teeth? Just in the nick of time? In any way that describes the fact it was miraculously achieved? Remember the days we didn’t have cell phones, email, fax, overnight delivery, scanning, texting, Wi-Fi, or other modern miracles that make deadlines, last-minute gifts, and tuning into the world 24/7 possible?

  If you have been practicing in wound care for a long while, you also may remember when we had to complete presentation preparations well in advance. To make 35 mm slides or do research, you used books and journals you owned or that were available via a medical library. You traveled attached to your materials; you didn’t dare check them with baggage for fear they wouldn’t arrive when you did. Suitcases and briefcases were not of the “rolling” variety, so you traveled with everything important to you hanging from your shoulder. Life seemed simpler then, despite these encumbrances, but I don’t miss them. I like technology and luggage with wheels.

  Another modern day phenomenon is social networking — the main topic of this issue of TWC. My Space, Google, Twitter, Facebook, Linked In (and probably others I don’t even know about) allow us to know our friends’ and colleagues’ locations and their opinions on the world around them. I am hopelessly bad at this type of communication; if I want pictures posted for friends and family, I get someone to do it for me. Many of us are more voyeurs than active participants, but that’s a personal choice. But we must be very careful about what we post or discuss. It can and probably will follow you all of your life and career.

  Our feature authors this issue include Des Bell, DPM, who provides an inside look into the social media operations of the organization SALSAL and how it is used to promote their wound care organization. The article includes a list of Do’s and Don’ts for clinicians. Drew Griffin, a wound care nurse and hyperbaric technician, shares how he uses social media to promote his wound care career and how he has found a niche use of this creative media. A third article introduces readers to Kevin Pho, MD, who runs KevinMd.com, a website billed as social media’s leading physician voice. In the interview, conducted by Dr. Caroline Fife, Dr. Pho discusses medical reputation defenders — ie, companies that target medical professionals to help them defend their online reputation and other hot button social healthcare platforms. In another feature, Dr. Fife describes the use of online patient portals, discussing what they are and how they work from a clinical perspective. This meaty issue also includes surveys related to social media and electronic medical records. Business Briefs, Kathleen Schaum’s always timely and informative section, is a must-read for wound care physicians navigating the maze of reimbursement.

  On a sad note, I want to recognize that the wound industry lost a very dear friend in February, when Paul Miller lost his courageous battle with cancer. Many of us knew Paul for years, from the mid-80s when he started with Carrington Laboratories through the early 90s when he started MPM Medical. We will always remember Paul’s infectious sense of humor and ever-present smile. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and business associates.

  SAWC Spring and the celebration of our 25th anniversary are fast approaching! Join us as we gather for education and networking and fun. The state of Georgia has designated April as Chronic Wound Care Month, attesting to the importance of our specialty and our symposium. We look forward to seeing you there and hope you will visit the HMP booth and share your thoughts and ideas for making TWC all that you want it to be for your clinical practice.

Dot Weir, RN, CWON, CWS; Osceola Regional Medical Center