I like what the American Medical Association has done with its Web site, as a commitment to using new media. The re-vamped site launched early this year and was clearly designed around a model of quick information and interaction rather than the typical healthcare Web site model—throw everything up on the page and let the user figure out how to find it.

But new design aside, the AMA has engaged the healthcare debate with new media, featuring videos, Twitter feeds, and a President’s blog called “On the Road with Dr. Rohack.” With the blog, he has put himself out front, as he tours the country and talks about healthcare reform.

He's the face of the AMA in his blog.

Why do consumers like to see "faces" on healthcare blogs? Because it helps to enhance credibility and create conversation. Plus, in an industry that is so perceived as labyrinthine and cold, lifting the veil goes a long way with healthcare consumers.

For our heart blog, we found a cardiologist on our medical staff to agree to write a simple column offering tips for heart-healthy eating, along with his photo and bio. The post broke a record for the number of single day unique visitors among all of our Web sites and has sparked a standing “Ask the Cardiologist” column. Here, he answers questions that blog readers posted.

He’s become the face of our heart blog.

We still need a face for our hospital blog, though. I can’t help but think that consumers would like to know some of the inner workings of a hospital, beyond the direct patient care experiences.

Are there any hospitals whose CEOs blog? I’m wondering: Who are the faces of your hospital’s blog? Please share.

File this under “Be Careful What You Ask For.” A while ago, I had a brilliant idea to create a blog for our hospital on which we would post all of the great experiences our patients had. It would be called our “Patient Experience Blog”. Once a patient submitted a response, an e-mail would come to me for review and then it would be posted on the blog. It was perfect.

Except...

I learned the hard way that when you invite people to write about their healthcare experiences, you’re inviting the good, bad and downright ugly. When the first e-mail appeared in my Inbox, I was giddy to read praise about our hospital.

Quite the contrary.

This patient had an experience that would rival any “bad hospital” story you might hear on a sensational news program. Then, I received another one. Terrible. Then another. Awful. By the time we received an actual “Great Experience,” I was ready to trash the whole project and claim “technical glitches.”

So, tail between legs, I forwarded the e-mails to our chief operating officer, wondering what we should do next.

She surprised me with a radical suggestion: Respond to each one. Personally.

Here’s how:

1. Every e-mailed patient complaint is immediately directed to the department, with a leader or manager copied to the executive in that area. E-mails that present potential legal issues must be sent to your risk manager for follow-up.
2. The leader or manager discusses the complaint with staff to diagnose the problem. Then, follow-up with a phone call or e-mail to the patient.
3. The follow-up must take place within 24 hours of receipt of the e-mail.

The outcome: Fewer “bad experience” e-mails and more positive ones. Why? Because your staff knows that patients have voices and e-mail accounts and are not afraid to use both. This has improved our hospital response, in ways that an old paper suggestion drop-box couldn't do. And now, if I happen to get a negative patient e-mail, I know what to do.

This past March, Sherman Health was the second in the country, first in Illinois, to “tweet” a live surgery. It was a hysterectomy procedure performed by our da Vinci robot, which is controlled by a team of our surgeons. Tweeting a live surgery helped us achieve two main goals:

1. Highlight how Twitter can be a way for families to stay informed while a loved one underwent a procedure.
2. Show that social media and healthcare can be a positive, helpful pairing.

Plus, on the PR side, it gave us a bump in Twitter followers and positive media coverage.

But shortly after the surgery, we were hit with this question: What’s next for Twitter and our hospital?

A board member forwarded me a presentation that helped answer this. Phil Baumann’s blog Health Is Social addresses using Twitter in healthcare, and his list “140 Health Care Uses for Twitter” will spark some ideas. Though not everything on the list is feasible (picture your Risk Manager's nicotine-stained finger hovering nervously over the corporate attorney's speed-dial button) there's a lot to pick from. I'm a big fan of the interactive suggestions:

#49: Internal facility customer service
#67: Real-time satisfaction surveys with immediate follow-up for problem resolution
#77: Connecting patients with similar disease processes
#105: Exposing medical shenanigans

So, what's next for Sherman Health?

Glad you asked. With our latest campaign, we're mixing #89 (publishing hospital-sponsored events in local communities) and #92 (issuing updates to hospital services to the public). We’re building a new hospital that is set to open this winter, and Tuesday, Aug. 11 @ 3 p.m. C.T., we are going to tweet a live tour of the new hospital. Feel free to join us here.