Twitter — its functions, benefits, risks and limitations — has figured prominently in the heated discussion about Emma and Bill Keller’s respective editorials in The Guardian (since deleted, though the archived version is still available) and the New York Times about the Twitter feed of Lisa Bonchek Adams. I have followed Lisa for a long time and greatly admire her thoughtful, highly …
Why I tweet: A patient advocate view
Historically, we’ve often thought of the doctor-patient encounter as something of a silo. Patients come in with symptoms, and the doctor addresses them, perhaps ordering tests or referring the patients down the line of colleagues.
That model inexorably changed with the Internet. Today, patients come to their appointments educated on symptoms, treatments, and even us. They are frequently prepared with research and granular questions. They are engaged with the process, and often …
Help build information driven patient behavior
On one afternoon last week, I sat at my desk working on a paper when my iPhone buzzed, telling me I had a new message. This message, forwarded from my Twitter account, alerted me to an editorial published in the Guardian (which has since been removed because it was “inconsistent with the Guardian editorial code).
Entitled, “Forget funeral selfies. What are the ethics of tweeting …
Twitter and cancer patients: What to make of the outrage?
I use Facebook. I’ll just start right out by saying it. But sometimes I wish I could stop. While I do share meaningful conversation and get caught up on how my friends and their families are doing, I also spend a great deal of my time trying not to see things. While others might be able to scroll right past that friend’s post about vaccines causing autism, or about treating …
Is there a role for physician activism on Facebook?
I am consistently bemused by those who recommend more rigorous or more pervasive standardized testing as the primary means for insuring physician quality. The vast majority of physicians have already passed through a complex gauntlet of multiple choice exams, extended credentialing and certification processes, and lengthy tests of knowledge and skill. And yet, some physicians (to put it bluntly, sorry friends) are very bad at what they do.
Intellectual …
Can social media help measure physician quality?
There are certain situations in my life where I feel really stupid. One is when CNBC’s Squawk Box senior economics reporter Steve Liesman discusses the bond market. While I recognize the words he uses as English grammar, I find almost every word to be incomprehensible gibberish. Recently, he informed me that “given the Feds propensity towards quantitative easing in Q4 the 10 year yield could hit 3%.” I think that …
Researching health information online: Recognize your limitations
At the end of a long day at my medical practice, I am sitting at my computer catching up with friends via Facebook. Suddenly, a notification pops up: one of the patients I saw today has sent me a friend request. I know that the ACP, AMA and every other physician organization recommends strongly that doctors not connect with patients via social media, so I quickly click to decline the …
The repercussions of declining Facebook friend requests from patients
Well, I’ve done it again. It seems that everytime I try to make the early registration deadline for a conference, something seems to come up. One of the kids gets sick, a transmission breaks, I have a crazy week at work … you know, life.
Unlike the past few years however, I’m very excited to say that I will be making it to the American College of Chest Physician’s annual scientific …
Using Twitter to stay updated in scientific meetings
Patients have gone online, digital natives are entering medical schools and regulatory bodies, like the General Medical Council in the UK, are scrambling to respond to the impact these changes are having on medical professionalism.
The possibilities for enhanced learning, better communication and higher quality care are vast. Social media, which has been described as the greatest revolution since the Gutenberg printing press, can provide patients with faster and easier access to doctors …
When social media connections with patients are NSFW
An anesthesiologist at a California hospital pasted stickers simulating a mustache and teardrops on the face of a hospital employee while she was having surgery on a finger.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the doctor said, “I thought she would think this is funny and she would appreciate it.”
And if that wasn’t bad enough, a “nursing attendant” took a photograph.
The patient, who said she had to quit her job …
The OR is not a good place for a prank
When a doctor, a lawyer, an accountant or any other professional graduated from university, or moved to a new town, he or she would most often locate a nice little office, prepare it for the big day and hang out a shingle to let the world know that new services are available. The world back then consisted of the immediate neighborhood in the big city or an entire small town …
Independent doctors: Update your shingle for today’s digital times
A support group has many potential benefits, some of which include improving coping skills, reducing anxiety, depression, isolation, ignorance about the condition and others. Online patient communities (OPCs) are a recent phenomenon. Some are open (with respect to type of member or fee) and some are more focused and closed. Irrespective of the type, OPCs have blossomed. It is a major indication of social media’s penetration into healthcare (or vice versa) and why …
5 advantages of online patient communities
Recently, there has been a great deal in the press surrounding organ transplantation. Sarah Murnaghan, the courageous little girl with end stage cystic fibrosis, captured the nation’s attention as she waited for a life saving lung transplant. The organ transplantation and procurement system in the US today is not without flaws. Organs are at a premium and finding the best way to allocate them to matched patients who …
The effect of Facebook on organ donor registration
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It happens about once a week. As I scroll through Facebook and peruse the latest happenings, I notice that someone (usually a mom of small children, like me) has posed a question to their Facebook friends about some type of health dilemma.
“Little Sally is cutting teeth, and she’s miserable. What can I give her to make her feel better?”
“Johnny has such a bad cough, and he can barely breathe. Anyone …
Facebook medical advice isn’t what’s best for your child
Recently, Dr. Mike Sevilla decided to hang up his podcasting mic, his blogging tools, his Twitter creds, and his Facebook presence, all in one fell swoop. Find out more about Mike the man, and why he decided to take this drastic action, at his website.
Now, I have known Mike for some time on Twitter primarily, where we will sometimes comment back and forth about issues of the …
Why this doctor writes and puts himself out there
Don’t ask me nothin’ about nothin’, I just might tell you the truth.
– Bob Dylan
I just read an interesting post by Dr. Jennifer Gunter. Apparently, the entirety of what we are doing here at Dr. Whitecoat, and on internet communities and blogs like Student Doctor Network and Sermo, is unethical, according to the General Medical Council in Britain. How dare we not use our real names on social media as physicians and …
Anonymous blogging is needed for physicians to blow the whistle
A recent survey found that 60 percent of adults have gone online at least once in the past year to look up health information. Unfortunately, finding high-quality health websites is a challenge. Several years ago, a review of 79 studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association concluded that online health information for consumers is frequently flawed, inaccurate, or biased. Based on my experience, the …
How to evaluate health websites
With the recent Pew Report announcing that “caregivers are wired for support” and digital estate planning resources entering our mainstream consciousness, many of us have been inspired to think about the end of life and our online selves. And we should. Hundreds of thousands of Facebook users die each year, the average American believes that she has almost $55,000 worth of digital assets, though most of us – Read more…
What does managing a loved one’s digital legacy really look like?
Teens, smartphones, Facebook, Instagram, and a myriad of other social apps. What do they have in common? Well they simply go together these days. Just look around and if you spot a teen, he/she is likely virtually connected, phone firmly in hand.
The social landscape has certainly changed since our own teen years and it’s up to us as parents to catch up.
There …
If your teens are on social media, you need to be there too
If one searches for “online patient communities” over 19 million Internet sites are found. Online patient communities (OPCs) may exist as subgroups of social media sites, non-profit organizations, and increasingly as part of websites of healthcare organizations and stand alone sites.
Online communities are now becoming a rich source of information gleaned from their discussions. This information will be increasingly used for both clinical and commercial purposes. I will touch on themes which …
5 benefits of online patient communities
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