Kevin Pho, MD
Kevin Pho, MD, is a practicing, board-certified internal medicine physician and the founder and editor of KevinMD, which he built from scratch in 2004 to give clinicians and patients a place to be heard. Over two decades, it has become one of the most recognizable physician-led publications in health care, drawing more than 7 million annual page views and over 500,000 followers across social media. He still sees patients in primary care in Nashua, New Hampshire, the practice he says keeps the platform honest.
He is the host of The Podcast by KevinMD, a daily, 15-minute show that has surpassed 2,000 episodes and 2.6 million IAB-certified downloads, featuring physicians, patients, caregivers, founders, and health care leaders in conversation about what they actually see and do. He is also a national media commentator and the coauthor of Establishing, Managing, and Protecting Your Online Reputation: A Social Media Guide for Physicians and Medical Practices.
An acclaimed keynote speaker, Kevin speaks nationwide to clinicians and non-clinicians on health care, digital media, physician leadership, and burnout. His signature keynote, "Connect and be heard: Make a difference in health care with social media," traces his social media journey since 2004 and inspires audiences to strengthen the doctor-patient relationship, make their voices heard in health reform, and turn the tide against clinician burnout. He is the founder of Physician Speaking by KevinMD, a physician-run speakers bureau, and is available for speaking opportunities.
Kevin earned his medical degree from Boston University School of Medicine and completed his internal medicine residency at Boston University Medical Center. The New York Times called KevinMD "a highly-coveted publishing place for doctors and patients," and Forbes called it a "must-read health blog." He is an inductee of the Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame, a recipient of the American Medical Writers Association McGovern Award, and a New Hampshire Magazine Top Doctor.
KevinMD
Did you hear about that recent, groundbreaking study on defensive medicine? Probably not. The sites where I regularly read health policy news -- Vox, the Incidental Economist, and the Upshot, for instance -- all failed to mention it. (Correct me…
Did you hear about that recent, groundbreaking study on defensive medicine? Probably not. The sites where I regularly read health policy news — Vox, the Incidental Economist, and the Upshot, for instance — all failed to mention it. (Correct me if I’m wrong.)
Published in the British Medical Journal, researchers found that doctors who charged more, presumably by ordering more tests, were sued less often: “In six … specialties, a greater use of …
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A study shows defensive medicine may reduce medical liability. Why was it ignored?
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with the Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. During my social media journey, I've gathered a few anecdotes that I'd like to share with you.…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with the Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians.
During my social media journey, I’ve gathered a few anecdotes that I’d like to share with you. The first story is an internal medicine physician in Las Vegas, Zubin Damania. You may have heard of him, because he’s also known as …
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3 successful physician social media stories
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with the Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. Patients have more avenues than ever to express themselves online, whether it's through a physician rating site…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with the Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians.
Patients have more avenues than ever to express themselves online, whether it’s through a physician rating site or through social media. It’s inevitable that every single doctor eventually will be faced with criticism on the web, so you need to know what …
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3 tips to help physicians manage online criticism
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. It's important for physicians to monitor their online presence because more patients than ever are researching their…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians.
It’s important for physicians to monitor their online presence because more patients than ever are researching their doctors on the web, and negative news stories or negative patient reviews can be a part of your online presence and you want to …
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Physicians should monitor their online presence. Here’s how.
KevinMD
Thank you for your feedback regarding Healthcare Not Fair's latest video, "Ms. Fatty." First off, I encourage a diversity of opinions on KevinMD, and please note that I don't necessarily endorse all the content that I post. Now, regarding the…
Thank you for your feedback regarding Healthcare Not Fair’s latest video, “Ms. Fatty.”
First off, I encourage a diversity of opinions on KevinMD, and please note that I don’t necessarily endorse all the content that I post.
Now, regarding the video. The sentiment presented is shared, unfortunately, by a number a physicians, and the satire was posted to ignite discussion regarding how some doctors perceive obese patients in the exam room. To that extent, posting the video …
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Dr. Sorry’s video has been removed
KevinMD
On July 7th, 2015, I cross-posted an article from "Hope Amantine," a pseudoanonymous surgeon who previously blogged at Simple Country Surgeon: "A lesson in the OR that prepared this doctor to be a surgeon." On July 8th, 2015, 11 a.m.…
On July 7th, 2015, I cross-posted an article from “Hope Amantine,” a pseudoanonymous surgeon who previously blogged at Simple Country Surgeon: “A lesson in the OR that prepared this doctor to be a surgeon.”
On July 8th, 2015, 11 a.m. Eastern, I was notified by an editor at MedPage Today about the controversy questioning the truthfulness of the story.
I then reached out to “Hope,” asking whether her story was fictional or not. I …
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I removed the Hope Amantine story
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. Physicians can use online rating sites to establish your online reputation by asking more patients to rate…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians.
Physicians can use online rating sites to establish your online reputation by asking more patients to rate them online. Don’t just cherry pick or pressure patients into giving you good ratings. Ask all your patients to do so, in a low-key, …
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Use physician rating sites to establish an online reputation
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. There are two ways that physicians can establish their online reputation. The first way is to use…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians.
There are two ways that physicians can establish their online reputation. The first way is to use existing physician rating sites. What physician rating sites will do is create a profile page of every single doctor in the United States. This profile …
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Doctors can establish their online reputation in these 2 ways
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel. I want to talk about a tool that I think is essential for any physician who uses social media. It's called Hootsuite. I use…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel.
I want to talk about a tool that I think is essential for any physician who uses social media. It’s called Hootsuite. I use Hootsuite in three ways.
First to monitor conversations on Twitter. You could assign streams to any topics imaginable. For me I …
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Physicians using social media should try Hootsuite
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel. Did you know that criticism on physician rating sites can help improve your practice? When patients leave comments on these rating sites, sometimes it's…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel.
Did you know that criticism on physician rating sites can help improve your practice? When patients leave comments on these rating sites, sometimes it’s the only way they have a voice. When patients leave my exam room I don’t know what they thought about me, the nurses, …
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Physicians can improve their practice from online reviews
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel. Here is one question I get a lot: "How often should doctors blog?" Well, it could be once a week, once a month, once…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel.
Here is one question I get a lot: “How often should doctors blog?”
Well, it could be once a week, once a month, once every two weeks; there is no set number. But it should be a number that you have to stick with for at least six months.
Too …
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How often should doctors blog?
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. Let's talk about three ways that physicians can use social media today. The first way is to…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians.
Let’s talk about three ways that physicians can use social media today.
The first way is to filter information. More patients than ever are going online to research their diagnosis and treatment options but sometimes the information that they’re reading online isn’t …
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3 ways doctors can use social media today
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel Did you know that talking to mainstream media is a great way to define your reputation online? That's because newspaper stories and television appearances…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel
Did you know that talking to mainstream media is a great way to define your reputation online?
That’s because newspaper stories and television appearances eventually will find their way online, and it’s a great way to control the message that surrounds your name. An interview with the New …
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Mainstream media can help a physician’s online reputation
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel. What do you need to do before starting your online presence with social media? They are your bio and your head shot. Together, they…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel.
What do you need to do before starting your online presence with social media?
They are your bio and your head shot. Together, they will be your first impression to patients who find you on the web.
First, let’s talk about your head shot. Make sure it’s a high …
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2 things doctors need before defining themselves online
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel. How do you deal with trolls on the web? Whenever you're online you're going to have people who disagree with you, and they can…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel.
How do you deal with trolls on the web? Whenever you’re online you’re going to have people who disagree with you, and they can do so in ugly and inflammatory ways. These people are known as trolls.
I’m going to borrow from marketing legend Guy …
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How physicians can handle online trolls
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel. Why should doctors use Twitter? One compelling reason is to curate information. Did you know that there are 20 million articles on Medline and…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel.
Why should doctors use Twitter?
One compelling reason is to curate information. Did you know that there are 20 million articles on Medline and the volume of medical literature grows by 10 percent every year? Just a few years ago, there were 24,000 new cancer articles, and it’s impossible …
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Why should doctors use Twitter?
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel. Which social media platform should doctors use first? My recommendations are LinkedIn or Doximity. These are professional social networking sites where a profile on…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. For more KevinMD minutes, please visit my YouTube channel.
Which social media platform should doctors use first?
My recommendations are LinkedIn or Doximity. These are professional social networking sites where a profile on one of these sites is no more than a digital translation of your résumé.
There are some differences between the two.
I think LinkedIn generally gets …
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What social media platform should doctors use first?
KevinMD
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians. Physicians can brand themselves on social media platforms by using what I call a hub and spoke…
A continuing series on physician online reputation. Created in partnership with The Doctors Company as part of their social media resources for physicians.
Physicians can brand themselves on social media platforms by using what I call a hub and spoke strategy. Physicians should have a central hub. It could be a blog or their practice’s website. This is where they can create their content. …
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How can doctors maintain a consistent brand online?
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