Media Training Boot Camp For Health Care Professionals - A Wow Experience

Media training for doctors (or medspas)?

The media loves covering the cosmetic medicine industry.  The public hunger for this information is insatiable.  For providers of these coveted services, the media can serve as a powerful tool to spread the word to the masses of the latest and greatest – what’s hot and what’s not.  It can also help define WHO is hot or not.  In the competitive tussle of the cosmetic medical marketplace, whether or not your business is successful is determined, in part, by the media ‘footprint’ you cultivate over time.  With so much competition, those who conquer the visibility factor can separate themselves from the fray.  A good web site and blog , smart use of social media and speaking to groups of potential patients are critically important.  Yet, as the competitive heat continues to rise, there may be a need to transcend to the next level.  Becoming a media ‘personality’ is a great way to achieve this end.  This requires a unique skill set that we are all capable of acquiring but whom many find intimidating. 

I was fortunate to attend the “Dr. You” Media Training Boot Camp for Doctors program presented in a joint effort by the Discovery Channel and Harvard Health Publications held October 19 – 21 at the Discovery Channel Global Headquarters.  This excellent course is designed for health care professionals who want to step up their media exposure.  It is ideal for those who either want to stand out more visibly in their local market or are interested in advancing to become a nationally recognized "Go-To" expert and thought leader.  Features of this course included:

• Live TV interview practice
• Video sessions using a teleprompter
• Tips on how to become a sought-after professional speaker or “Go-To” expert
• Insights in obtaining and working with a publicist
• Radio interview coaching
• How to become a best-selling author
• Strategies to maximize your online presence

 A tall order indeed, and they delivered!  Their top notch faculty included a 15 year producer for the Oprah show who also works with Dr. Oz, the Chief Medical Expert for the Discovery Channel, the Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications, and several top notch media experts, web strategists, and literary agents.  The training was very personalized and the immediate feedback was right on (sometimes painfully so!). The class mix ranged from rank amateurs (most of us) to savvy professionals wanting a little polish.  The faculty went over and above to 'bring us along' and made this a great experience.  We all ended the program wanting more – and hopefully they will let the huge success of this 'pilot' program convince them to expand upon this even further in the near future.

 If and when this course is offered again, I recommend you jump on it.  You will be very glad you did.

Your Medical Spa Is Going To Be Sued

New England Journal of Medicine: Most doctors (and probably your medical spa) in America will be sued at some point during their career.

A Harvard study released yesterday in the New England Journal of Medicine has found that physicians who perform high-risk procedures, including neurosurgeons, obstetricians, and plastic surgeons, face a near certainty of being named in a malpractice case before they reach age 65.

Yet a relatively small number of claims, about 22 percent, result in payments to patients or their families.

Authors of the study, which examined 15 years of data, said it highlights the need for changes in malpractice law so that doctors and patients can resolve disputes before they resort to litigation, which often costs both parties money and heartache.

“Doctors get sued far more frequently than anyone would have thought, and in some specialties, it’s extremely high,’’ said Amitabh Chandra, an economist and professor of public policy at the Harvard Kennedy School and an author of the study. “In some sense, the payment is the least important part, because you can insure against it, but you can’t insure against the hassle cost.’’

The study looked at malpractice claims data for nearly 41,000 physicians from 1991 to 2005. The researchers found that 7.4% of physicians had a malpractice claim against them each year and that 1.6% had a claim that led to a payment each year.

Chandra and his coauthor, Dr. Anupam B. Jena of Mass. General, said they hope their study will dispel the fear that many doctors have of big payouts. Their study found just 66 claims that resulted in payments exceeding $1 million. Average claims by specialty ranged from $117,832 in dermatology to $520,923 in pediatrics.

So how can you lessen your chances of being sued by an unhappy patient even further?

Previous studies have shown that patients are less likely to sue when they receive an apology and explanation from their doctor.

Brian Rosman, research director of Health Care for All, said everyone will benefit if patient- doctor communication is divorced from legal proceedings and could actually inprove the quality of care. That would allow doctors and hospitals to deal more directly with the root cause of an error.

One medical society has been working with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, using a $273,782 federal grant, to design a plan for a system that would encourage apologies and compensation, when justified, in Massachusetts. The plan is set to be released this fall.

It seems that nearly universal support exists for a system that encourages doctors to apologize and prevent the escalation of an unwanted outcome into a malpractice lawsuit.

Of course, this wall of scilence goes up on both sides. As soon as an unhappy patient contacts a lawyer they're instructed to have no further contact with the doctor to prevent anything that might mitigate damages or obstruct the lawsuit, like an admission to the doctor that they didn't follow instructions or a 'softening' of their stance as the identify with the physician as a person.

When I was running Surface Medical we ran in to this very problem many times. In one case in Park City, Surface Medical Spas and two of our physicians were sued by a patient who had been burned during an IPL treatment.

Have you been in a lawsuit? Have you ever appologized to a patient?

Dumbing It Down?

By Julie Silver MD

It's not uncommon that someone will make a comment to me about how we (physicians) need to "dumb it down" when it comes to publishing information for consumers. 

In fact, this is exactly the wrong approach when you are trying to reach people with important health information.  Instead, what we need to strive for is a smart translation of medical science. 

While it's true that people who are not in healthcare likely won't understand a highly technical medical research study (just as doctors probably wouldn't understand a complicated document in another industry), what isn't true is that our patients, readers and consumers need to have information "dumbed down."

A smart translation means that you are approaching your reader with respect for his or her intelligence and knowledge.  Dumbing anything down is just plain disrespectful.  Attitude comes across the written page and seeps into the "take home messge."  A respectful attitude means that readers are more likely to consider the information presented.  Perhaps to heed the advice and even to share it with others. 

Bottom line: everything that physicians write and publish should be done with the goal of offering a terrific translation for a given audience.  I think about this a lot.  When I don't get it right, it isn't because I dumbed my communication down.  I just didn't quite nail the translation.  Great translations aren't easy, but they are incredibly effective.  Offering important health information along with respect is what we should all aim for all of the time.

About: Julie K. Silver, MD is an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School in the Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and is the Chief Editor of Books at Harvard Health Publications, the consumer health branch of Harvard Medical School. She is the director of the annual Harvard CME course titled "Publishing Books, Memoirs and Other Creative Nonfiction". She blogs at Freelance MD.

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