Sometimes healthcare hits close to home, and by that I mean it reaches out from behind the computer screens and conference podiums I sit so often in front of and grabs me by the shoulders, shaking me out of my blogging bubble with the message that this state of care we’re all living in needs to get better, quickly.

That was certainly the message of Dr. Otis Brawley, Chief Medical Officer at the American Cancer Society and author of the new book “How We Do Harm: a Doctor Breaks Ranks About Being Sick in America,” during his keynote speech at the recent Health Care Heroes Awards in Atlanta.

Known for telling it like it is according to a few of my fellow attendees (certainly evident in an Atlanta Magazine interview earlier this year), Dr. Brawley showed slides, gave statistics, and told stories about the way in which healthcare in America has the propensity to do more harm than healing, especially when low-income, lesser-educated, uninsured patients are taken into account. 

I can blog until I’m blue in the face about the need to empower patients, engage patients, and educate patients about the benefits new technology is bringing to healthcare, but until the disparities Dr. Brawley speaks of are diminished, I worry that my writing skills might be going to waste.

Next-Generation IT Starts in Our Schools

Community Guest Blog Post by Tino Mantella

School will soon be out for the year and children across the state will push aside their books to pursue summer diversions. Science, technology, engineering and math lessons may be the last things on the minds of parents and students during the long summer days, but it remains important to find ways to encourage an interest in these subjects among our children even when their teachers aren’t present. 

How Loyal Are Your Customers? Your NPS Will Tell You

Community Guest Blog Post by Matt McConnell, President and CEO for Knowlagent

“How likely is it that you would recommend our company to a friend or colleague?”

This may be considered a loaded question to many organizations, but it is actually very useful and powerful information if you capture it and use it to improve your business. It is called Net Promoter Score (NPS). While not the case for every instance, customers rate your company in large part due to the customer service they receive from your organization. 

Innovation: a Healthcare CIO’s Biggest Headache?

Community Guest Blog Post by Jennifer Dennard, Porter Research

On the surface, innovation sounds like a great thing. It's progressive, cutting-edge, and has a nice modern ring to it. Dig a little deeper, however, and it loses some of its luster. As any hospital CIO can tell you, innovation - especially relating to new healthcare IT solutions - often comes with disrupted workflows, unexpected financial implications and a general sense of staff discontent, all of which trickle down in some way to the patient.

TAG Social Business: Solving Business Problems Socially

Community Blog Post by Hal Schlenger, Allconnect

With so much money and so much media about “social,” you would think it was more successful in businesses.   That challenge can be distilled in to a couple of key criteria that includes the willingness to share information.  We’ve long known that ‘information is power.’   What we’re not as clear about is if sharing information makes one more powerful or less powerful.   Maybe the question should be about “productivity is power.”

4 Things that Get Overlooked in the Job Search Process

Community Guest Blog Post by Thomas Ferrer, Sourcing Specialist at Strategic Staffing Solutions (S3)

With the downturn in the U.S. economy over the last few years, many companies have restructured their hiring practices due to budget cuts. Instead of hiring full time employees, companies have turned to staffing firms to hire contractors to meet their needs across numerous departments. Getting a job of any kind – contract or permanent – is more difficult than before. The interview process can be intimidating, but can also be your chance to shine through and prove why you deserve the position at hand! Here are four key ways to give you a competitive advantage during the interview process.