Healthcare communications and marketing news and information

Whew, what an election!  While I haven’t had as much time to blog recently, I have been paying a lot of attention to the recent presidential election.  President-elect Barack Obama has demonstrated the power of the Internet to shape politics and forge powerful and lasting online communities.  Through direct experience, Obama has likely become a big believer in the Wisdom of Crowds.  This is great news for those in government who believe in the power of social technologies to educate on health and change behavior.  

Can we expect an Obama administration to support innovative initiatives like the one Google just announced with the CDC re: flu tracking?  I think so, especially if former Vermont Governor Howard Dean becomes Secretary of Health and Human Services.  Dean famously started the e-revolution in political campaigns in 2004.  If he is appointed to the Cabinet, I expect that he will push through initiatives designed to speed adoption of electronic medical records, improve HHS’ online presence and launch a range of other exciting projects.  Of course, we can expect Google’s Eric Schmidt to have a significant influence on Obama’s thinking – whether or not he becomes the national Chief Technology Officer.

These are exciting times for those of us who believe in the potential of the Internet to improve health.  It's going to be an interesting four years.