Cosa Nostra University Medical Center has seen a dramatic increase in patient volume since it installed a number of interactive billboards earlier this year.

The first billboard, emblazoned with ‘Text 24347824 to find out our ER Wait Times,’ generated a 40% increase in ER patient volume the first day.  “They couldn’t get the ambulances here fast enough,” Chief Marketing Officer Handley McNeil noted.  “Within one week, we were the top ER volume in the state. It was amazing, especially since our ER wait times actually went through the roof!”

Emboldened by that success, they launched a follow-up effort titled ‘Picture Yourself at CNUMC.’ This phase of the campaign billboard offered a prize: ‘Tweet a picture of yourself driving by this billboard and you’ll be entered to win $100,000!’ Read the full story »

Many experts have predicted that the new iPad from Apple will radically change the delivery of healthcare. In one of the first examples that the future is here today, technology company Bodily Software has announced iStream, an app for the iPad that takes advantage of the new product’s large touch screen to offer a real-time urinalysis. Read the full story »

A new service called Smatter is set to compete with the growing social network Twitter, but with a twist. Instead of limiting posts to 140 characters like Twitter, the new service will limit member posts to just 14.

“It’s our belief that you’ll get ten times the content value from posts that are one tenth the size,” says Smatter CEO Thomas Smidge.

The social media entrant will introduce a whole new vernacular as well. Instead of posting “tweets,” members will post “smatts,” forwarded posts will be called “resmatts” and group conversations will be “smatt-chats.” Read the full story »