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Weighing risks and benefits of social media shows its effect as professional tool
I, too, was surprised to learn that Facebook and Twitter are no longer limited to posting pictures of kittens with ironic thought bubbles and insulting your friends’ favorite sports team:
“Good game @KfinleyMD @HLKGroup #CowboysStink”
While these can, indeed, be constructive uses of those sites, it is important to understand the role of social media in the rapidly growing and changing world of modern medicine. As with most technological advances, social media may offer tremendous potential benefit for your medical practice, as well as demand important considerations to keep in mind.
Let’s start with the positive.
Positives
I began using Twitter a few years ago to keep track of rapidly emerging trends in medicine and to stay current with the latest research and developments in my field. Gone are the days, indeed, of thumbing through stacks of journals in the library and, in its place, I am now able to get breaking medical news delivered to my computer, phone, and wherever else I choose. However, it wasn’t until I started writing my own posts recently that I noticed the tremendous potential for interaction — both with my peers and my patients — that social media offers.
Aaron R. Chidakel
By posting daily comments on Twitter and through my office’s Facebook page, I have been able to connect with patients, other endocrinologists and physicians, researchers, various health care professionals, representatives from the health care industry, journalists and other like-minded folks who are dealing with a medical condition from their own unique perspectives. Twitter and Facebook, along with other similar forums, have allowed many of us to become active participants in health promotion and to give educated opinions in medical discussions. The Internet has provided social support and interconnectivity among individuals dealing with health conditions from a variety of angles.
In addition, another benefit, which I did not predict, is the ability I now have to promote my practice through Facebook and Twitter. A growing number of patients have found me and my practice through social media outlets. Not only has my practice grown as a direct result of this, but it has given my patients a sense of connectivity with me and an ability to interact with my practice on a professional basis.
Be aware
However, along with the many benefits of social media (and there are, indeed, many), there are important considerations to keep in mind.
First, because of the open forum social media provides, it is possible for people to disseminate erroneous information or to misinterpret what they read online. For this reason, it is important to be mindful of how our posts may be perceived by our patients or by other people in the health care profession. My general rule of thumb is that if I would not say something in front of a group of patients or health care professionals during a public talk, I will not post it online.
Second, it is important to maintain firm boundaries between our personal and professional lives online and to keep in mind that, without discipline, these boundaries can easily be blurred. For this reason, I suggest maintaining unique personal and professional pages and maintaining the two as entirely separate entities. Although I am occasionally tempted to respond to a non-medical discussion on Twitter, I realize that this would be no wiser than arguing or joking with a group of friends during an appointment with one of my patients.
Benefits outweigh risks
That said, for me, the benefits that social media offers far outweigh the potential risks. It is simply important to be mindful of potential pitfalls and to leverage the potential rewards.
By optimizing our use of social media, we have a greater opportunity to build our practices, interact with our peers and patients, remain up-to-date with the rapidly growing advances in health care, and participate in medical progress than ever before.
And on occasion, as long as you relegate this to your personal Facebook page or Twitter account, it is probably still reasonable to post pictures of ironic kittens or put down your friends’ favorite sports teams.