Dec. 17, 2015
Physicians, for centuries viewed as leaders
in their local community, are harnessing social media to become leaders on the
World Wide Web, too.
The explosion of social media and people’s
expectations of frequently-refreshed content have changed the rules for
physicians and medical practices looking to market themselves and bolster their
online reputation, reports Texas Medicine
magazine, the monthly publication of the Texas Medical Association (TMA).
For physicians, maintaining an online
presence is essential in a digitally connected world, where patients Google
their ailments before visiting the doctor and use their smartphone to pay
medical bills. Physicians who don’t adapt could miss out on opportunities to
connect with patients, grow their practice, and create relationships with other
physicians.
“The doctors who want to avoid social media
should know it’s here, and the majority of physicians will be using it,” said
emergency physician Carrie de Moor, MD, a member of the TMA Council on Practice
Management Services. “So they’re going to lose out on that market share if
they’re not promoting their business in that venue. It’s going to [look like]
you’re not up to date.”
Texas Medicine details how physicians can get involved in
social media to connect with patients in a different sphere for enhanced
patient care, build up their business, and be competitive.
No longer is it sufficient for a physician’s
practice website to be his or her sole online presence, reports the magazine.
Instead, doctors are expanding their online presence by creating and posting
videos and blog posts and engaging in health care conversations on sites like
Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Some use Doximity, an online social network
specifically for doctors. They are generating and circulating content that has
real meaning to patients, referring physicians, or whatever audience they are
trying to reach.
Bryan Vartabedian, MD, a pediatric
gastroenterologist from The Woodlands and author of a book on physicians and
social media, says physicians need to build an online presence for the sake of
their practice and their patients.
“If people search for you and they can’t
find anything meaningful or anything good, it’s potentially a liability,” he
said. “I think the market forces are such that for doctors to be competitive,
they have to have some presence in public.”
As physician engagement online becomes more
commonplace, Dr. Vartabedian encourages doctors to be mindful of how they craft
their online image.
It’s important for them to understand that
there is a conversation happening about them out in the infosphere, and you can
either let somebody else create your story for you, or you can do it yourself.”
TMA is the largest state medical society in the nation,
representing more than 48,000 physician and medical student members. It is
located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies around the
state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of all Texans.
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Contact: Brent Annear (512) 370-1381; cell: (512) 656-7320; email: brent.annear[at]texmed[dot]org
Marcus Cooper (512) 370-1382; cell: (512)
650-5336; email: marcus.cooper[at]texmed[dot]org
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