Staff

Thanks for the question VJHudson. For the answer, I decided to turn to Jeff Livingston, M.D. a partner at the Irving, Texas-based MacArthur OB/GYN, an obstetrics and gynecology practice, is one of the leading advocates of provider-based social media interaction in the industry. As a true expert, Dr. Livingston is my go-to-guy when it comes to discussing the impact social media will have on the world of medicine. Here’s his answer.

“Physician engagement in social media has been on an upward trend for the past few years and is almost certain to continue. Physicians are recognizing the importance of online reputation management and see social media as one tool. Others enjoy the platform provided by social media to offer patient education on a scale never imagined. Certain practices use social media because of the branding power that drives new patient acquisition and improves current patient satisfaction. The social media doctors understand that one can expand the doctor patient relationship beyond the four walls of the office.” Read more »

It’s beginning to happen, slowly, but surely. Social media use in healthcare is beginning to scratch the surface.

The UCLA Health System live-tweets brain surgery, including short video clips to reduce future patients’ fear of a procedure. Johns Hopkins uses Facebook to generate a 21-fold increase of people who registered themselves as an organ donor in a single day. Texas Health Resources in Arlington is using social media internally and externally, for knowledge-sharing, team building, education, and employee recruitment. Out of the organization’s 21,500 employees, 3,500 are active social media users. Read more »

Although numerous medical studies have pointed to the benefits of the natural aspects of childbirth, such as immediate skin-to-skin contact and early breastfeeding initiation, the complications of the surgery room make incorporating natural strategies a little more difficult.

But now, there is a push towards a different kind of c-section, dubbed a “natural” or “gentle” c-section. An article in the British Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology describes natural c-sections as “woman-centered,” but a perhaps more accurate description of the trend may be “family-centered,” as they allow for more inclusion of the first family moments together. Read more »

Minutes after taking her first breath outside the womb, Kathryn “Katie” Marie Wilusz cuddled on her mom’s bare chest, gazing in the direction of her voice. Dad sat close by, dressed in scrubs, as she wrapped a tiny hand around his index finger.

The new parents, Lauren and Joe Wilusz, sang happy birthday in celebration of their daughter’s arrival.

As the family bonded at one end of the operating bed, a doctor, nurse and medical technician at Anne Arundel Medical Center worked to close the incision that was cut to deliver Katie by cesarean section. Read more »

Physicians today often find themselves with complex information to convey to patients during increasingly shorter office visits. Adding to that problem, studies have shown that patient retention of verbal information given at the point of care is quite low. This means patients may fail to follow through on a treatment plan, or physicians may wind up repeating the same information to the same patients visit after visit.

But there’s an app for that—several, in fact. Melissa McCormack of medical software website Software Advice recently sat down with MacArthur OB/GYN’s Dr. Jeff Livingston to discuss his experience with mobile apps at the point of care. Read more »