More forbidden words of health IT marketing
You’re probably wondering why this blog was dark during last week’s HIMSS conference. Because this blog is not, I repeat, is not, my primary responsibility, nor is it a source of income for me. A lot of people have the idea that I’m nothing more than a blogger. I’m a professional journalist, have been for nearly 18 years.
If you want to read my coverage from HIMSS, go to FierceHealthIT and related publications. In fact, there’s a dedicated page for coverage of HIMSS10. Most, but not all, of the stories are mine.
To clear up some further misconceptions, I’d also like to refer you to the commentary I wrote in FierceHealthIT this week. It didn’t make it in to the newsletter because there was a publisher’s note in that slot, but it’s up on the Web. In this commentary, I vent. A lot. About once a year, I find it necessary to rant about PR nightmares I’ve had to endure. Consider yourself warned.
Of the nine HIMSS conferences I’ve covered, this year’s was by far the most grueling. Much of the angst is due to the crushing volume of e-mail I received requesting meetings, informing me of new products and—gasp—touting the fact that a company participated in the IHE Interoperability Showcase. Seriously, do you think I’m going to write a story about each individual company that was involved in the showcase?
The column also lists four trite words and phrases I’d like to see permanently stricken from all further health IT marketing:
- Solution
- Robust
- “Fully HIPAA-compliant.” Products can’t be HIPAA-compliant. They can only provide the protections that HIPAA requires so the user can comply with HIPAA.
- “Guarantee of meaningful use.” Along the same lines, a vendor can’t guarantee meaningful use of an EMR. As the phrase implies, it’s up to the user to use the EMR in a meaningful way.
This, I hope, is more than venting. I’d like it to be constructive criticism. At least one marketing professional, Lisa Rom of Symantec, seemed to enjoy my column, and sent me her additions to the list of Forbidden Words:
- Seamless interoperability (her personal favorite)
- New paradigm
- Vendor neutral archive
- Real time anything
- Completely automated anything
- Unlimited scalability
I really think I may be on to something here.
Neil, We should start a support group for victims of vacuous press releases! As an editor of Telecare Aware (news service for people interested in telecare and telehealth) I read thousands of press releases a year, and despair! I'd also love to ban IT-industry favourite cliches such as:• solution• platform• ecosystem• leading/cutting edgeIt's not just because they are done to death in the absence of fresh thought but because the people who use them so little understand the original metaphors. Oh! Also, 'innovative' when it just means that it's the first the person has heard of it. And I'd better not get started on 'market leader/leading'! Steve
Steve, I completely forgot "space" as in "the healthcare space" or "the telehealth space." Keep 'em coming!
Ah yes! Well, how about examples of pointless 'word inflation' that keep popping up? For example: • technological devices (= equipment; kit)• to engage (= talk to)• to impact (= affect… Which seems to be seized upon by people unsure of the difference between affect and effect) (Have shared your post with Telecare Aware readers, by the way)
Neil,From the US side of Telecare Aware, who's had to edit and review more than her share of press releases:synergy–an oldie but a baddiegame-changing or game-changerworld-classintelligentcollaborativeplugfest (substitute for interoperable)community (as interest group)Donna
And how could I forget 'next generation' (i.e. new for us)?