VIDEO: Physicians should rely on clinical expertise as foundation for social media presence
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In this video exclusive, Austin L. Chiang, MD, MPH, named a 2022 Disruptive Innovator for his impact on social media, discusses how health care professionals — specifically gastroenterologists — can successfully use this form of outreach.
Chiang, chief medical officer of global gastrointestinal business at Medtronic and director of bariatric endoscopy program at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals, in October was awarded the Healio Social Media Influencer Award at the 2022 ACG annual meeting. He was one of eight Disruptive Innovator award recipients, an honor given by Healio Gastroenterology to physicians who push the status quo toward the betterment of gastrointestinal and liver diseases.
Over the past decade, Chiang has cemented his role as an influencer on several social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter.
“I’ve always been a fan — even before Facebook — and appreciated the reach of social media,” Chiang said. “I believed in its impact on public opinion and public health and pursued it from the very beginning, because I noticed patients coming to the hospital who made decisions based on what they were learning through media and social media.”
He added, “I wanted to be a voice on social media to present accurate health information and help the various GI societies launch their social media presences.”
In 2020, Chiang founded the Association for Healthcare Social Media to educate health care professionals on how to use social media. He also has served on the YouTube Health Advisory Board and participated in the White House Office of Public Engagement’s Healthcare Leaders in Social Media Roundtable.
Social media has had a “growing role” in health care and gastroenterology over the past few years, Chiang said, with the COVID-19 pandemic catalyzing its expansion and value among health care professionals.
Chiang’s advice to health care professionals is to choose a social media platform based on their intended purpose, audience, and proficiency or comfort using video or text.
“Ensuring that your clinical expertise is the foundation of what you are talking about on social media is very important,” he said.
Chiang noted that while people sometimes lose themselves in the “frenzy” of gaining followers, it is more important to establish an identity and be an expert in a specific area.
“Not only are we held to a different standard as health professionals,” he said, “but your credibility is important amongst your colleagues as well.”
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