Social Media Education@HIMSS11

It is pretty clear that social media is here to stay, and we are embracing this movement more than ever at the 2011 Annual HIMSS Conference & Exhibition in Orlando, Feb. 20-24.  This year, the Social Media Center has been moved to the exhibition show floor to meet the increased demand for education around social media in healthcare.

Located in Hall E, Booth 7981, the new and improved Social Media Center will host 12 educational sessions and networking meetups. Furthermore, the center features screens displaying the latest #HIMSS11 tweets and kiosks to connect and engage with HIMSS on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Check out the rendering of the layout.

From Monday, Feb. 21, through Thursday, Feb. 24, Cesar Torres, Ward Seward and I will be manning the Social Media Center— hosting networking meetups and tweetups; helping attendees engage with HIMSS on social networking sites; and providing insight on how HIMSS uses social media to convene the health IT community, help connect health IT leaders and create conversations.

For the first time, the center’s educational sessions will be presented by leading bloggers and users of social media in the health IT industry. They will discuss topics such as establishing a staff social media policy, social media as a collaborative tool, blogging as a career, developing an integrated social media strategy and more. Session highlights include:

• Managing Social Media Risks by Christina Beach Thielst, FACHE, Healthcare Administrator
• Twitter Created the New Radio Star by Erica V. Olenski, Managing Editor, HL7 Standards Blog
• Blogging as a Career: Strategies for Clinicians and Health IT Bloggers by Joseph Kim, MD, MPH, Vice President, Medical Affairs and Technology, Medical Communications Media
•  Key Considerations for Writing a Social Media Policy by Will Weider, Vice President and CIO, Ministry Health Care and Affinity Health System

Check out the full agenda.

Additionally, if you want to connect with your Twitter followers, LinkedIn connections or Facebook friends at HIMSS11, feel free to plan a meetup at the Social Media Center. We have ample seating in the lounge and education session areas.

Besides the education at the Social Media Center, you can further explore social media in healthcare through the conference’s general education program.

The Meet the Bloggers session on Wednesday, Feb. 23, brings a panel of leading health IT industry bloggers together to give attendees a look at the dedication, responsibilities and skills required to develop and maintain a successful blog. This year’s panelists include:

• Brian Ahier, Healthcare, Technology & Government 2.0 Blog;
• Bill Crounse, MD, MSDN HealthBlog;
• Deborah Leyva, RN, BSN, Healthcare & Technology Blog;
• John Sharp, MA, eHealth Blog; and
• Christina Beach Thielst, FACHE, Christina’s Considerations Blog.

Other social media-focused sessions include Bringing the Social Media Revolution to Healthcare with Mayo Clinic’s Lee Aase on Monday, Feb. 21, and Creating a Collective IQ of Health and Wellness to Drive Innovation session with WebMD Founder Jeff Arnold on Wednesday, Feb. 23.

I can’t wait to meet with you on-site. Please stop by the Social Media Center and say hello!