Lauren Adsit, Director of Interactive Marketing at Loyola University Health System, took some time out of her Friday to chat with me about new media at Loyola. We talked challenges, balance, new new media (yes, new new media!), and growth. Here’s what I learned.

Lauren’s biggest challenge is finding resources and time to complete everything on her new media wish list. She also indicated that so many platforms exist today, that it can sometimes be difficult to vet the channels to determine appropriateness for the Loyola audience, and the team’s goals in regards to reaching that audience. Lauren also finds the shifting algorithms of platforms like Facebook to be challenging—the content might be amazing, but slight shifts in the algorithms can impact the reach of those key messages.

Lauren also covered the unique challenges her team encounters as they represent a healthcare system providing direct patient care. Their team contends with the challenge of managing physician rating platforms, and review sites like Yelp or even their own Facebook page. HIPAA dictates that they do not acknowledge that a commenter is not a patient (even if he or she states she is), so messages must be carefully crafted to address feedback but remain HIPAA compliant. This sounds like a huge challenge if you ask me.

When I asked Lauren what excited her most about new media and the work she is doing, she indicated that healthcare tends to lag a bit when compared to other consumer-facing brands or industries, so bringing her organization new media tools is exciting. She also enjoys educating her team about new platforms and opportunities for engaging in new media.

Lauren also anticipates that new media will grow at Loyola. Her team is considering apps for both clinicians and patients. One change she has immediately made which has had an impact directly on Loyola’s referrals is the advent of a Twitter account which is clinician facing. The account distributes information about research and resources coming from Loyola, tips doctors off to training and other opportunities, and seeks to elevate the position of Loyola as primary care physicians and others make referrals to Loyola’s network for specialists. I loved this piece because Twitter is such an important tool, and continues to grow for clinicians. The opportunity for healthcare thought leadership on Twitter is immense, and I found this to be a smart and savvy use of new media.

It was a great opportunity to chat with Laura about the complexities of new media in a healthcare system. I learned a lot and enjoyed our conversation. Thank you, Laura!