Friday, July 24, 2009
Survey shows clinical use for social media
About 60% of ACP Internist readers acknowledged using some form of social media, using it not only personally and professionally but clinically as well.
ACP Internist polled its readership online, through its Web site, weekly e-mail update and through the College's Facebook and Twitter accounts, which probably skewed results. 
But results did show that internists are just like other social media users, with 90% using it to keep track of birthdays, anniversaries and marriages, or sharing pictures with friends and family. It's social media, after all.
But social media are increasingly being co-opted professionally, and nearly 70% of respondents use it to reconnect with distant friends or former colleagues, to promote health policy information, or to compare the legal and financial aspects of the practice of medicine. One respondent said social media "helps keep me in touch as a military physician stationed overseas--tough with the time change."
And almost one in four respondents used it clinically, keeping up to date on medical news, sharing cases through Sermo, or responding to questions as a health expert, such as using a blog for patient education. Respondents use social media to communicate lab results, or measure patient improvement or clinical response.
Physicians' cited privacy as their main concern, either releasing too much information online, or outright hacking of personal data, followed closely by the perceived lack of quality of clinical information online. Others worried about how social media might change the doctor-patient relationship.
"I do have patients that have asked to 'friend me,'" one respondent said. "I have always accepted these requests. I am more careful about my postings with that in mind." Another responded, "I would never use it with patients--there is a need to keep personal and professional lives as separate as possible."
And doctors are also aware of the pitfalls of trying to practice medicine online, with the potential for patients to oversimplify their symptoms online when a comprehensive, in-person exam would be warranted. "People may get too comfortable with using the Internet and neglect normal means of communication," one person said.
Labels: patient communication, social media, social networking
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
9:04 AM
0 Comments
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Another medical use for Twitter
Twitter has found another medical use--tweets from the paralyzed. We'd previously covered smoking cessation and dieting, but letting paralyzed people communicate more effectively goes well beyond those other uses.
Shameless plug alert! ACP is Twittering from Internal Medicine 2009, as is Vineet Arora, FACP.
Labels: social networking
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
1:03 PM
0 Comments
Friday, March 13, 2009
Finally, a practical use for Twittering
One of our constant questions at ACP Internist is: What is Twitter really useful for? Everyone has a feed but no one is really saying anything. Just as we'd given up on a practical purpose for it, (surgery aside) we found two bread-and-butter applications for internal medicine: smoking cessation and weight loss.
Qwitter helps users track how many cigarettes they smoke, keep a journal, view progress over time and share info with supporters.
Next, you can Tweet what you Eat, using Twitter to set up a diary, track consumption, enter calories and find our how many are in the food you eat.
Personally, I think Twittering would help reduce smoking or eating just because it's something else to do with your hands. If you try these, or let patients try them, let us know how you fare.
Labels: diet, smoking cessation, social networking, weight loss
posted by Ryan DuBosar at
8:30 AM
2 Comments
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Twittering in the OR
We're getting used to seeing everything on YouTube these days, and surgery is no exception. Now, technology is letting us eavesdrop as well. As CNN reported yesterday, physicians used Twitter to give a blow-by-blow account of removing a cancerous tumor from a man's kidney at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. (CNN notes that you can read the "Tweetstream" and link to the YouTube video here).
The surgeon's musings during the operation were dutifully recorded in real time on Twitter by the chief resident. "Tweeple" (Twitter users) worried along with the surgical team when the surgeon announced that the tumor was larger than expected and may require a radical nephrectomy. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief after bleeding was controlled and a successful partial nephrectomy accomplished.
The surgeon said he agreed to Twitter because he wanted to show that a tumor could be removed without taking the entire kidney. Other Twitter enthusiasts say it engages people in medicine and makes complicated procedures more understandable. But is Twittering for everyone or is it an example of social networking run amok?
Labels: social networking, surgery
posted by Janet Colwell at
9:47 AM
1 Comments
ACP Internist hosted Grand Rounds on June 16, wrapping up the best of the medical blogosphere. Click here for the complete wrap-up.
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