If you didn’t know, last Fall Microsoft released a motion-sense video game controller for Xbox 360 called Kinect. While it’s gotten relatively mixed reviews in the gaming world, other industries are seeing a different use for it as a new technology interface.

Could Kinect have real-life practical use in the healthcare industry? Microsoft says so.

Kinect and Healthcare

Microsoft recently brought Kinect to the Pacific Health Summit in Seattle and showed how it could actually have a practical, real-life application.

The demo involved a video-conferencing interface that created virtual 3D avatars for each user. The avatars could correctly match significant facial expressions. The application that Microsoft suggested was based on anonymous group therapy sessions.

Immediately, healthcare providers started seeing the potential for this technology for remote patient monitoring and tele-health applications.

To help patients communicate with doctors and vice versa, you soon may start seeing protypes in:

• Hospital rooms

• Nursing homes

• Patient homes

At the end of the day, Kinect is not just a novelty game controller but a completely new computer interface that has the potential to become uniquely user-friendly and lend itself to new industries.

I think there’s something really wonderful about the innovation of the healthcare industry and its constant search for better solutions for communications between doctor and patient. What do you think? Tell us, we’d like to know.

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So I’m writing/typing this post one-handed, due to an unforeseen “accident” I recently sustained to my left wrist (thank goodness I’m right handed).

Bruised and broken...NO this did not happen becaused I missed a deadline or forgot to check my sources.

My job at AVID Design is that of a writer, (you may have read some of my work on this blog and on our site at www.aviddesign.com), therefore having my hand(s) and finger(s) fully functioning and in-check is quite important.

While I shall refrain from sparing the details of my “injury” or how it ultimately occurred, I cannot help but provide the following list below of tips for other Web content writers so this “accident” doesn’t happen to you in the workplace.

1.) Don’t miss a deadline…ever, or you may find yourself missing…

2.) Check (and re-check) your sources…thoroughly, unless you want a…

3.) Never misquote…anyone, or you could get…

4.) If the boss wants you to scrap the whole story you’re working on, then do so…please, or your boss might…

5.) Don’t misspell names or attribute an incorrect title to anyone…or else, because you may end up with a…

If other writers follow these five simple steps in the workplace then all should be well…and you should remain unscathed.

***The subject matter suggested in this post is purely for humorous purposes and is of fictitious nature. I did injure my wrist, however it was not work-related or because I failed at any of the suggested tips noted above.  Working at AVID Design will cause no harm to your health or body parts! Guaranteed!

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Today is Social Media Day. It is the celebratory day of “technological advancements that enable everyone to connect with real-time information, communicate from miles apart and have their voices be heard,” according to a post on Mashable’s Website.

Happy Social Media Day! Hospitals need to embrace social media too!

Social Media Day, created in 2010 by Mashable—the popular news source for all things digital, social and technological—is a global event where folks can meet up in their community to connect and socialize.

There are numerous events and meetups going on all day today!

Are you attending any social media meetups in your community? We want to know!

Hospitals and Social Media

While on the topic of social media (on such a festive day), did you know that hospitals can and should engage in this (social) media revolution?

Social media provides a lot of opportunities for hospitals, such as:

• Lower costs

• Higher visibility

• Greater communications

• Internal brand awareness

• Patient/visitor perceptions through monitoring

If you don’t have social media for you hospital, maybe it’s time to rethink that and integrate a strategy into your marketing plan. After garnering mad popularity (and not only with the kids–with businesses too) and having its “own” day, I would say that social media is here to stay, and that it’s definitely worth having for your hospital.

AVID Design can help you develop an effective hospital social media strategy that maximizes your hospital Website’s goals and integrates seamlessly into your marketing plan. Contact us today to find out more.

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Hip, hip hooray!

Another one of our healthcare clients that we’ve had the pleasure to work with was recognized and awarded for excellence in healthcare marketing.

The Sedro-Woolley, Washington, based United General Hospital, was recently awarded a 2011 Gold Aster Award for their Web site, www.unitedgeneral.org, that we redesigned for them in order to enhance the perception and importance of their hospital as the area’s only critical access hospital.

Some quick features that we designed, configured and crafted into the award-winning, dynamic Web site included:

• Enhanced aesthetics

• Site conversion areas

• Build out on AVID CMS™

• Optimized content for several core service lines

• Several of AVID’s Best-in-Class Suite of Modules

So, congratulations to United General Hospital and thanks for allowing us to be a part of your award-winning achievement!

AVID Design creates award-winning Web sites for hospitals and healthcare organizations. Contact us today to learn how we can design a potentially award-winning site for you.

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Last weekend was beautiful in Atlanta, so I decided to go for a short ride on my skateboard.  As I was kicking, pushing and coasting my way down the broken sidewalk to the park located in my neighborhood, I realized the importance of balance.

Balance...the key to Web site design and skateboarding.

For a Web site’s design, balance brings together aesthetics and the ease of navigation in hopes that your users are getting somewhere…whether it’s to make an appointment, find a doctor, pay their bill or find out how to get to your hospital.

Here are just a few simple things to keep in mind when designing a balanced Web site:

• Navigation and conversions should be strategically placed on your hospital’s Web site with clear pathways, that way users can easily peruse your site and find what they are looking for.

• Avoid clutter that will cause distraction on your site and can be confusing to your users. Things to avoid include: weak graphics, text heavy areas and overly flashy items.

• Color palette should be chosen wisely and should correspond with your theme and branding initiatives.

• Font should be Web-friendly and easy to read in all browsers.

• Think user-friendly, which is probably the most important element for a well-balanced Web site design, and very similar to navigation (see above).

As long as balance—along with usability and functionality—are in check, your hospital’s Web site should provide users with the information they are seeking, drive conversions and keep them coming back to your site for more.

For skateboarding, balance is essential to riding (along with board control).  Without balance, you’re not going anywhere, except flat on your face in the dirt, just like your users won’t get anywhere if your site doesn’t embrace the fundamentals of balance.

So, as you place your feet strategically on your board for your balanced stance and Ollie (the most important trick to master, since most tricks are based off of it) over the clutter of rocks and sticks in your pathway, which will try to make you lose your balance, you’ll be good to go and make your way down that path…to the park, safely.

Did you know that AVID Design creates award winning Web sites for hospital and healthcare systems?  Contact us today to see how we can create a balanced Web site that not only looks great, but delivers results too.

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