On January 9, 2009, Dr. Craig Rogers, a surgeon at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, performed a robotic procedure to remove a cancerous tumor from the kidney of a 60-year-old patient, while the chief resident, Dr. Raj Laungani, wrote real-time Twitter updates throughout the procedure. Updates included, “The tumor has been completely excised, 20 minutes left to repair the kidney,” and “There is bleeding from the base of the tumor, but it’s being adequately controlled.”
The Twitter updates (or “tweets”) gave a play-by-play rundown of the surgery, and were followed by those who had signed up for Henry Ford Hospital’s Twitter feed. The male patient, whose identity was kept confidential, consented to having his surgery featured on the social media site.
The surgery attracted a lot of media attention, and many other hospitals have followed suit. While the real-time surgeries on Twitter are getting the most attention, many physicians and small medical practices are also giving Twitter a try.
Twitter 101
So what is Twitter? And what does it mean for you, as a physician?
If you’re familiar with blogging, then you can think of Twitter as “micro-blogging.” Each Twitter update must be 140 characters or less. As a physician, your tweets might include important health information (like H1N1 updates), a question to solicit feedback from other physicians, or breaking news about you or your practice.
Dr. Christian Sinclair, a physician for Kansas City Hospice, said in The New York Times that he uses social media to strengthen the doctor-patient bond. “I can help to inform the public, I can put the knowledge I have out there. And if there are patients or families who need this knowledge, I can help them because of this network.” Recently, he helped individuals he met through Twitter connect with local hospice services.1
Other ways to use Twitter
Here are more ways physicians are using Twitter to help their patients and their practices:
- Stay informed of industry news and trends.
- Market a medical practice. Physicians post news, links to articles, and information to followers to provide value to current and prospective patients.
- Find out about employment opportunities. Physicians follow medical recruiters or employment websites on Twitter.
- Expand professional networks by following other physicians on Twitter and sharing information with their network of followers.
- Answer questions about general health concerns (without attempting to diagnose or treat anyone).
- Expand an already-established web presence. Using Twitter-approved widgets, Twitter users can automatically post their tweets to their blogs, websites, and/or Facebook pages.
Best practices in the Wild West of social media
Uses for Twitter are numerous, but there are potential downsides to consider. Some physicians fear Twitter will be one more activity that consumes their valuable time, and are not sure the benefits are worth it. Dr. Gwenn Schurgin O’Keeffe, CEO and editor of the website PediatricsNow, says of Twitter, “I think the chips are still out. It’s kind of like an election where we’re not going to see the results for a while.”2
Other physicians have privacy concerns. And still others worry that Twitter introduces the possibility of a communication breakdown with patients. For example, a patient may attempt to contact a physician via Twitter when a phone call would have been more appropriate. Physicians are wise to remind patients not to contact them via Twitter for any medical emergency.
Social media sites like Twitter are still new, and it may take a while for the healthcare community to determine official guidelines for their use. But if you do decide to join Twitter, here are a few things to consider:
- Do not post personal information about patients or employees.
- Do not post any information you don’t want your patients to see.
- Do not give medical advice. Guide your followers to reputable sources of information and, when appropriate, encourage them to seek medical attention.
- Check to see if your employer has social-media policies you need to follow.
- Consider having separate accounts—one for your personal life and another for professional purposes.
If you want to give Twitter a try, you can set up an account for free at www.twitter.com.
1. From the article “Medicine in the Age of Twitter,” by Pauline W. Chen, M.D., The New York Times, June 11, 2009.
2. From the article, “Should Doctors Twitter?” by Pamela Lewis Dolan, www.amednews.com, posted June 29, 2009.