News and briefs: Physicians embrace social media with guidance from facilities

Physicians do not use social medical sites for professional use (67%) as much as they do for personal use (87%), according to a study from QuantiaMD. This number dropped even lower for websites that encourage physician-patient interaction.

An article in Healthcare Marketing Advisor  states physicians are hesitatant to use social media for professional purposes because of the perceived time commitment, concerns about expertise in using social media, and potential risks of  opening up a dialogue with patients.

To encourage physicians to use social media professionally, some facilities are creating training programs and offering social media tools to physicians.

For example, Mayo Clinic offers social media summits, which are day-and-half-long intensive boot camps that show providers and administrators how to use these tools effectively in clinical practice. The Mayo Clinic so has a blog page on its website to allow physicians to contribute without setting up their own blog site; this page also links to its Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.

"[The internet] is truly where our patients are, so our obligation is to make sure [patients] have accurate content available to help them make appropriate healthcare decisions. … Our obligation is also making sure we are part of those conversations. We have value to add to that conversation," says Farris K. Timimi, MD, cardiologist and medical director for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media.

To read more about engaging physicians in social media, click here.