Physicians writing on KevinMD about being a doctor on X, formerly Twitter: professional presence and reputation, trolling and shaming, medical misinformation, building a following for a practice, and what the platform does to the people on it. Most of the archive dates from 2009 to 2019, when physicians were deciding whether to be there at all.
I thought I would give a quick overview of good ways for you to make use of Twitter at a medical conference. The growing field of palliative medicine has had a strong social media presence and the addition of more…
I thought I would give a quick overview of good ways for you to make use of Twitter at a medical conference. The growing field of palliative medicine has had a strong social media presence and the addition of more people into our online network helps get important information to people far beyond the patients and families we see each day in our work.
The mere mention of Jenny McCarthy gets an immediate eye roll from many physicians. The closer their practice is to autism or immunology, the more likely the eye roll turns into a lecture on why Ms. Playboy should focus on…
The mere mention of Jenny McCarthy gets an immediate eye roll from many physicians. The closer their practice is to autism or immunology, the more likely the eye roll turns into a lecture on why Ms. Playboy should focus on what she knows.
The problem is that “Ms. Playboy” is kicking the medical profession’s behind on thought leadership. Jenny McCarthy has become a – if not the – leading voice regarding …
I sense a movement in health care circles from, "no way we’re doing that social media," to "ok, we get it social media is important, now what?" This is good to see. But like all things new, we’re experiencing some…
I sense a movement in health care circles from, “no way we’re doing that social media,” to “ok, we get it social media is important, now what?”
This is good to see. But like all things new, we’re experiencing some growing pains. Some health care providers take to social media easily and find ways to leverage it to educate, inform and grow practices, while others make efforts but can’t seem …
Back in 2004, after I was accepted into Stanford University, a friend of mine at the university took me around on a campus tour. He showed me the building he lived in (Donner), his cafeteria (Stern), Hoover Tower, and all…
Back in 2004, after I was accepted into Stanford University, a friend of mine at the university took me around on a campus tour. He showed me the building he lived in (Donner), his cafeteria (Stern), Hoover Tower, and all the usual sights. When it came time for him to tell me more about his classmates and dorm buddies, he promptly pulled up a webpage on his computer. “You have …
In the course of doing research on the future of social media in health care, and hearing from a group of doctors who believe there isn’t one in their practice, I also talked to a few future physicians. Three to…
In the course of doing research on the future of social media in health care, and hearing from a group of doctors who believe there isn’t one in their practice, I also talked to a few future physicians. Three to be exact, from different parts of the United States, a third year student, a student on the verge of enrolling in a US medical school, and the one …
I started my first blog, Chick Lit MD, in December of 2009. By the time I began filling out my medical school applications I had been actively blogging for approximately 7 months. As someone interested in the intersection between medicine…
I started my first blog, Chick Lit MD, in December of 2009. By the time I began filling out my medical school applications I had been actively blogging for approximately 7 months. As someone interested in the intersection between medicine and media, the use of social media was integral to my exploration of both fields. As such, I included my adventures in social media in my application in a tactful …
Social media holds a lot of potential for the health care professionals. Is fear of the medium inappropriately leading to professionals avoiding this "social situation"? Have we created a social media anxiety syndrome? We are aware of the social anxiety…
Social media holds a lot of potential for the health care professionals. Is fear of the medium inappropriately leading to professionals avoiding this “social situation”? Have we created a social media anxiety syndrome?
We are aware of the social anxiety disorder or social phobia. Among its many features are (this is a convenient list for the purpose of this post and not a strict definition):
Last summer, I joined millions of others in the deluge of social media. I committed one year of effort to see if social would enhance or distract from my pediatric practice. That was my goal, just one year. At that…
Last summer, I joined millions of others in the deluge of social media. I committed one year of effort to see if social would enhance or distract from my pediatric practice.
That was my goal, just one year.
At that time, I wanted to dip my foot in the pool, and see if it made any ripples. The unexpected consequence was how much social media has changed my medical practice, and …
In general, educators are often trying to find unique ways to engage their students. This is certainly true of medical educators, given that little has changed in medical education in the past 100 years, and for that reason there have…
In general, educators are often trying to find unique ways to engage their students.
This is certainly true of medical educators, given that little has changed in medical education in the past 100 years, and for that reason there have been many recent efforts to change this. Similarly, there is often a generational gap between teacher and learner, and thus teachers look for ways to connect with the younger generation they …
Twitter, like most social media, is evolving rapidly. Even though most physicians are not directly familiar with Twitter, more are building an awareness and curiosity each month. This post is written mostly for those of you new to this tool…
Twitter, like most social media, is evolving rapidly. Even though most physicians are not directly familiar with Twitter, more are building an awareness and curiosity each month. This post is written mostly for those of you new to this tool or giving it consideration.
The AMA recently posted an article entitled Physicians on Twitter and here is a synopsis of their study: “The study focused on 5,156 tweets …
I delivered a keynote presentation a few weeks ago entitled "Personalized Medicine: Tailoring Healthcare in the Information Age" to a group of parents who had taken their kids to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Science Horizons summer science camp. Aside from the…
I delivered a keynote presentation a few weeks ago entitled “Personalized Medicine: Tailoring Healthcare in the Information Age” to a group of parents who had taken their kids to the Bristol-Myers Squibb Science Horizons summer science camp.
Aside from the jolt the parents received from my presentation regarding anticipated changes in 21st century healthcare, especially involving the myriad ELSI issues that would confront medical practices as a …
The issue of social media being used by the pharmaceutical and health care industry has raised a variety of concerns from consumer groups and industry critics. Most recently, several consumer groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC)…
The issue of social media being used by the pharmaceutical and health care industry has raised a variety of concerns from consumer groups and industry critics. Most recently, several consumer groups filed a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) alleging that the pharmaceutical industry’s use of social media was deceptive and unfair.
Consequently, a recent article in the New England Journal of Medicine also covered the issue of social …
Recently, I dashed off this tweet: PhD student just asked me which journals I read to stay up to date on health + tech. My answer: Twitter. It was classic RT bait and indeed it was echoed dozens of times…
Recently, I dashed off this tweet:
PhD student just asked me which journals I read to stay up to date on health + tech. My answer: Twitter.
It was classic RT bait and indeed it was echoed dozens of times by fellow Twitter geeks — more than any other tweet I’ve written. But I would like to qualify it with a fuller explanation. I don’t just read Twitter and ignore journals. …
After playing around with Google+ today, I've come away on a more positive note than my speculative post on Google's social network recently. Before experiencing Google+, I asked whether doctors can separate their personal and professional relationships, and how the…
After playing around with Google+ today, I’ve come away on a more positive note than my speculative post on Google’s social network recently.
Google has announced its social networking product, Google+. I haven't received an invite yet, so I don't have first-hand experience with the service. But reading the major tech blogs' take from Engadget, TechCrunch and Mashable, you have a pretty good…
Google has announced its social networking product, Google+.
I haven’t received an invite yet, so I don’t have first-hand experience with the service. But reading the major tech blogs’ take from Engadget, TechCrunch and Mashable, you have a pretty good idea of what to expect.
What should doctors know about Google+?
Obviously, this is Google’s last, best attempt to combat …
"Twitter? I don’t have time for that, besides, my life is boring; nobody wants to hear about my boring life." This is a common response when I talk to people about social media. One of the reasons I think many…
“Twitter? I don’t have time for that, besides, my life is boring; nobody wants to hear about my boring life.” This is a common response when I talk to people about social media.
One of the reasons I think many have a hard time persuading docs to adopt social media, is because docs don’t understand what they can do with social media or how they can use it for …
I've heard that a few academic medical centers, the identities which I will keep anonymous, are advising incoming medical residents to stay off social media. Meaning, they have to close their blogs, and shutter their Twitter or Facebook accounts. As…
I’ve heard that a few academic medical centers, the identities which I will keep anonymous, are advising incoming medical residents to stay off social media. Meaning, they have to close their blogs, and shutter their Twitter or Facebook accounts.
Bryan Vartabedian, MD blogs at 33 Charts about the convergence of medicine and social media. A post last year gives a vision of how current social media concepts will merge with existing electronic medical record (EMR) technologies to produce a…
Bryan Vartabedian, MD blogs at 33 Charts about the convergence of medicine and social media. A post last year gives a vision of how current social media concepts will merge with existing electronic medical record (EMR) technologies to produce a fully integrated communications system for health professionals.
The picture Dr. Vartabedian paints is a dream for those of us who extensively use technology in other parts …
Should all health care professionals have a social media presence? No, not necessarily. Did I surprise you? Here I am rattling on and on about how health care professionals should all have a blog, tweet, link up and now I’m…
Should all health care professionals have a social media presence?
This is a message that should resonate loud and clear with providers, institutions or members of the healthcare enterprise world who are ruminating over the upsides -- and potential downsides -- of a wide reaching, multiple digital property: social media…
This is a message that should resonate loud and clear with providers, institutions or members of the healthcare enterprise world who are ruminating over the upsides — and potential downsides — of a wide reaching, multiple digital property: social media presence.
As Ted Eytan found out when he questioned the (anonymous) physicians on Sermo, many physicians are simply not interested in establishing an online presence.
After playing around with Google+ today, I’ve come away on a more positive note than my speculative post on 
