Emory Johns Creek Goes Blogging - VIDEO

Emory Johns Creek Hospital has taken to the “blogosphere” to promote new medical practices, and to keep the community informed.

Emory Johns Creek is the first hospital in the area to embrace social media in its marketing and communications strategies. The hospital launched its blog as an extension of its Web site earlier this month and began the first in a series of video clips featuring physicians and administrators.

"Healthcare marketing has been conventional in its approach, choosing traditional mediums and messaging,” said Johnel Reid, director of marketing for the hospital.

The site, http://www.emoryjohnscreek.blogspot.com, offers news and tools, including a video library featuring medical professionals discussing various medical breakthroughs.

"We are fortunate because our leadership embraces the experiment – we are able to try new approaches based on what we know about our community, and then develop what works,” said Reid. “As we add more features and video, we envision the blog becoming an interactive forum for our patients, physician and community members.”

Healthcare is as competitive as any industry, and more complex than most. Certificate of Need (CON) laws, the consolidation of hospitals into large, multi-facility systems, federal laws governing physician relationships and marketing, and healthcare marketing can become very complicated.

"Emory Johns Creek continues to push the ceiling and we’re very proud of that,” said John Quinlivan, CEO of the hospital. "We are committed to bringing the latest and greatest not only to our hospital in the clinical sense, but in every other area, as well. Utilizing new technology – from our imaging and surgery departments, and now to our marketing efforts – is central to our mission.”