MD/MBA Panel: Social Entrepreneurship

Highlights from the Association of MD/MBA Programs 8th Annual Conference.

This morning's panel discussion on social entrepreneurship included:

• Marcel Tam, MD, MBA candidate (Boston University School of Medicine)
• John Dorsey, MD, MBA (Co-Developer of Project Horseshoe Farm)
• Bill Walczak (CEO of Codman Square Health Center)
• Anne Light, MD (Founder and Director of OEL Foundation) could not attend

So, what's happening in the world of social entrepreneurship?  Are we seeing enough disruptive innovation in health care? If you really want to make a difference in the health care industry, then perhaps you can apply your business training to make a difference in public health.

Dr. Dorsey: Each person has to find his/her own hat. Question assumptions and follow your internal compass. Ambiguity tolerance. Prepare to work very hard. When you pursue something that doesn't have an established path, it's a lot of work. He moved from southern California to the south to provide health care at a different level. He saw a need for housing for people who have mental illness. He also saw opportunities to provide students in the area with hands-on training in community service.

Nearing 550 Members!

We're quickly approaching 550 members in our "Non-Clinical Healthcare Professionals" network. It's a great way to meet others who share similar interests and get connected. It wasn't that long ago when we reached 500 members (it was actually less than 10 days ago). So, if we continue to grow at this rate, then we could be bursting out at the seams in a few months! Invite your friends and colleagues to join so that we can collaborate and help each other find non-clinical opportunities.

New community for NPs and PAs: Clinician1

There's a new online community that is just for NPs and PAs. All others are excluded. Sound similar to Sermo?

This is a reflection of Web 2.0 influences within the healthcare industry. NPs and PAs want to communicate with each other, but they want to have privacy while they discuss what's on their minds. There are many different public forums for clinicians, but not many that are exclusive and 'member-only.'

I'd like to see an exclusive forum that includes all healthcare professionals. Wouldn't that be the ideal place to collaborate and share ideas?

MedicalPlexus

MedicalPlexus is a restricted-access network in which doctors and life science researchers can connect, interact, and share their work. Is this another Sermo?

MedicalPlexus is different because it may foster research collaboration among scientists and researchers. Web 2.0 at work yet again! Social networking communities that are bringing clinicians and scientists together.

Medscape is now FINALLY copying Sermo

Medscape, perhaps the largest online resource for healthcare professionals, is finally copying Sermo with their "Physician Connect" physician-only online community. Medscape has had forums and other features to foster an online community, but uptake and usage has been very low. WebMD has really dominated the online healthcare space, so I'm surprised it's taken Medscape so long to come up with something like this. WebMD has been gobbling up other online professional resources like Medsite, eMedicine, and theHeart.org. These are all being placed under the "Medscape" umbrella of services.

I remember when Medscape was born. Most users at the time was using Netscape, so the name medscape really made sense. Now, hardly anyone uses Netscape to browse the web. Safari, Firefox, and Opera have taken over. Can we come up with some creative names based on these browsers? Medfari? Medfox? Medopera?

By the way, just like Sermo, Physician Connect requires physician validation.