When we think about doctors using tools of communication, we assume that the only thing they are capable of is creating for patients. When people look at my blog they say, 'why would a mother of a child with intestinal problems care about that?' I never said that they would. And who said that a physician's only use of public media is to translate health info? ... Continue Reading about Creating Content Beyond Patients
Medical Microcelebrity
I like to look beyond the confines of medicine in order to understand medicine. And I happen to follow a handful of sociologists who bring me things that get me there. Today I stumbled upon "Not This One": Social Movements, the Attention Economy, and Microcelebrity Networked Activism by Zeynep Turfekci. The paper explores a new dynamic borne of the networked age: ... Continue Reading about Medical Microcelebrity
Permanence and the Public Physician
The idea of permanence is an important concept for the public physician. It’s important because it’s a new concept. Since the dawn of civilization medical students and doctors have had opinions, ideas, beliefs and complaints. Anger and frustration were around long before the digital medium for sharing. Traditionally remarks went no further than earshot of the ... Continue Reading about Permanence and the Public Physician
How to Recruit Doctors for a Strong Blogging Presence
So you’re a hospital or a medical school, you’ve got a new blog that’s getting traction. But you want more of your doctors on board. You’ve reached out by traditional means, but not a lot of uptake. So what do you do? Your timing is great since doctors are increasingly venturing out into public spaces to write, record, converse and curate. They’re curious. ... Continue Reading about How to Recruit Doctors for a Strong Blogging Presence
The Cost of Ignoring the Streisand Effect
This is good: Boston neurosurgeon Sagun Tuli reportedly sued the surviving spouse of a patient over a negative blog post. Apparently part of the action was grounded in the fact that the less-than-flattering commentary appeared on the first page of Google when searching the doctor’s name. This doctor apparently had never heard of the Streisand effect. Doctors ... Continue Reading about The Cost of Ignoring the Streisand Effect
Kaiser Permanente on Understanding the Social Doctor
This week Kaiser Permanente hosted an event at the Center for Total Health to release the results of a new study looking at physician conversations on social platforms. Graciously supported by KP, the study was fueled by the thinking of Greg Matthews and team of developers at WCG. Ted Eytan of KP was there at and he has offered a first-hand perspective. See the ... Continue Reading about Kaiser Permanente on Understanding the Social Doctor