Fourteen years later, can anyone doubt that this is what has taken, is taking, place? Long running magazines of all sizes are shuttering their doors forever. Some attempt to hang on by offering a digital version of their magazine to subscribers, as if that will keep them reading. So far, no magazine has been saved by the addition of a digital version.

From magazines to newspapers, publishing is not so much going the way of the dinosaur as it is going the way of the caterpillar. It’s in the chrysalis stage now, and very soon, the entire publishing industry will be reborn anew. But, will it be a moth or a butterfly and how will it be monetized?

Based on the popularity of hand-held devices, such as the iPad and Smartphones, I predict we’ll see a rapid growth of online sources for every type of information, from recipes to breaking news, from scientific research to the Library of Congress. Even more than is available today. The new publishing industry will be entwined with our daily lives. Just as cell phones became commonplace, so will hand-held communications/entertainment/computing tools. These devices will be preinstalled in everything from bathrooms to refrigerators to cars. We may even be able to install them in ourselves. Who knows? The interfaces will be app-driven, as the iPad and Android operating systems now are, and will be dished up for a flat fee added on top of one’s cell phone bill. This is from where the publishing industry of the future will operate.

That’s not to say that paper and print will go away forever. I, for one, still prefer reflected media to projected media (must be my 51-year-old eyes) when it comes to reading. I don’t care to sit at the computer screen and read the WSJ when I can read it on my front porch. On the other hand, I’ve played with an iPad and I want one (badly!). It brings the world’s knowledge to my fingertips and I can tuck it under my arm, head off to Panera Bread or Starbucks and sit for hours reading and researching to my heart’s content. Can’t do that with a stack of newspapers or encyclopedias.

Then there are the young’ns (for me that’s anyone under 40). They seem to prefer receiving all of their information electronically these days. In fact, Americans have been slow to catch on to this trend. In Japan today, more books are read by cell phone then in print. So much so, the Japanese publishing industry is teaching their existing novelists how to write to the cell phone format in order to keep up with the demand. We’re looking at our future.

Publications, such as online magazines, will be like bus stations. Visitors will arrive by directed sources or by Google searches. While there, they will use the magazine as a launching platform for other destinations on the Web. While there, they also will be exposed to content and advertising, which will alter their thinking and affect their decision-making. Hard leads and impressions will be collected and sold to advertisers to keep revenue streaming in. Popular sites will be those that serve up the most useful or most interesting content to the most people. The numbers will tell the tale and advertises will respond.

This scenario is not yet fully in operation but it is happening. Too many today magazines are attempting to replace or supplement their print properties by simulating them online, which is a recipe for disaster. Online magazines have been around long enough for us to know that they’re not popular in their current form. Few people want to sit at a computer leafing through a digital version of a magazine when a print copy can be easily picked up and taken to the lunchroom. Even with the available links a digital magazine offers these things just aren’t popular enough to replace print.

A totally new business model will soon appear that will revolutionize the publishing industry. We’re at the threshold of a brave new world. At the moment, though, blogs are the biggest threat to print publications. Many Web sites have been taken down and restructured to fit the blog format. That’s how popular blogs have become, and with Google’s AdSense program, even moderately popular blogs can make money.

Eric Hoffer, author of “The True Believer: Thoughts On The Nature Of Mass Movements” wrote “In times of profound change, the learners inherit the earth, while the learned find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists.” Publishing, as we once knew it, no longer exists. Like the caterpillar, it is evolving and will shortly reveal itself to the world as a beautiful butterfly. Those who believe will be ready to capitalize on the new model.

If you want to read the entire Rob French article go to http://192.150.14.31/products/adobemag/archive/pdfs/9605ferf.pdf. You have to hand it to Adobe. Fourteen years ago they foretold the future of publishing with remarkable accuracy.

Michael McBride

What does that have to do with HIMSS? Not much, except to point out that competition is healthy and can always be managed.

I interviewed 12 top healthcare industry execs and physicians from the Carefx booth on every topic concerning healthcare IT today, including health information exchange, interoperability, information security, medication reconciliation, eReferral and, of course, meaningful use. Each interviewee spoke enthusiastically about their knowledge and experience in these areas. Even given the interjection of last year’s lurker topic – cost – discussions were lively and the information relevant. To gain a clear understanding of the challenges today’s healthcare CIOs, CMIOs, IT directors, CEOs, nurses and even industry analysts are experiencing be sure to check out all of the videos at www.yourcarefx.com.

The marketing messages from these companies have not changed much from last year, although they are more finely honed and specific. Now that meaningful use has been defined into seven distinct stages, it’s easier for companies to refine their marketing message based on their product line. Washington will continue to define meaningful use and companies will continue to tailor their marketing messages and target specific aspects of healthcare, rather than sending out blanket campaigns. This will enable hospitals and physicians practices to make intelligent purchasing decisions that will hit the bull’s eye and not just wing the target.

I shared a taxi with two HIMSS analysts and I had an opportunity to question them on EMR adoption. According to their somewhat complex criteria, of the 5200 hospitals in America, at least 50 percent have adopted and are using some form of healthcare IT and a significant number of those are employing full-blown EMRs. They qualified that by saying that that did not include CPOE, and neither of them would hazard a guess on how many hospitals are engaged in information exchange. Nevertheless, that’s a huge jump from the over-reported statistic of “only” 2 percent adoption from last year. HIMSS has a nice Web site for studying such numbers: www.himssanalytics.org.

Only 365 days to the next HIMSS!

Michael McBride

So, what’s the hot topic at HIMSS this year? Why, it’s “meaningful use,” of course. It’s the same hot topic as last year only now most everyone has some idea of what the phrase actually means and can use it intelligibly in a sentence. If you are an exec from a healthcare IT company that is at HIMSS to announce an interoperability product that will (among other things) enable hospitals to prove meaningful use well then get in line. Nearly everyone is at the show to do the same thing.

It used to be that PR firms were required to pitch stories to trade pub editors six months prior to publication. Not anymore. Today, publications can and often do take content from pitch to publication in as little as 30 days, sometimes in a lot less time then that thanks to the Web and digital media. Nevertheless, whether it is print, digital, Web or social media, today’s publications focus on the immediate – what’s hot – and there is nothing hotter today than what is happening in healthcare. Meaningful use, interoperability, health information exchange, stimulus funds, electronic medical records, the topics list keeps on growing and industry thought leaders should keep in mind that as the pond gets muddier, fish find it harder and harder to see the bait. In other words, to get an editor to bite, you need to narrow the focus of your pitches and target a publication’s specific needs with pinpoint accuracy.

Editors primarily focus on filling their magazine’s pages with content that their readers want and that is both pertinent and timely. They create editorial calendars by carefully studying the industry they cover, examining hundreds of potential topics and culling out the most important or most likely to be useful to their readers. Then, they give PR firms and other content providers advanced notice of their plans to cover specific topics over the coming year by publishing their editorial calendar online, and in doing so, they open the flood gates. Pitches rush in and quickly overflow editors’ desks. To get yours to rise to the surface you first need to ensure that the article you’re proposing fills the publication’s needs exactly.

Some PR firms simply match their clients’ promotional needs with a publication’s editorial needs and call it a day. Others, however, take that a step further and thoroughly study the publications they target to ensure that the readership is the best audience to receive their client’s messages – your messages. That is why, in my experience, PR firms that specialize in healthcare do a better job with pitches and articles than those that have clients in multiple industries. It’s simply a matter of focus. For example, early on in my corporate communications career I worked for an auction company that specialized in high-end real estate. Since we were a startup, we were just about the only company in the industry that didn’t sell real estate on one weekend and cattle on the next. Customers quickly recognized the advantage of our focus and we soon dominated the industry. Go figure. As an editor, I always felt that PR firms that focused exclusively on the healthcare industry sent me superior pitches and articles. Consequently, I believed my readers paid more attention to them. But that’s me.

Trade publications survive by having their fingers on the pulse of the industry they cover and by giving their readers information that they want and need in a timely manner. Companies benefit when PR firms increase in the minds of a pub’s readers (or viewers as it may be) the profiles of the thought leaders the firm represents, making them credible sources and consequently affecting the reader’s decision-making, leading to improved sales for the firm’s clients. In this scenario everyone wins. This symbiotic relationship exists today, however with the advent of digital media and the Internet the time frames have shortened considerably. It’s becoming challenging to focus down to a specific message and not throw out as much as possible to see what will stick. However, narrowing the focus of your marketing campaigns and pinpoint targeting of specific media types (trade pubs, electronic newsletters, Web content, social media) is critical and will ensure that your marketing message does not get swallowed up by the tide.

And so, I’m looking forward to HIMSS and continuing my discussion on meaningful use with top industry executives. It really is the most important topic in healthcare today. Keep a look out for more blogs and tweets (got Twitter? Link to @KNB_McBride) from me throughout the show. And be sure to stop by the Carefx booth (6008) to say hi. You’ll find me enjoying being on the other side of the table for a change.

Michael

Now that we’re on the other side of it, it’s clear that we’ve arrived at a whole new chapter as a company and like the saying goes, the journey was as important as the destination. Here are a few of our key findings:

PR is changing

Established and emerging technologies are creating a whole new definition of stakeholders who expect personalized information and experiences.  Effectively connecting to them requires transparency and an openness that allows them to choose the content they want and gives them the ability to have their voices heard.

Healthcare Technology is Hot

Discussions about healthcare technology have gone mainstream. Case in point: back when we started in1998 it was a challenge to get people to understand what an Electronic Health Record (EHR) was or what benefit it would bring.  Today EHR’s are understood at the mainstream consumer level (http://www.google.co.in/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&hs=C3K&q=ehr+electronic+health+record&btnG=Search&meta=&aq=0&oq=EHR+elect).  And the conversation is heating up: with a $19B stimulus package and an impassioned healthcare reform debate, people from all walks of life are talking about healthcare technology in ways and through means never imagined before.

Credibility is More Important than Ever

Generating awareness will always be an essential outcome of PR, however strengthening credibility is equally important. In an era of perpetually evolving stakeholders, credibility and trust are the keys to building lasting relationships that deliver lasting value for our clients.

Measurement = Dialogue

Measurement is critical. We’ve learned that in order for PR to be truly relevant to the present and future of healthcare technology we must demonstrate the value that PR delivers beyond clicks or clippings. That’s why we examine the quality of engagement and the conversations so that clients can gain benefit from feedback and build stronger, better companies, products and services from it.

We started out focused exclusively on Healthcare Technology because we are passionate about playing an essential, integral communications role at the crossroads of science and society. While the conversations might change, our commitment to credibility and our dedication to clients’ success remain constant.

In the months ahead we’ll be adding new features, functions, and more to the site.  But for now, I’d like to thanks everyone who contributed to the launch.

We will be at the annual RSNA conference (link to http://www.rsna.org/ )in Chicago this week. Join us to learn more insights and findings from the conference.

Shirin Bhan