Health chief blogs on performance

By Michelle Herbison
BARWON Health’s chief executive officer has turned to social media to “demystify” his organisation’s performance.
David Ashbridge said his blog allowed him to personally explain performance data.
“I have the opportunity to clarify and provide local context around how information applies specifically to Barwon Health.”
Dr Ashbridge wanted to clarify misinterpretations in some media coverage.
“It’s not my intention to be a parallel media source but, to understand some data, I need to provide the background.”
One of his blog posts this week responded to figures for cancer surgery waiting times published on Federal Government’s MyHospitals website.
“Without context, the Geelong community could form the view that…Geelong Hospital is not performing as well as other hospitals. This is not the case,” he wrote.
Dr Ashbridge planned to continue posting on bhceo.org.au at least weekly.
He had “been fairly diligent” in personally replying to comments on the blog, he said.