To paraphrase Seth Godin, there’s only one thing you have to do to be “remarkable” and that’s actually, “to be remarkable.” He has also suggested that a critic, referred to as a troll, can interfere with your remarkability. My concept of a troll is just the opposite – a troll is a pretender selling nothing more than pretense.
That’s a pretty powerful question with many different answers. Back in June, I tweeted about a high-profile case that involved an MD who was blogging about his medical malpractice trial as the trial was in progress. I used this as an example to illustrate why Certified Legal Nurse Consultants should recommend that their attorney-clients check out social media (and the blogosphere) for postings by opposing parties (and their own parties), before and during a trial. That case ended in a substantial settlement for the plaintiff after the MD was shown to have exposed trial strategy, ridiculed the case and made generally inappropriate postings for which he was confronted during the trial.
Certified Legal Nurse Consultants have long known that the pharmaceutical and medical device industries have a vested interest in not only making sure that their products get wide distribution on the market, but also that they gain favorable press coverage in the healthcare and mainstream media. The extent of the “full court press” they make to gain such coverage takes on different extremes. Everything from parties, trips, gifts and research sponsorships are used to help influence writers. Another popular but hidden measure is the use of ghostwriters. They are often hired by the pharmaceutical or device industries themselves to write the articles, which are then submitted under the signature of an “impartial” doctor. Sometimes the so-called “ghost” may simply have ties, such as a sponsorship from the related industry or manufacturer, but other times the ghost may actually be part of the industry being written about. Just to name a few, many of you will remember the controversy surrounding disclosures of this practice related to Fen-Phen, Vioxx and Premarin.
I’ve previously blogged about the fact that potential employers are searching social media to discover what people have posted prior to hiring them (and in some cases after they’re on the payroll). Tom has discussed the fact that photos posted on the Internet may contain metadata that includes date, time and even a GPS location of where the photos were taken. We’ve also explained how Certified Legal Nurse Consultants can use deep-web search engines to locate information about an expert or party who is not generally available on the Internet. I’ve also talked about whether legal nurse consultants (or parties involved in a lawsuit) should be blogging or texting about legal cases. Even your cashless toll-pay tag and the information from the computer that runs your car’s motor can provide relevant information. Now it’s time to tie it all together and discuss the potential discoverability of all those postings a plaintiff or defendant has made to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace and other similar sites.
First impressions are important. Today, more and more Certified Legal Nurse Consultants are making their first impressions online, not only with the legal community but also with other CLNC consultants. So, what impression are you making with your online presence? Do you have a plan to guide and steer your online efforts in the right direction? Here are some strategies for making your first online impression count.
If you’ve ever doubted doing what’s right not what’s easy, doubt no more.
Every Certified Legal Nurse Consultant knows that after a patient has a stroke, the care they receive in the first 3-4 hours is the most crucial. The type of stroke influences the treatment so proper recognition and diagnosis are essential. Despite this knowledge, the National Quality Forum (NQF) recently rejected a proposed guideline that would have called for a CT scan within 45 minutes of a patient presenting to the ED. Why is this important? The NQF sets the medical guidelines that are used by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to evaluate (and reimburse) hospitals. So, with no reimbursement, the likelihood of a patient getting a CT scan drops pretty dramatically.
Having just been in the ED for 6 hours with a friend, I witnessed firsthand the secondhand, substandard grade the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) has given to the state of emergency care in the U.S.
*The opinions and statements made by Vickie Milazzo, the founder of Medical-Legal Consulting Institute, Inc. are based on her experiences and expertise, should not be applied beyond the specific context provided, and do not guaranty or project actual results. Vickie Milazzo is no longer involved in the operations or management of the business, but is involved as an independent education consultant.
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