Primary care nurses connect online

Popular sites like Facebook and LinkedIn are not the only places nurses can network online.

TransforMED created the Delta-Exchange as a place for health care workers in primary care offices to share ideas about patient-centered medical homes.

Delta-Exchange literally means “change exchange” and is comparable to sites like Facebook or MySpace, except it is not centered on entertainment. Instead, the site is designed for professional communication.

“Delta-Exchange is a social network that allows physicians and their team members to share knowledge, experiences, etc.,” TransforMED spokesman Nathan Bieck said.

Transforming into a patient-centered medical home can be a difficult process, Bieck said. It requires change throughout the entire practice and is a team effort. He added that many times in the workplace, physicians and staff feel isolated.

Delta-Exchange aims to help decrease that feeling.

So far there are 262 members of the site, which features numerous public and private work zones. Public zones, such as the Online Seminar and Ask the Experts zones, are visible to all members of Delta-Exchange. These zones provide various kinds of information that will help answer users’ questions.

Private areas include physician, clinical staff and nurse practitioner zones. These zones can only be viewed by their specific members and are used for more private conversations.

For example, nurses have their own zone where they can talk amongst themselves and share experiences and frustrations with other nurses across the country. These same capabilities are available to physicians and other team members.

“Conversations in the various zones allow me to follow what doctors and nurses around the country are thinking about,” Kathy Steen, BSN, practice enhancement facilitator at TransforMED, stated in an e-mail to the Nursing News. “Delta-Exchange contains resources that are helpful to the practices I facilitate. For example, there are downloadable practice management forms, helpful working papers and archived webinars on a variety of topics.”

Delta-Exchange launched in June to begin gathering data and input from medical home thought leaders. Bieck said the point was to populate the site with leaders who already have a patient-centered medical home.

By the time the site officially launched on Aug. 11, it already included content and members sharing information. The pilot helped TransforMED to get the word out about the site.

“You’ve got those movers and shakers that are out there talking about it,” Bieck said of those who are already involved.

Membership for the Delta–Exchange costs $30 per month.

TransforMED said it will not sell members’ information to other companies or allow advertisers on the site. TransforMED charges only a small fee so the program can be affordable to medical office employees, Bieck said.

Participants describe the site as user-friendly.

“Signing up was easy,” Steen stated. “I received an e-mail that contained my user name and password and was able to log on immediately,”

The information provided on the site can directly target certain subjects and people because of the nature of the site.

“What’s unique about Delta-Exchange is it’s a product that’s exclusive for primary care practices,” Bieck said.

Steen said she would recommend using the site.

“The opportunity to network with other medical professionals is invaluable,” she said.

To learn more about Delta-Exchange, visit www.transformed.com.

Trackback(0)

TrackBack URI for this entry

Comments (0)

Write comment