March 29th, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Opinion
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I frequently talk about the visibility of doctors in the online space. How can doctors make content, contribute to the broader dialog, and be more visible? Maybe I need to spend less time pushing the idea that every doctor needs to create. Most doctors, after all, just want to listen and watch. Maybe we need to be cultivating dedicated communicators.
There’s a role evolving where physicians are formally involved in the creation of content and the maintenance of dialog. Wendy Swanson at Seattle Children’s Hospital and Claire McCarthy at Boston Children’s Hospital come to mind as good examples. Both serve as models for how institutions can leverage the voice of an individual for a branded online identity while contributing to the common good. Both are evolving as conversation agents on social platforms and IRL. Call them medical conversation agents of new media. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
March 17th, 2011 by Jeffrey Benabio, M.D. in Opinion
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I recently wrote a paper on social media with some of my colleagues at Kaiser Permanente: Ted Eytan, MD @tedeytan, Rahul Parikh, MD @docrkp, Vince Golla @vincegolla, and Sara Stein, MD @sarasteinmd. In the article, “Social Media and the Health System,” we argue that the benefits of engaging patients and colleagues in social media outweigh potential risks.
The two most common reasons that physicians resist participating on blogs, Twitter and Facebook are: 1. Fear of liability. 2. Lack of compensation for the time invested.
If we would like more physicians to be part of the conversation, then we’ll need to find ways to overcome these barriers.
What has your experience been like interacting with physicians on social media? Is there a place for physicians on sites such as Twitter and Facebook?
For physicians reading this post, you can also join the over 160 others who have commented on this article on Sermo.
*This blog post was originally published at The Dermatology Blog*
November 10th, 2010 by Dr. Val Jones in Expert Interviews, Opinion, True Stories
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Wendy Sue Swanson, MD
Most physicians still don’t see the need to blog, Tweet, or spend time on Facebook. They groan when you ask if they participate on social media platforms. “I’m too busy seeing patients,” they say, “and why would I expose myself to legal risk? Someone might think that I’m giving medical advice, or disclosing personal information about patients online.”
While these fears are pervasive, early adopters of social media like Dr. Wendy Swanson (and yours truly, by the way) have a different view. Not only should physicians become active in social media, but they have an ethical responsibility to do so.
Wendy is a pediatrician, mother, and blogger at Seattle Children’s Hospital. My friend “ePatient Dave” deBronkart recently encouraged me to watch an excellent video of Wendy speaking at the Swedish Symposium 2010 conference. I’d like to summarize Wendy’s pro-social media arguments for you here, with the hope of luring more of my peers to join the conversation online! Read more »
May 14th, 2010 by KevinMD in Better Health Network, Humor, Medical Art, Opinion
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What awaits some physicians who decide to quit medicine:
Source: A Cartoon Guide to Becoming a Doctor
*This blog post was originally published at KevinMD.com*
May 11th, 2010 by Toni Brayer, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Research
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Babies born between the 34th and 36th week have more complications and cost the U.S. $26 billion annually. These children have more risk of death, cerebral palsy, cognitive impairment, or respiratory problems.
In the United States, nearly 13% of infants are born before they reach 37 weeks gestation. According to the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine (SMFM), that rate is much higher than other developed nations, and physicians may be partially to blame for the early deliveries.
Some of the reasons may be older moms or the increased use of artificial reproductive technology and multiple births, but some physicians are choosing to deliver between 34 and 37 weeks even when there is no clear medical indication. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at EverythingHealth*
