• New study says doctors are on Twitter
• Several Wisconsin women executives named “leaders to know”
• 40,000 mobile health apps now available
• State uninsured rate drops to 9%
  
• 11 Wisconsin hospitals are “Top Performers”

New study says doctors are on Twitter

WCG, an independent strategic communications firm in San Francisco, recently released data that proves doctors are actively using Twitter. WCG created a database of nearly 1,400 U.S. doctors on Twitter and linked them to their National Provider Identifier, the 10-digit identification number issued by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Findings:

• Among the doctors surveyed, they tweet an average of twice a day.
• More than half tweet during work hours.
• The most-followed doctor is KevinMD.com blogger Kevin Pho.
• 83% of specialties mentioned diabetes in their tweets.

The database also tracks physician communication on Facebook, StumbleUpon, Reddit and email. The researchers also teamed up with the Mayo Clinic in their search for further insights.

To read more, CLICK HERE.

Several Wisconsin executives named women “leaders to know”

Becker’s Hospital Review recently named a number of Wisconsin executives to its annual list, “120 Women Hospital and Health Leaders to Know.” They include: Joan Coffman, President and CEO, St. Joseph’s Hospital, Cathy Jacobson, CEO, Froedtert Health, Donna Katen-Bahensky, President and CEO, University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, Julie Manas, President and CEO, Sacred Heart Hospital and Peggy Troy, Children’s Hospital and Health System. Three other executives also made the list: Faye Deich, COO, Sacred Heart Hospital, Gail Hanson, CFO, Aurora Health Care and Linda Hoff, CFO, Meriter Health Services.

To read more, CLICK HERE.

40,000 mobile health apps now available

Brookings Institution’s Center for Technology Innovation says more than 40,000 mobile health applications are available across multiple platforms, including more than 12,000 at the Apple iTunes store alone. FierceHealthCare further states that while fitness apps represent a big chunk of available health care applications on the market, an increasing number are designed to help consumers identify chronic conditions, track symptoms and better manage their diseases.

In addition (according to research from RAND), the number of Americans living with chronic disease is expected to reach 157 million by 2020.

Diabetics represent the biggest market for mobile health applications over the next five years, according to mobile research firm research2guidance, followed by obesity, hypertension, coronary disease, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

To view the FierceMobileHealthcare slideshow highlighting 7 mobile apps for chronic condition management, CLICK HERE.

State uninsured rate drops to 9%

The U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey says the number of Wisconsinites without insurance fell to 9% last year, from 9.4% in 2010. Wisconsin’s uninsured rate remains the seventh lowest in the country, and well below the national average of 15.1%.

Also, the number of children without insurance decreased from 5% to 4.4%, while the portion of young adults ages 19 to 25 with coverage grew 2.5% from 2009 to 2011.

To read more visit the U.S. Census Bureau HERE.

11 Wisconsin hospitals are “Top Performers”

In September, the Joint Commission recognized 11 Wisconsin hospitals as “Top Performers,” based on their performance related to 45 accountability measures for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma care, inpatient psychiatric services, venous thromboembolism care, and stroke care. This year, 620 Joint Commission-accredited hospitals made the list.

Wisconsin hospitals include:

• Black River Memorial Hospital, Black River Falls
• Aurora Health Care Southern Lakes, Burlington
• Aurora Health Care Southern Lakes, Elkhorn
• Aurora BayCare Medical Center, Green Bay
• Aurora Medical Center of Washington County, Hartford
• Good Samaritan Health Center, Merrill
• Aurora Medical Center of Oshkosh, Oshkosh
• Mercy Medical Center, Oshkosh
• Wheaton Franciscan Healthcare – All Saints, Racine
• Aurora Health Care Central, Sheboygan
• Aurora Health Care North, Two Rivers

To read the report, CLICK HERE.

This post was researched and written by Trish Skram, WHPRMS certified member. To connect with Trish, CLICK HERE.