May 22nd, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Opinion
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This Techcrunch post, The Illusion of Social Networks, is worth thinking about. The author Semil Shah suggests that we have a tendency to use social networks to create illusions for our audiences. And over time these illusions compound to create something that may not reflect real life. It’s a type of socical psychomanipulation.
But I wonder if Shah overstates the shady side of human social conduct. I’m more optimistic about the promise of human connectedness. The crowd is smarter than we think. And while we can create any story possible, it’s ultimately the responsibility of the listening masses to decide what’s real. It’s our job to ask the hard questions. Be it television, the web, or our own homes, we’re individually responsible for who we let into our world. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
May 19th, 2011 by AndrewSchorr in Health Tips
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People generally have a sense there might be information on the Web that can help them when they are worried about their health. They also have a sense there is a LOT of information and some of it may be wrong. All of that is true. What is a strategy to find the good and avoid the bad?
This morning, I chatted with Mike Collins, host of “Charlotte Talks” on WFAE, public radio in Charlotte, North Carolina about The Web-Savvy Patient and some of my “Insider Tips” within. We talked at length about how you can get started looking for health information on the Web.
First of all, if you’re worried about your health, make sure you get an accurate diagnosis, and make sure that diagnosis is specific to you. Don’t be satisfied if your health care team tells you that you have a “thyroid problem.” Find out if it is hyperthyroidism or hypothryroidism. It makes a big difference. If you don’t know what you have you will find yourself wandering all over the Internet, discovering information that won’t be right for you. You might be lead to believe that you have a brain tumor, rather than a migraine induced by monthly hormones or the effects of too much coffee (we know that one here in Seattle!). So rule #1 is know the details of your diagnosis and if you don’t feel confident, recognizing some people are misdiagnosed, get a second opinion to confirm it. Then, and only then, should you start your search online. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Andrew's Blog*
May 16th, 2011 by Michael Sevilla, M.D. in Opinion
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I wasn’t able to attend the Annual Leadership Forum (ALF) and the National Conference of Special Constituencies (NCSC) meetings in person this year. This is an annual meeting in Kansas City put on by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). I know that it can be hard to believe that someone actually likes going to a meeting. However, for me, these meetings always re-energize me and connect me with people with a passion for Family Medicine.
In 2010, there were only a few of us utilizing social media tools like twitter and facebook (including my blog posts from Thursday & Friday). However, just a year later, there seems to have been an explosion of people utilizing these platforms to a point yesterday when I saw a bunch of people signing up for the first time during the meeting. Even members of the AAFP Board of Directors were creating twitter accounts yesterday. Wow!
I really believe that this year, 2011, is when the Family Medicine community will more fully embrace social media, not only as a means of socialization, but also as a means of advocacy for our specialty. Here are some other reasons why I believe that Family Medicine needs social media: Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Family Medicine Rocks Blog - Mike Sevilla, MD*
May 13th, 2011 by Glenn Laffel, M.D., Ph.D. in Health Policy, Health Tips
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Like everybody else, physicians are expanding their online personal identities. At the same time, they are trying to comply with codes of conduct that help consumers trust them and their profession.
There’s no problem so long as the personal online activities of physicians don’t jeopardize their obligations as professionals, which means that there is a problem, unfortunately.
In a recent study for example, 17% of all blogs authored by health professionals were found to include personally identifiable information about patients. Scores of physicians have been reprimanded for posting similar information on Twitter and Facebook, posting lewd pictures of themselves online, tweeting about late night escapades which ended hours before they performed surgery, and other unsavory behaviors.
As I mentioned Monday, medical students and younger physicians who grew up with the Internet have to be particularly careful, since they had established personal online identities before accepting the professional responsibilities that came with their medical degree. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Pizaazz*
May 8th, 2011 by Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. in Opinion
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Doctors are preoccupied with consumer review sites and the potential for bad press. Often the first impulse is to put the law on your side. Consider, for example, Dr. Kimberly Henry, cosmetic surgeon who last year initiated legal action against at least 12 reviewers from sites such as Yelp.com and DoctorScorecard.com.
While she may feel some sense of satisfaction in her quest for justice, I’m guessing many read the reviews to see what the fuss is all about.
Actions like these reflect a fundamental misunderstanding of modern reputation management. Physicians who react against patient dialog should understand the Streisand Effect. The Streisand Effect is an online phenomenon in which the attempt to remove or hide information is met with the unintended consequence of greater attention.
Instead of a prohibitive, reactive position against patient comments, doctors should consider a preemptive, proactive approach to dialog. Andy Sernovitz had it right when he suggested, ‘the solution to pollution is dilution.’ Work for good ink. It’s hard to get worked up about 10 poor reviews when you have 350 great reviews.
When physicians take action against patient reviews or even work to prevent reviews they raise a glaring red flag. We’re unlikely to win the battle against public dialog.
*This blog post was originally published at 33 Charts*
