Knowledge Library

Doctors and Social Media: The Influencer Will See You Now?

There are currently 192 million daily active users on Twitter. Facebook enjoys a staggering 1.84 billion daily active users. It is no secret that social media platforms are widely used for both personal and professional purposes, and physicians are no exception. One 2014 survey found that more than 90% of physicians used social media for personal activities and 65% used these sites for professional reasons, numbers that have likely grown in the intervening years. In the professional realm, many physicians use social media to promote their practice, engage with colleagues, and provide trustworthy health education to patients and the general...

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Smartphones and Texting with Patients

Text messaging or SMS (short message service) has become the virtual default method of direct communication in today’s society. As regular mail and even personal emails are increasingly as difficult to find as needles in virtual haystacks, and there is less and less time for telephone calls, individuals who want timely responses are using text messages to communicate- and this expectation is present in healthcare as well. Consider the following statistics: 95% of text messages are read within 3 minutes of being sent. (Forbes) 98% of text messages are read. (Physician Practice News) 91% of US adults 65+ own a...

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A Physician’s Guide to Social Media

Originally Published February 2012 in The Exchange - Issue 1 The Internet and social media have become a primary source for health information. National Research Corp. recently surveyed more than 22,000 Americans and concluded that 16% use social media sites as a source for health care information. Of those, nearly all respondents named Facebook as their preferred source; YouTube was second with 32% usage followed by Twitter’s 18% usage. Similarly, a 2010 telephone study conducted by Pew Research Center concluded that nearly three quarters of adults surveyed have used the Internet to acquire health information. Online ranking or review sites...

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