Keeping EMR and practice management out of sight becomes inevitable whenever one thinks about the word “physicians”. Many believe that because physicians have busy routines, they are barely linked to the world of social media. While they spend most of their time streamlining their processes using EMR and practice management system, it has been observed that physicians, today, are actively participating in social media activities. One could come across various physicians actively using social media platforms like facebook, twitter etc. According to the recent reports, approximately 87% of the physicians across the US have been using social media websites for their personal use, while 67% of the physicians have been found using it for professional means.
“Even physicians need to interact not only with patients but also with other colleagues, social media serves the purpose of keeping them connected with all of them. Besides having clinical routines and engaging patients, use of social media is one of the platforms that helps them stay connected with the rest of the world too”, says a South Dakota based physician.
Today, the scope of social media websites has surpassed the mere idea of chatting and sharing photos. One can easily come across a plethora of pages and communities solely dedicated to topics pertaining to healthcare and other related issues, even those talking about health IT applications like EMR, practice management etc. While patients and physicians can exchange comments and share the problems online, physicians are also found to be giving healthcare advice on platforms like facebook and google+. In fact, besides keeping people updated with health related topics, social media has turned out to improve physician reputation as well.
Apart from connecting with patients and educating them, physicians have also been found using social media for job search. According to the statistical reports, approximately 31% of the healthcare professionals persistently use these platforms to find jobs. Since the spectrum is large, physicians today have a lot of options to choose from. Nevertheless, when questioned upon their preference for specific social media websites, facebook turned out to be the most preferred choice. Approximately 74% of the physicians report facebook to be the source of most usage. Since social media also provides professional platform, when it came to physicians’ choice, linkedin leaded in this aspect.
Clearly, the trend has changed. Like all of us, physicians are also being inclined towards the use of social media for both professional and personal purposes. Interestingly, paying a close look to health IT also reveals the importance of connectivity; EMRs that ensure interoperability surely serve the purpose of keeping healthcare professional connected by establishing a network. Similarly, patient portal serve the same purpose for patients and physicians.