Where Is Everyone? Canadian Physician Use of Social Media
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Abstract
The use of social media (Facebook, Twitter etc) within the health care sector has been advocated by a number of experts as providing value to health care providers, consumers and policy makers. However, use of common social media tools by Canadian physicians for professional purposes remains low and relatively unchanged from three years ago. This study provides the most comprehensive and current overview to date of use of social media by Canadian physicians and their attitudes towards these tools.
Method
A brief online questionnaire was distributed to the ePanel of the Canadian Medical Association November, 2013 asking about use of popular social media and social networking sites by physicians as well as their perception of social media. The ePanel is a volunteer group of Canadian medical students, residents and practicing and retired physicians who have agreed to answer questions on health care issues.
Results
A total of 889 responses were received (24% response rate). Use of social media by Canadian physicians for professional purposes remains low. Only 9.2% of respondents reported using Twitter for either professional purposes alone or both professional and personal uses, while for LinkedIn the corresponding statistic was 19%. However almost 40% of respondents said they had joined an MD-oriented online community, 45% had participated in an online discussion forum on a medical topic and 96% had used Google when seeking medical information. All of these percentages are similar to results from a survey of the same population using the same methodology three years ago. However, the percentage of physicians who believe social media use has risen from 81% to almost 90%.
Conclusions
Survey results indicate continued resistance by physicians to use of social media in the workplace despite new guidance from prominent Canadian medical organizations such as the Canadian Medical Association. The main barriers to use of social media by Canadian doctors appears to be lack of perceived value and concerns about privacy and security.
Method
A brief online questionnaire was distributed to the ePanel of the Canadian Medical Association November, 2013 asking about use of popular social media and social networking sites by physicians as well as their perception of social media. The ePanel is a volunteer group of Canadian medical students, residents and practicing and retired physicians who have agreed to answer questions on health care issues.
Results
A total of 889 responses were received (24% response rate). Use of social media by Canadian physicians for professional purposes remains low. Only 9.2% of respondents reported using Twitter for either professional purposes alone or both professional and personal uses, while for LinkedIn the corresponding statistic was 19%. However almost 40% of respondents said they had joined an MD-oriented online community, 45% had participated in an online discussion forum on a medical topic and 96% had used Google when seeking medical information. All of these percentages are similar to results from a survey of the same population using the same methodology three years ago. However, the percentage of physicians who believe social media use has risen from 81% to almost 90%.
Conclusions
Survey results indicate continued resistance by physicians to use of social media in the workplace despite new guidance from prominent Canadian medical organizations such as the Canadian Medical Association. The main barriers to use of social media by Canadian doctors appears to be lack of perceived value and concerns about privacy and security.
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