The Ascension incident shows the gap of the AHA statement indicting third parties. Hospital/healthcare organizations need to step up their…
Curbside Consult with Dr. Jayne 3/18/24
My inbox seemed to explode while I was at HIMSS. I’ll be trying to tunnel out for at least the next week, I would bet.
One of the interesting articles I found was about the clinicians at telehealth provider Bicycle Health and the fact that they have filed with the National Labor Relations Board to unionize. A press release from the Union of American Physicians & Dentists notes that physicians, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners have experienced “a shift in company culture where we as providers feel increasingly overworked, undervalued, and our feedback is regularly ignored. In order to continue providing the best care for our patients struggling with opioid addiction, we knew we needed to come together.”
I’ve worked as a telehealth clinician for several different companies. It’s more likely than not that they have treated their telehealth providers as expendable despite the fact that patients can’t be seen if there aren’t licensed providers to see them. Even working for organizations that also had a brick and mortar presence, it’s clear that administrators thought telehealth providers are replaceable.
That may be true, given that a lot of telehealth providers only work on an as needed basis and are paid accordingly. As such, they are treated more like Uber drivers than knowledgeable professionals. It will be interesting to see how this shakes out over the coming months.
I spent a fair amount of time at HIMSS contemplating the marketing efforts of various companies. Some have clear and well-reasoned strategies, while others are a little bit more of what we might describe as all over the place.
Nothing says marketing drama than NYU Langone Health System suing Northwell Health over allegations of trademark infringement. Earlier this month, a federal judge dismissed the suit, citing the variability of shades of purple, intermittent use of sentence case as well as all-capital phrases in white, and other factors in the failure to prove infringement. The judge dismissed some of the claims without prejudice, which will permit NYU Langone to amend its complaint in the future.
I love some of the quotes from Northwell Health’s chief marketing and communications officer, who stated that NYU Langone has “no filed claim to the color purple” and that “If it truly is a trademark right of theirs, then they should protect the asset.” He went on to say that Northwell uses 16 colored triangles in its main logo, representing the diversity of the health system, and that continued pursuit of action is a “waste of time and resources.”
Speaking of lawsuits, I also had a blurb in my inbox about New York City (including New York City School District and New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation) suing social media companies in relation to the growing youth mental health crisis. The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of California, with named defendants including Meta / Facebook / Instagram, Snap, TikTok, and Google / YouTube. The complaint is 311 pages long and parts of it are a truly fascinating read. It starts with factual allegations against all defendants and then moves to specifics. Among the general allegations:
- Social media’s core market includes school-aged children, who are “uniquely susceptible” to harm from the platforms.
- The platforms are designed to addict youth who use the platforms with minimal parental oversight.
- Millions of children use the platforms compulsively, including during school hours.
Specific claims include algorithms that are designed to promote compulsive use, gambling-inspired features that create cravings for likes as a reward, and tailored advertisements. Plaintiffs are asking for an order that the defendants’ conduct “constitutes a public nuisance” that requires abatement along with funding for prevention efforts, mental health treatment, actual damages, and punitive damages. I see plenty of children, teens, and adults who are addicted to social media and who can barely function without a phone in their hand.
At the same time, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis vetoed legislation that included social media restrictions for minors. Politico noted that the governor had indicated well in advance that he wasn’t supportive of the measures. Legislators immediately scrambled to try to create replacement legislation. The vetoed legislation would have prohibited creation of accounts by those under age 16 and would have required third-party age verification and would have prevented parents from helping their children bypass the restrictions. Watered-down replacement language would allow parental consent.
During my career as a physician, I’ve seen plenty of parents make bad decisions on behalf of their children, most recently because they fear the peer pressure that might ensue if their children don’t get exactly what they want. Physicians saw an uptick in skin issues in January from parents who bought their children certain TikTok-promoted skincare products for Christmas, not understanding that powerful anti-aging chemicals would be harmful. As of the time of this writing, DeSantis plans to sign the revised bill.
Although I enjoyed the warmth of Orlando and being able to enjoy some sunshine, I certainly don’t miss the traffic or the cranky children and frustrated parents. It was 20 degrees cooler when I landed at home and that was followed by severe weather and a significant temperature drop that was accompanied by golf ball-sized hail. We’re headed back below freezing tonight, so it’s time to get out the fuzzy slippers and flannel lounge pants in preparation for a full day of conference calls tomorrow.
I must say that when I travel, it feels a little strange to wear dressy clothes on both top and bottom after several years of virtual work in a hybrid wardrobe. My clinical shifts don’t count as wearing real clothes since all of my scrubs are well worn and are softer than most of my pajamas.
I’m looking forward to slipping back into my usual routine and seeing what the healthcare IT universe throws at me next. What do you enjoy most about being away at a conference? And what are the best parts of coming home? Leave a comment or email me.
Email Dr. Jayne.
I have evolved my opinions regarding social media.
Way back when the internet was young, I was fine with unhindered free speech, at least in principle. Though I noted that most sites/blogs/chat groups/UseNet groups that didn’t have moderation, eventually wound up toxic and unproductive.
Now though? I see people living entire lives online. Their primary social interactions and information sources are these social media sites.
Scale matters. When social media becomes all-pervasive, some addition level of control is called for.
It’s made much worse by the social media’s corporate needs (‘the algorithms’). Most of these companies appear to care little or nothing WHAT is being said, so long as they get that business (‘the clicks and eyeballs’).
Have you ever read something online, that felt like it was deliberately designed to rile you up? I know I have.
We have good information on the psychology of our citizens in this environment. The old idea that facts and positivity would drown out fiction and negativity, was wrong. Motivated reasoning and confirmation bias are much stronger forces.
In short, I think that making this about the protection of children online, is weak reasoning. Our body politic is diseased and unhealthy. Social media is one key reason why, even if it’s not the only reason.
We used to be able to meet and find agreement on certain issues. Even people with very different ideologies and backgrounds. This rarely happens anymore.
We’ve become the logical endpoint of Red Sanders: “Winning isn’t everything, it’s the only thing.” Except, what are we winning exactly? Some online dispute, over some esoteric matter, that will change no one’s life? Is winning by saying something terrible and then walking away, really winning?
Yes, some arguments matter. But there has to be a psychological connection between behaviours at a micro level, and behaviours at a macro level. People don’t change their personalities between tactical discussions and strategic ones. We learn lessons and the lessons we are learning in a social media-dominated world, are the wrong lessons.