Social Media - TMA Style

• Blogs

  Health Care BlogosphereBecome an avid reader and contributor to the health care blogosphere. Communicate with colleagues, your community, and thought leaders in your industry. A blog can help connect your voice to the conversation. If you're not ready to start a blog, contribute to TMA's Me & My Doctor blog. It's a place where you and your patients can have a candid discussion about today's health care system.
• AN APT APP

  DocbookMD Enhances Patient CareThe days of emailing or texting a physician colleague and wondering whether the message fell into a technological black hole or reached the intended recipient are in the past for Arti Gupta, MD. The Dallas nephrologist says the hassles of daily practice dropped significantly since she began using DocbookMD, a free Texas Medical Association member benefit, about nine months ago. (From November's Texas Medicine.)
• Texas Medicine

  Social Media Connects Physicians and Patients "The traditional communication media clearly fail to reach a significant portion of the public, so we have to use what works," says Jason Terk, MD, chair of the TMA Council on Science and Public Health. "Properly managed communication such as the new TMA blog can not only reach patients in the virtual places we have not existed before, but can also serve to shape public opinion on important issues that affect public health policy."
• Healthy App

  New Smartphone App for Healthier Patients  Now there is a new smartphone app that you can use to help your patients track their progress toward a healthier life. The new "Weigh What Matters" app is part of AMA's Healthier Life Steps^TM initiative. Patients can make daily entries to track their weight, diet, and exercise as they work toward goals they have established with their physicians.
• Legal

  You Can Connect With Patients — Safely — Using Social Media As a physician, you can weigh in as a credible source with a professional Facebook page, YouTube presence, or Twitter account. This not only helps patients but also can solidify your position as trusted leader who is engaged with your patients and on the cutting edge of your profession. (TMA Practice E-Tips, Nov. 29, 2011)