Education & Events
by Cochlear Guest Author

Hot topic: Headmirror resource and NEW OtoRecall app

December 15, 2020
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Updated January 2022

This Q&A with Dr. Matt Carlson, Neurotologist and Professor of Otolaryngology, explores the content and impact of Headmirror and the new mobile app as well.

What is Headmirror?

Headmirror is an independent open-access website dedicated to the production and dissemination of high-quality educational content for otolaryngology residents, staff, interested medical students and also affiliated specialties including audiology. Currently, the site has a core team of approximately 30 otolaryngology residents and staff from many centers across the U.S. who contribute on a regular basis, and several hundred less common contributors from the U.S. and internationally.

Our vision is to create a high-quality resource that is freely available to trainees in the U.S. and globally, including developing countries, where such resources may be limited. The irony of the current education delivery model is that the best resources are often hidden behind a firewall or subscription, and the end users who will benefit most often do not have the financial means to access such content.

What is the new OtoRecall app?

OtoRecall is a free, spaced repetition-based, active recall flashcard app designed to optimize learning and retention for trainees in the field of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery and overlapping specialties. With thousands of cards covering every subspecialty within ENT, the app aims to provide a high-yield, easily accessible but equally comprehensive resource for trainees amidst a busy schedule.

What inspired you to create Headmirror?

The surgical specialty of otolaryngology is relatively small when compared to internal medicine, general surgery or other more broad areas of medicine. Because of this, medical students may not become exposed to this specialty until later in training, which is unfortunate. Furthermore, otolaryngology remains one of the more competitive specialties to match into, and thus, early exposure and planning can improve match success. One of the main goals of the site is then to enhance early visibility of the specialty and to attract the “best and the brightest” applicants to our field.

Otolarynology is a tremendous specialty with incredible breadth, encompassing seven distinct subspecialties that collectively care for men and women, and infants to nonagenarians – as we say, from dura to pleura (and sometimes intradural as well). Also, because we are a relatively small specialty, educational resources within our field are less developed than other larger counterparts. We saw an opportunity to develop new content according to perceived educational gaps, and also to organize and pull together existing content from other resources that people may not know about. I have to say, Headmirror has been one of the most fun, exciting and rewarding projects I have ever been a part of. I love our team the collective enthusiasm and energy for education everyone radiates.

Who visits Headmirror?

We’ve received over one million page hits to-date from viewers worldwide. We receive from between 200 to 400 unique viewers daily and have approximately 6,000 regular subscribers to our podcast “ENT in a Nutshell.” At the end of 2021, we registered about 12,000 unique visitors per month, a 50% year over year increase. We believe that most of our viewers are residents, interested medical studies and otolaryngology staff; however, we have received a number of emails from providers of related fields, including audiology, neurology, neurosurgery, primary care doctors, emergency medicine physicians and even industry partners.

There is a wide variety of content on the Headmirror website. Which section(s) do your visitors find most valuable and why?

We have general content about the field of otolaryngology and also about all the different subspecialties. With regard to educational content, our main sections include:

  • A surgical video atlas containing high resolution, narrated surgical videos
  • A podcast that covers medical educational material, but also business of medicine topics
  • A 3D temporal bone atlas
  • A section that summarizes recent clinical guidelines
  • A survival guide providing concise information for on-call consults

Download the OtoRecall app and listen to Headmirror’s ENT in a Nutshell podcast series here!

Author

Cochlear Guest Author

In an effort to keep our content fresh and reflective of a diverse industry, Cochlear Americas features a mix of employees and professional partners to contribute to Cochlear ProNews as Guest Authors.

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Clinical Application and Resources for Cochlear™ Bone Conduction Solutions

June 16, 2023

Bone conduction solutions are a well-established treatment option for patients with conductive hearing loss, mixed conductive-sensorineural hearing loss, and single-sided deafness. Options such as the Cochlear™ Osia® System*, Baha® Start or Baha® System** are predictable and cost-effective solutions that provide excellent hearing outcomes.1    With the introduction of Cochlear’s Candidacy, Evaluation and Fitting Protocol for Bone Conduction Solutions, clinics looking to begin or expand treating patients with a bone conduction solution, like the Osia System, have a roadmap to help them establish a consistent and evidence-based treatment practice.2

The Osia System revolutionized clinical treatment for patients by applying digital piezoelectric stimulation to become the world’s first active osseointegrated steady-state implant (OSI). The Osia System first received FDA approval in December 2019, and Cochlear recently celebrated the 10,000th Osia System recipient!

Incorporating bone conduction solutions into clinical treatment protocols

Justyn Pisa, AuD, and the team at the Surgical Hearing Implant Program in Manitoba provided insights into integrating bone conduction solutions into a medical portfolio of treatment options.

“Bone conduction options are part of our treatment course for conductive or mixed hearing losses (provided bone conduction thresholds are within acceptable limits). 

We do prefer to see bone conduction thresholds of 45 dB or better in mixed losses, but not every potential candidate presents with ideal circumstances, so we try to match them with the best potential option on a case-by-case basis. 

In general, we have our patients trial conventional amplification prior to receiving a bone conduction solution.  However, in cases where hearing aids are not an option, we will look at a bone conduction solution first, either on a headband or implant.

We have fairly good communication between surgeons and audiologists on new referrals and potential candidates prior to surgery.  In many cases, new patients are referred for assessment by our surgeon Dr. Garber or other public health audiologists in Canada who encounter patients with long-standing/permanent conductive hearing loss.

I try to ensure everyone is up to date on new candidates and will assist the scheduling clerk on medical assessment appointments once they’ve been cleared by audiology. 

We have begun quarterly team meetings to review program needs, new technology, and our wait list for surgery.  We generally use this time to discuss specific patients and potential outcomes with different implant options.” 

Clinics looking to start offering Osia or Baha Systems into their treatment protocols, just like Justyn Pisa, AuD, and the Surgical Hearing Implant Program in Manitoba have done, have several clinical resources available to help them get started. These include Cochlear’s Candidacy, Evaluation, and Fitting Protocol for Bone Conduction Solutions, as well as  including Otologic Management Services Insurance Support, our expert insurance and reimbursement team.

References

  1. Evans AK, Kazahaya K. Canal atresia: “Surgery or implantable hearing devices? The experts question is revisited” Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 2007; 71, 367-374
  2. OSI140 ISS1 FEB23 Bone Conduction Protocol Whitepaper
  3. de Wolf MJ, Hendrix S, Cremers CW, Snik AF. Better performance with bone‐anchored hearing aid than acoustic devices in patients with severe air‐bone gap. Laryngoscope. 2011;121:613-616.

*In the United States, the Osia 2 System is cleared for children ages twelve and older. In Canada, the Osia 2 System is approved for children ages five and older

**In the United States and Canada, the placement of a bone-anchored implant is contraindicated in children below the age of five.

***In the United States and Canada, the Nucleus System for single-sided deafness is approved for children ages five and older.

Regina Presley

Considerations for a healthy marketing plan

June 1, 2022

By Regina Presley, AuD, FAAA, CCC-A, Director of Audiology at the Presbyterian Board of Governors Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence at Greater Baltimore Medical Center (GBMC)

Marketing, for our practice, is truly about educating a variety of audiences including the general public, existing patients, professionals and payers.  Often colleagues will ask me, “How do I get started?”.  The task can feel overwhelming especially if you have multiple identified initiatives or marketing is new to you.  The key is to prioritize your attainable goals, work to meet the first initiative, learn from that experience and then strategically tackle the second item on your list. 

Be sure to explore how your goal(s) may meet larger goals within your department and/or possibly align with your organization. As you develop a marketing initiative, it is important to not only determine a specific goal(s) but to identify your audience(s), obtain staff/team buy-in through education and communication, identify and engage stakeholders, prioritize your needs, and determine cost(s), if any, for your initiative. Sustainability should be the foundation of each initiative.

Once your goals have been established, determine how they will be measured and the appropriate metrics to capture important information throughout implementation as well as the completion of the campaign. Create a timeline for phases of the initiative as well as completion and monitor through the life of the initiative.  Be sure to celebrate success and learning opportunities throughout the implementation of the initiative! The data obtained within this tracking will be instrumental in your learning experience and improvement of initiatives moving forward. 

As you develop your plan, here are some marketing considerations to help reach your goals.

Social media use:

Over the years, our marketing approach has changed.  According to Statista, 2020, there are 3.78 billion social media users worldwide. This is a 32% increase when compared to 2017. It is no wonder that our focus on education utilizes more social media then previously. Our center is active on a variety of social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Our social media presence takes on many forms such as Facebook Live interviews with real time audience participation, posting links of TV appearances or podcast recordings on all social media platforms and an online hospital newsletter that is linked to social media.

Our content varies from a short post or video to a highlight of a linked 30-minute live event.  We communicate the importance of our social media initially when meeting with candidates and encourage their participation throughout their candidacy, activation and ongoing implant journey. We connect to the larger hospital page which helps reach thousands of individuals within our community.  Lastly, we always link our posts to our page and the pages of stakeholders to ensure support, share additional education and increase the number of followers.

Explore television opportunities:

We utilize our media marketing team to help promote news releases as well as upcoming events.  If you do not have a marketing team, you can also share press releases and ideas with your local television stations via the assignment editor.  Be sure to connect with the morning and weekend news programs who are typically looking for ideas. It’s important to understand that television appearances and availability may change quickly depending upon what is occurring in the world around us. This will require flexibility.  It’s key to have a concise message, delivering it in a friendly, knowledgeable manner.  Television spots tend to be only 3-4 minutes in length so practice your message in advance.  Here are some suggestions regarding the types of stories you could pitch:

  • Focus on your health – January
  • World Hearing Day – March – Safe listening for all ages
  • Better Speech and Hearing Month – May
  • Back to school – August– Recognizing hearing loss in children
  • Gift of sound – December
  • Make the connection with other co-morbidities during heart health or diabetes months, for example
  • Highlight advances in technology
  • Discuss upcoming public events
  • Remarkable patient stories are always well received

Make important connections:

We have all heard the saying, “it takes a village” and this certainly applies to our marketing initiatives.  We can be more effective if we do not work in a silo.  Community collaboration has created a greater impact and a larger reach than any one center can do in isolation.  Whether it requires you to reach out to stakeholders to help create and track your initiative or to develop a multi-disciplinary approach to your initiative, you will have greater success through enlisting additional experts. 

Here are just a few examples for consideration:

  • Consumer events – Can include other disciplines, colleagues or industry. Be sure to cross promote via social media.
  • Participate in ground rounds for PCP and ENT meetings.
  • Interdisciplinary approach – Primary care, diabetes center, neurology, etc. – Education is key not only for potential patients but for professionals as well
  • Work alongside insurance experts – Write for payer or physician newsletters.
  • Create educational materials for multidisciplinary teams to share within their practices.
  • Look for and participate in philanthropic events/campaigns.
  • Participate with local universities as a guest lecturer or have students join in unique opportunities at your facility in addition to supervising students.
  • Instill great relationships with your electronic medical records team – They are so valuable as you work to improve your practice efficiency, communicating effectively with patients and improving the flow of referrals.
  • Host continuing education events to increase knowledge and improve referral stream.

As you can see, numerous marketing opportunities await each of us. If we all do our part, we can move the needle toward increased awareness and access to quality hearing health care for all. 

Hear more from Dr. Presley here or check out Cochlear’s media center to get started.

Regina Presley

Dr. Presley has served as an audiologist for 30 years within a pediatric hospital, private ENT practice, and the last 20 years, in the field of cochlear implantation. She is currently the Director of Audiology at the Presbyterian Board of Governors Cochlear Implant Center of Excellence at GBMC. In addition to clinical responsibilities, she is responsible for the direction of the CI team and administrative duties as well as for consumer and professional outreach to help patients and colleagues remain current on the latest cochlear implant candidacy criteria and technology. Research has been geared toward quality of life, effective uses of innovative tools, use of artificial intelligence, and the development of a new standard of care clinical model.

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This material is intended for health professionals. If you are a consumer, please seek advice from your health professional about treatments for hearing loss. Outcomes may vary, and your health professional will advise you about the factors which could affect your outcome. Always read the instructions for use. Not all products are available in all countries. Please contact your local Cochlear representative for product information.

 

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