Web Technology and Private Physiotherapy Practice

August 20, 2010 by · 2 Comments

In private practice we can make the most of new and free Web technology for many tasks some of which might be particularly useful if we are managing a number of clinics in different locations.   Listed below are some examples for which you, as a private clinic manager, might want to consider using specific Internet applications:

  • Communication with clients with a social media strategy using tools such as blogging, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Facebook
  • Public and customer relations by ‘listening’ to the social media talk using RSS aggregators and responding directly back in the same social media application
  • Sharing information with clients such as patient guides using a clinic wiki
  • Remote follow up with clients using email and IM chat such as Skype or Google Talk
  • Communication between staff using IM chat
  • Synchronise schedules with on-line calenders such as Google calender
  • Distribute training information using your clinic wiki or with a learning management system such as Moodle
  • Standardise reports/policies/protocols by collaborative writing of documents using Google docs
  • Collect and share research in Zotero or Mendely
  • Facilitate training by tasking staff with CPD and in-service training tasks in a professional wiki such as Physiopedia
  • Peer review using blogging
  • CPD and CE recording using an online portfolio tool such as Mahara

Can you think of any more examples……?

In association with Webducate I work with private physiotherapy and other health care business’s to advice them on appropriate use of new technology for their digital strategy.   However, to be certain that the implementation of new technology is effective and efficient there are certain steps that need to be taken one at a time, these include:

  1. You will need a good website that you can edit and manage yourself and is search engine optimised
  2. You should develop and implement a social media strategy
  3. Take paperwork such as policies, protocols, patient guides etc on-line
  4. Develop and implement a digital strategy for staff communication and training

I will cover these topics more in my next posts….

Filed Under: Business, Web Technology · Tagged:

Technology and Physiotherapy

August 19, 2010 by · Leave a Comment

New Web technology is presenting the physiotherapy and physical therapy profession with increasing professional opportunities on-line that we should all make the most of.

Autonomous Learning and Professional Development

Technology has enabled physiotherapists and other health care professionals to take control of their own learning and professional development.   Many of us now have laptops and smart phones that enable us to learn from the Web at times that suit us and in a more cost effective way.   Additionally advances in Web technology such as RSS feeds and aggregators, on-line courses, blogs and wikis allow us to make our on-line learning far more focused and specific to our own learning needs.

Networking and Collaboration

New Web technology such as social networking, blogging, wikis and content sharing sites have enabled us to participate in building content, networks and communities on-line.   This has provided us with the opportunity to meet and collaborate with like minded colleagues remotely and intentionally.

Participatory medicine

Technology such as social networking sites, e-mail, personal health records, home monitoring devices and patient portals have made communication between the patient and their health care professional not only more convenient but also more meaningful.   Patients are able to do more independent research, making them better informed.   Technology even can allow health care professionals to monitor a patient’s health without a visit to the office, creating more time to see other patients.

Developing countries

Developing countries face steady growth in the prevalence of chronic diseases, along with a continued burden from communicable diseases. “Mobile” health, or m-health—the use of mobile technologies such as cellular phones to support public health and clinical care—offers promise in responding to both types of disease burdens. Mobile technologies are widely available and can play an important role in health care at the regional, community, and individual levels.

Profile building

The evolution of social media has presented us with the opportunity to promote our work, research, products and clinics at very little cost.   By engaging with applications such as blogs, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube we can broadcast information to promote our business as well as using these tools to enhance customer relations.

Promoting the profession

The opportunity for all members of our profession to have a voice has never been greater.   Not only can professional organisations set up a social media strategy to promote their cause but individuals can also use social media to positively promote the profession.   Imagine if we all took a bit of responsibility to do something to promote the profession: a few tweets on what we do and how we can help the public (join the physiotherapy network on Twitter), a blog highlighting evidence based practice (become an author on Physiospot), contribute to a professional wiki to build knowledge (contribute to Physiopedia)…. we could develop a global understanding of our profession between ourselves as well as among our clients, the public.

Filed Under: Web Technology ·

Web Technology and Physiotherapy – The Next Series

August 16, 2010 by · 1 Comment

Having just submitted an abstract for the WCPT Congress in Amsterdam next year named ‘Web Tecnology and Physiotherapy. What, Why and How‘ and following on from my recent Web 2.0 series I have been inspired to take specialist areas of physiotherapy and write about how they might make effective use of new Web technology.

Here is the planned Web Technology series (which may be subject to change!!):

Filed Under: Web Technology ·
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