There are two gigantic decisions hospitals make that have the greatest impact on the future success of their Web endeavors. One is picking the right personnel to lead the Web effort and the other is picking the right content management system (CMS).
Meaningful Use – what a powerful phrase! In the context of healthcare, it’s tied tightly to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the use of certified EHR technology. Healthcare organizations across the nation are moving down the path of demonstrating meaningful use of electronic health records, congratulations on your progress! Meaningful Use does matter, but let’s take a step back for a moment and consider the words “meaningful use” in a broader sense. Just as important as the technology is how we work to make its use meaningful. We like to think in broader terms and incorporate meaningful customer-centric uses into our Web planning. With the explosive growth of mobile devices, mobile applications and Web technologies, this concept remains very important. Just as with EHRs, meaningful use of any technology is enabled by understanding the need, collaborating with a cross-functional team on a solution and working together to ensure it is successful.
What a great group we had for the Webmaster Workshop last week in Chicago! I thought the food and the service at the Sofitel was fantastic. The networking and the conversations seemed to be valuable to all and, as usual, it was like drinking through a fire hose as we were trying to take in all of the good ideas and case studies.
Sometimes you find a blog post that you wish you had written. Such is the case with Lisa Welchman’s recent post on Web governance. If you’ve been a Greystone.Net client, you know how fundamental this concept is to our approach. Without effective governance, you are bound to struggle. And without the senior leadership support and buy-in that comes with a sound governance structure, the best strategy in the world may run aground.