On the Influence of HITsm on HITPol and HealthIT

Last week was a slow one for blogging for me.  I took most of the week off for the July 4th holiday. I took a break from contemplating laws, regulations, standards for Healthcare IT, and instead spent time thinking about what flavor barbeque sauce to apply to ribs, or which kinds of beers go best with barbeque.

Now that my brief holiday is over, I'm back to thinking about standards again.  One of the things that I've noted over the past 4 years of blogging (yes, I've been writing this blog for four years now), is the increased influence of social media on Health IT regulation and standards.

This week I'll be hosting the #HITsm chat this Friday at Noon Eastern Time, and my topics are all related to that observation.

T1:   What #HITsm activities (blog posts, tweets) have been most influential in how you view  #HealthIT regulations or standards?

For me, this post apparently wound up in someone's inbox with the annotation: See risk #1.  It was one of the most influential I'd ever written in terms of directly measurable consequences.  I've not been the only person to write a post with such impacts.   Many others have as well.  What are some of your most influential posts, or which have most influenced you?

T2:  Where do you go these days to get your news first?  Do you use Zite or Flipboard or other apps?  How do you configure them?

Social media is often days ahead of mainstream news (and also more accurate than some).  How has the use of social media influenced you with respect to current events in HealthIT?  The first regulation I ever read in earnest was the HIPAA Privacy and Security rule over eight years ago, long after it came out in final form.  These days, I'm notified of relevant proposed regulations the moment they hit the wire, and have often read and posted on them before the mainstream media.  How has access to up to the minute, breaking news and analysis in Social Media affected you?  Does it make you life easier or more difficult?

T3: How has government involvement in #HITsm changed your outlook about #HealthIT regulation and implementation?

The US Government has been experimenting with twitter, blogging and other Social Media activities.  Do you read any government blogs?  Which ones?  Which government tweeters to you follow?  Do they follow you back?  Do you feel like it's easier to be heard because of #HITsm? Do you follow the HIT FACA meetings via live tweets?

I truly love it when I write a post targeted to someone in the Federal sphere and they tweet a link to it.

T4: What got you involved in #HITsm?  What made you stay?  How is it different from other media forms?

I started this blog to avoid repeating e-mails, and make answers searchable on the web.  I got started on twitter to chat with friends, but started my second twitter account to promote my blog, and stayed involved because it really worked.  What got you started and keeps you engaged?