Dr. Laccheo believes that two distinct physician camps are emerging. One group uses the online tools to directly communicate with patients through high-profile blogs or Facebook sites that might attract numerous followers. “But I think that’s actually scaring physicians off from social media in general,” he says. “They’re already overwhelmed by the amount of work they have to do.”
Dr. Lachheo believes that two distinct physician camps are emerging. One group uses the online tools to directly communicate with patients … . The second group recognizes that physicians can harness social media to put their best professional presence forward, amid a world in which patients are already picking up data—right or wrong—about doctors and diseases online.
The second group, in which Dr. Laccheo classifies himself, recognizes that physicians can harness social media to put their best professional presence forward, amid a world in which patients are already picking up data—right or wrong—about doctors and diseases online. “There is a lot of information out there that’s not good,” he says. “This is an easy way for doctors to raise the level of conversation.”
Online Face Forward
Julie Levengood, MD, who studied journalism in college, decided to apply her writing passions after she noticed a relative scarcity of rheumatology blogs. “I thought maybe this is a way to get a little further with patient education than you can in a 15-minute appointment,” says Dr. Levengood, a rheumatologist at the Fallon Clinic, a large multispecialty group in Worcester, Mass.
On her blog, http://thedoctorsrheum.word press.com, Dr. Levengood doesn’t discuss individual patients without altering identifiable details, and then only if the anecdote is relevant to a larger discussion. She also posts medical information, such as a recent newspaper article about osteoporosis diagnosis, along with her own physician perspective. One post in 2010 discussed why clinicians might struggle with faithful hand washing. In another, she speculated as to why real-world doctors—unlike those coiffed for television shows—aren’t known for their stylish dressing. “As I once tweeted, ‘A long white coat hides many a fashion don’t,’ ” she writes.
Although Dr. Levengood limits the personal details she shares, some of her personality shines through, most notably her culinary interests. During the 2010 ACR/ARHP Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta, she posted about several meals, including a salmon dish served on red pumpkin curry rice. On a prior Chicago trip to attend a wedding, Dr. Levengood snagged a seat at a high-profile restaurant that featured the cooking of “Top Chef” winner Rick Bayless. “A scallop dish with shellfish consomme was out of this world, and I am NOT a fan of shellfish!” she wrote.
