Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson’s TEDx Talk: Why Are Patients Not Finding Their Doctors Online?

Last week someone Tweeted a link to Dr. Wendy Sue Swanson’s TEDx Talk: “Why are patients not finding their doctors online?” I’ve know Dr. Swanson for a few years now and share her vision for a better way for patients and clinicians to interact. As she said in her talk: “Our job in health, and our job as patients, and our job as clinicians and care givers is to not react, but to anticipate where we’re going. To meet people where they really are.” Yes, we need to meet people where they really are! The idea is so simple, but this has not been the practice in healthcare in America. As you know, a good percentage of the people we need to reach are on the Internet, on social media, and seeking health information online. These are the spaces clinicians need to occupy. If you’re a marketer, Dr. Swanson’s words should resonate. Good marketing is about finding ways to have your marketing meet consumers within the context of their lives. It is about finding those intersections and then communicating in a manner that starts a conversation. This is the idea of marketing “with” rather than “at” your audience. And I love her emphasis on using social media to listen and to learn. We can all learn from her example.

Check out Dr. Swanson’s TEDx Talk in this 10 minute video. It will be time well spent.

One brief note: Dr. Swanson will be a keynote speaker at the Healthcare Marketing Strategies Summit in Scottsdale, Arizona, May 6-8, 2013. I’m pleased that I will once again have the opportunity to hear Dr. Swanson present her vision. I’m also honored to be one of the speakers at the event, produced by the Forum for Healthcare Strategists.

You can visit Dr. Swanson’s Seattle Mama Doc blog at http://seattlemamadoc.seattlechildrens.org/.