How Doctors Are Using Social Media
by Rohit Bhargava
Category: Digital Influence, Influencers, Research & Insights
Every once in a while a new report or news story surfaces about a new social network targeted at doctors and physicians, or a study comes out about the growing use of the web by health care professionals and physicians are mentioned in passing. Aside from a general awareness that Sermo exists and that doctors are using it though, there is little understanding in the healthcare marketing community of how physicians are actually using the web and social media, as well as what opportunities may be present to use these tools to augment marketing and communications efforts.
Why Does This Matter?
By any estimation, the population of physicians online is growing rapidly. Manhattan Research estimated last year (2008) that 88% of all physicians use the Internet to access pharmaceutical, biotech and medical device information. The same report noted that 41% of all the research physicians do takes place online, and that the majority of physicians expect that ratio to double in the coming year. Meanwhile, Forrester Research points to physician social networks as one of the biggest opportunities for Pharma marketers to engage and generate valuable learnings through active listening and other strategies.
In terms of the size of this population online, Sermo currently has over 100,000 members - and most popular and growing social networks for physicians such as Ozmosis, SocialMD, and DoctorNetworking report memberships between 3,000 and 10,000 physicians each. As a percentage of overall physicians in the US, this is rapidly increasing. Sermo even recently released an interesting survey of their members noting that 89% of physicians felt that the AMA does not speak for them, and less than 20% of practicing physicians are members of the AMA.
Insight & Analysis: 5 Trends In Physicians Use Of Web & Social Media
- Rise Of Physician-only Social Networking. There are a number of sites such as Sermo, Ozmosis and SocialMD that offer physicians the chance to connect with others in their profession for knowledge sharing, networking and support. These sites do tend to have some overlap, but present walled (and safe) communities for physicians to share opinions and interact in a guarded environment.
- Increasing Utility Of Pharma Customer Service Portals. Most large Pharma brands have their own specific physician customer service portals (Merck Services, Pfizer Pro, and Novo Medlink) where docs can do everything from downloading samples or patient education information to conducting live video conferencing with company representatives. Some of these sites offer 24/7 access and most physicians who have used them are rapidly making them a core part of their practice.
- Medical Journals & Ongoing Education Are Moving Online. Social media is taking a larger role in the information that physicians consume on an ongoing basis. Some medical journals are moving to an online-only format, while others offer a more interactive experience for physicians to engage with their content. Coupled with CME courses and other educational content, this area is growing rapidly as an easy and convenient way for physicians to continue learning and stay up to date on new developments and trends in their specialty.
- Widgets, Apps and Cool Tools Are In Demand. As more physicians continue to use smart phones and the iPhone in particular, they are seeking applications to help them to everything from calculations on the fly, to watching videos of real procedures and surgical techniques. Online video has been popular already, but the ability to now take these videos and make them portable to go anywhere is unlocking their potential to a wider range of Physicians.
- Blogging Physicians Humanizing The Industry. There are an emerging group of top physician blogs such as KevinMD which are offering the physician’s perspective on issues related to healthcare, but generally in a tone and language that is more approachable by non-medical people. As a result, they are unlocking some of the mystery behind medical decisions and helping to humanize the industry … a powerful social force.
Summary & Implications
The ultimate conclusion from our examination of how doctors are using social media and the web is that this is an area of rapid growth that our clients should be crafting a specific strategy for in relation to any of their product lines and marketing activities. The audience of physicians are online and talking and this presents several core opportunities for our clients:
- Strategic listening. Many of the physician-only social networks offer the ability for Pharma brands to pay a fee to “listen in” on medical conversations in relation to a particular disease category. This can provide valuable insight to a marketing group prior to launching a new drug, or even during other phases.
- Educational tools and content distribution. Often a core part of our client’s strategy for reaching docs and heathcare professionals involves some level of training or education. Partnering with existing sites or offering this content in a portable format to be downloaded via social media can aide in distribution and utility.
- Sales team training or preparation. Often the insights to be gained through social media can help to better prepare sales teams for detailing or other activities with docs that they are likely to undertake. Done right, it can also help create resources that they can share with physicians and offer access to on an ongoing basis.
Resources & Links:
http://www.sermo.com
http://www.ozmosis.com
http://www.socialmd.com
http://www.kevinmd.com/blog
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September 22nd, 2009 at 2:40 pm
Rohit-Great post. Right on the money. The trending is accurate, we’ll see an exponential increase in engagement within health care in the next twelve months. Specifically with hospitals leveraging social media to increase awareness around their brands, service lines, and physicians with the communities they serve.
September 22nd, 2009 at 4:55 pm
Great insight.
I might add a 6th trend in web and social media, and that’s mobility and extending the Web to the smart phone. We’re seeing an explosion in the growth of iPhone applications for health care, including some social media applications.
I’m hopeful/excited to see what will happen with the iTablet.
September 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 pm
I agree with many of the conclusions of your article. As a physician active on Facebook, Twitter, and my own blog for my weight loss surgery practice, I find social media a valuable tool for staying in touch with my patients and offering informal advice. There are certainly excellent opportunities for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries to partner with physicians to better educate patients.
September 23rd, 2009 at 1:12 am
[...] Article Rohit Bhargava, Fresh Influence, 22 September 2009 SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “How Doctors Are Using Social Media”, url: “http://articles.icmcc.org/2009/09/23/how-doctors-are-using-social-media/” }); [...]
September 23rd, 2009 at 10:32 am
Just a point of information. You left out two very important groups of prescribers who pharmaceutical companies want to reach, PAs-physician assistants/associates and nurse practitioners.
Wer too have our own on-line community called Clinician 1.
http://www.clinician1.com
Thanks,
Dave
September 23rd, 2009 at 2:26 pm
Great!
Let’s have an FDA Twitter site(s) for Conditions and Diseases, Medications and efficacy/side effects; everything health related.
Let’s have each and every Doctor required to give out an Internet “check-up” and “follow-up” address for patients to enter their comments regarding their care, and their outcomes.
THAT would be productive.
September 24th, 2009 at 10:06 am
[...] How Doctors Are Using Social Media The ultimate conclusion from our examination of how doctors are using social media and the web is that this is an area of rapid growth that our clients should be crafting a specific strategy for in relation to any of their product lines and marketing activities. (tags: socialmedia social medical medicine socialnetworking health blog media medicine2.0 health2.0 healthcare) [...]
September 24th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
[...] I thought this would be an interesting post for those in our healthcare audience; it’s on how doctors and healthcare professionals are using social media, including outlining 5 Trends In Physicians Use Of Web & Social Media, and we do in fact book [...]
September 24th, 2009 at 7:29 pm
I am a pediatrician and also have a twitterfeed and a blog about child health and parenting. Parents are looking for authoritative but personal information to help them navigate all of the health information they find in today’s media, and I find that using social media helps me to reach more than just the patient in my exam room, hopefully saving patients and parents unnecessary anxiety and saving physicians and other health care providers unnecessary visits.
September 25th, 2009 at 2:07 pm
I fully endorse your analysis and conclusions, but would like to point out that the potential impact of of HCPs’ social networks on pharma marketing has been recognized for some time. Take a look at:
Impact from a global perspective:
http://www.slideshare.net/lenstarnes/hc-ps-s-ns-digital-pharma-eu-ex-l-barcelona-march-09-final-v2
Linkedin in poll on the likely degree of impact (152 responses and a terrfic discussion!):
http://polls.linkedin.com/p/28204/lakmg
Cheers,
Len
October 1st, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Any doctor that is not jumping on the social media bandwagon is going to be missing out on potential patients. In this economy we cannot afford to miss out on any opportunities to attract more business.
October 2nd, 2009 at 12:23 pm
@Charles - Thanks for the comment!
@Leonard - Interesting point about mobile, I was sure someone would comment and highlight that! I agree that this is an area not to be ignored. Thanks for commenting.
@Ron - Thanks for reading, it’s nice to know that you’re finding real value in these tools for your own efforts.
@Dave - Thanks for highlighting the PA and Nurse Practitioner communities. You might be interested in checking out and commenting on my latest post all about the growing role of nurses online. I would love to hear your thoughts on that and will definitely check out Clinician1.
@Barry - Thanks for your comment. Ironically, the FDA already has a twitter account for a similar purpose to what you mention: http://twitter.com/FDARecalls Still, there is far more that could be done to achieve what you suggest, and it’s a great idea.
@Kim - It’s so nice to see a real example of the benefit of these tools and that you are finding real value in them.
@Len - Thanks for sharing those resources, you are definitely right that the impact that these tools can have is not necessarily a new thing and has been around for some time. It’s nice to see the context of this and know that there is a good foundation to build from.
@Dr. George - Thanks for the comment!
October 7th, 2009 at 10:52 am
[...] » http://blog.ogilvypr.com/2009/09/how-doctors-are-using-social-media/ [...]
October 11th, 2009 at 11:16 am
[...] is an article here looking at how medical doctors are making use of social media. This article looks at Scientists on [...]
October 12th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
We have been generating live, online and mobile audiences for healthcare, pharma, medical device, biotech and medical education organizations for the past three years using online, social media, and mobile tactics and technologies and continue to help our clients adopt our best practices to extend their reach and improve communication and increase participation with their target audience. The best part is that we are only at the very beginning of this next phase of media and communications with patients and healthcare professionals. At Audience Generation (www.audiencegeneration.com), we are most excited about the evolution of advertising using social media and mobile applications.
October 12th, 2009 at 5:29 pm
We launched a community for physicians to easily search, find, share and rate CME three years ago that is incredibly powerful that continues to grow leaps and bounds. CME Networks, http://www.cmenetworks.com is the largest directory of advertising pages for continuing medical education online and is home to the many of the most renowned medical programs, organizations and healthcare associations in the world. All of our clients have caught the vision and are being rewarded with increased live attendence and online CME certificates for participation and completion for their programs.
October 22nd, 2009 at 10:01 am
Until I graduated in 1972, the situation at Plant just got worse and worse. ,
October 23rd, 2009 at 7:50 am
I wanted to find a hobby big enough to accommodate my bounteous ego. ,
November 15th, 2009 at 6:19 pm
[...] records. ‘360 digital influence’ discuss trends in the use of social media by doctors here including a look at research in this area. John Grohol has an article at PsychCentral on how [...]
December 8th, 2009 at 10:04 am
I heard Mark Bard present his Manhattan Research data recently, and the trend is unmistakable. This post focuses on physicians as consumers of social media and tools; equally important is their role as creators of content accessible to the general public (which you address by reference to KevinMD, etc.). I’ve found that many provider organizations are reticent about dipping a toe in the water and am communicating with them about the legal/regulatory risks and the need to develop a coherent strategy before jumping in. If this is of interest, please take a look at a sample presentation on these issues here: http://j.mp/sHtw0
December 27th, 2009 at 6:11 am
Experts have talked about this before. How many times have you read about the importance of ‘adding value’ for your audience? How many times have you read about ‘building trust’ with your readers/prospects?
Many, many times. You know it well. Every marketing guru has spoken about this topic. I’m sick of hearing it. But it STILL bears repeating. onlineuniversalwork
December 29th, 2009 at 10:50 am
[...] medical records. ‘360 digital influence’ discuss trends in the use of social media by doctors here including a look at research in this [...]
December 30th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
[...] medical records. ‘360 digital influence’ discuss trends in the use of social media by doctors here including a look at research in this area. John Grohol has an article at PsychCentral on how [...]