A few years ago, I would sit in hospital meetings and turn blue, dissuading departments from starting up their own newsletters. They would proudly display examples--hideous clip-art-intensive single sheets, printed on fluorescent orange or green paper, the corporate logo stretched and pixelated into oblivion.

But the world is changing. The battle of the newsletter was won by the Internet.

Now, I sit in hospital meetings and hear: "We were thinking we could have our own [blank] department blog." And, again, my face turns blue as I dissuade this from happening. But they'll counter with, "But Cardiovascular has their own blog."

Well...

Here's the thing--I like you guys in Wound Care, and have nothing but love for you all in the Pain Clinic. But let's try to define a decent "service line" blog. It's one that isn't quickly identifiable as a "service line" blog. Take heart care, for example. Let's face it: "heart care" encompasses so many consumer-focused topics that will spark all kinds of discussion--from diet/nutrition to stress and the effects of working overtime--that it makes sense for the CV-focused blog to exist.

This is what a good healthcare blog does--it provides consumer information, sparks discussion, and, in turn, helps drive consumers to your services.

You need at least one, good organizational blog that takes into account all of your hospital's services by presenting a wide variety of healthcare information and topics. Get creative! Do you have a Chaplaincy Services department? Ask your Chaplain to write a general article about the health effects of meditation. Community Wellness? Ask your CW Manager to write an article about skin cancer risks that will promote an upcoming screening. Wound Care? Have someone write an article about wound risks associated with diabetes.

The possibilities are limitless. The number of blogs you have; however, should be.