Orthopedic
surgeon Thomas Lee actively tweets, checks in on FourSquare and builds his
GooglePlus network. His business cards have a direct link to his Facebook page.
His social media activity is exclusively for his patients. Lee, who practices
at the Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Center in Westerville, Ohio says, “It’s an
electronic way of extending the conversation. It creates a vibrant sense of
community and a wonderful back-and-forth dialogue.”
Much of the attention on social media in healthcare circles has focused on hospitals, which are often backed by well funded marketing efforts. However, primary care and other private-practice doctors are building an online presence as well. Not every personal physician maintains a presence on Facebook and Twitter, but we may not be far from the days when they do. TwitterDoctors.net, a database of physicians who tweet already has more than 1,300 registered doctors. “These are powerful, tremendously influential tools,” says internist Kevin Pho of Nashua, N.H., a popular medical blogger who engages with his patients via Facebook and Twitter. “Doctors should be taking advantage of the opportunity.”
A recent survey by the National Research Corporation, a healthcare research firm based in Lincoln, Nebraska showed that 20 percent of patients are currently using social media to gather healthcare information. Not surprisingly Facebook tops the list, followed by YouTube, Twitter, MySpace and FourSquare. Currently patients have to sift through a glut of user generated information, which isn’t always accurate. But as more and more physicians keep an active social media presence the reliability of information will grow by leaps and bounds.
Pho, for example, shares interesting findings and updated medical guidelines on his social media accounts. His professional Facebook page is public and he maintains a separate private account for family and friends. Recent links he’s posted for his audience range from “how to ask for help when chronic pain or illness strikes” to “the fallacies of screening tests.” CLICK HERE to read the entire article at USNews.com.
Much of the attention on social media in healthcare circles has focused on hospitals, which are often backed by well funded marketing efforts. However, primary care and other private-practice doctors are building an online presence as well. Not every personal physician maintains a presence on Facebook and Twitter, but we may not be far from the days when they do. TwitterDoctors.net, a database of physicians who tweet already has more than 1,300 registered doctors. “These are powerful, tremendously influential tools,” says internist Kevin Pho of Nashua, N.H., a popular medical blogger who engages with his patients via Facebook and Twitter. “Doctors should be taking advantage of the opportunity.”
A recent survey by the National Research Corporation, a healthcare research firm based in Lincoln, Nebraska showed that 20 percent of patients are currently using social media to gather healthcare information. Not surprisingly Facebook tops the list, followed by YouTube, Twitter, MySpace and FourSquare. Currently patients have to sift through a glut of user generated information, which isn’t always accurate. But as more and more physicians keep an active social media presence the reliability of information will grow by leaps and bounds.
Pho, for example, shares interesting findings and updated medical guidelines on his social media accounts. His professional Facebook page is public and he maintains a separate private account for family and friends. Recent links he’s posted for his audience range from “how to ask for help when chronic pain or illness strikes” to “the fallacies of screening tests.” CLICK HERE to read the entire article at USNews.com.
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