By: Ellen VanBuskirk

How does an industry reach all the critical "actors" along the healthcare ecosystem that starts with the consumer? We know that communication will be the lynch pin for ICD-10 transition success in October, 2015, as the IS integration, testing, training, business process redesign , and change management are all interdependent and without a two way line of communication, the transition will struggle to achieve a successful outcome. Can we use a "grass roots" approach to train, knowledge share, and manage?

One of the challenges early in the roadmap of ICD-10 transition was the ability to manage and substantiate both tacit and explicit knowledge. We continue to struggle with keeping FAQ's current and addressing myths with large payers and large hospital systems creating their communities of knowledge with some degree of sharing. Is there a need for communities of practice to create some standards?

We see CMS and other Industry organizations providing more webinars, town hall meetings, listening sessions, etc., but is that getting to the people working in the "trenches" of healthcare in the area of the ecosystem that will be affected? What strategy can be applied to ICD-10 that has been successful to reach the majority?

Also needed is someone to ask the question if there is a plan to educate the consumer on what ICD-10 will mean to them as they access healthcare, the changes they will see, and importantly it needs to be transparent.

So how can we do this and achieve success? We have seen several considerable success stories of social media campaigns that we might want to review. One is the Presidential campaigns. There were "E-neighborhoods" created where there was a push of information down to individual voters with the potential for a two way level of communication. It allowed for a paradigm shift in political campaigns!

The success of the Social Media Political campaign was stated as the following formula:
Expertise + Planning + Power + Message + Integration + Tools = Success

So how can we use this to communicate the important impact messages of the single most dramatic change to the Healthcare Industry in the US to our "E-neighborhoods" and/or affinity groups?

First step is to secure the social media expertise that can drive the planning and execution of the campaign.

Secondly, define the "E-neighborhood" and within that neighborhood, establish the affinity groups, i.e. physician practices, home health services, consumers, payers, clearinghouses, PBM or pharmacies, long term care, behavioral healthcare services, etc.

Simultaneously, a fact gathering program should be kicked off to collect email addresses of all "actors" starting at the consumer level across the ecosystem to establish the foundation for the ICD-10 social media campaign for each particular "E-neighborhood" and affinity group! It will be important to "grow the list"; to reach across the "E-neighborhoods" into the affinity groups and to collect email addresses as fast as possible so using creative ways to do that will be important. An approach used by some is to work with volunteer groups within the "E-neighborhood" to set up call centers to gather the email information.

It is critically important not to think of this Social Media campaign as an IT project but rather as a special project to connect with people. While the technology is important, lumping this project with other IT projects in flight or traditional communication plans may hinder success. One of the most important team members of an ICD-10 social media campaign is the writer, who needs to demonstrate a high degree of skill writing colloquial, yet powerful emails that have taglines that will capture the attention of the target market.

The importance of the content of the email cannot be overstated, starting with the tagline, and continuing with the value of the message and what it means to the affinity group. It can be a tool to gain a stronger relationship with the members of the "E-neighborhood"/affinity group. A social media program can become a very meaningful tool in gaining mindshare of the providers who are risk adverse or resource depleted, building a more trusted relationship, and addressing targeted business drivers/ challenges.

The capability to analyze data from an ICD-10 social media campaign will be a valuable "by product," creating a blog or allowing for two-way communication as part of the strategy and execution should be considered.

The content that you might want to consider when building an I-10 Social Media Program is:

• What is ICD-10?
• What does ICD-10 mean to the Patients?
• What changes will take place when seeing my Doctor?
• What changes will take place when I use the Hospital Services?
• What it costs me as the patient. More money?
• Will the insurance company still pay my claims like they did before ICD-10?
• Will my bill still look the same?
• Do we, the providers, still submit our bills using the same format?
• Will my reimbursement be the same?
• What will ICD-10 mean to our registration process at the doctor's office?

ICD-10 training and coding information can be an important component of an ICD-10 social media program and be ongoing as new codes are released after the code freeze is lifted.

Building the plan around affinity groups facilitates customized content, with a focus as well on data that can assist in identifying potential process impacts and data challenges prior to the October 2015 implementation.

We, as an industry, need to embrace industry-changing technology and solutions to move us further down the ICD-10 transition roadmap to execution.

Ellen VanBuskirk is a healthcare consultant focused on compliance strategies with a mission to work across the Healthcare value stream to meet regulatory challenges. VanBuskirk has conducted business development efforts in support of Healthcare Compliance & Reform, as well as ICD-10 Transformation by both provider & payer organizations. With more than 20 years of success in leading business teams and identifying emerging opportunities and challenges in the healthcare industry, VanBuskirk excels at consultative evaluations that clarify client needs and align business issues with integrated software and service solutions. She brings deep expertise in health plan regulatory and compliance initiatives, including healthcare reform, ICD-10 transformation, meaningful use, HITECH, and HIE. Ellen started her career in Healthcare as a Clinician, with a specialty in Emergency Medicine.