By Stephanie Baum
As physician practices become more comfortable in the social media sphere,
their go-to preference for social media tools to attract patients is changing,
according to a Digital Doctor survey initiated by ZocDoc.
Facebook topped the list with half of the 360 respondents saying they had a
Facebook page to attract clients. Another 34 percent are using Google+
For the uninitiated, it’s like a picture and video heavy version of Facebook.
LinkedIn comes in third with 28 percent of doctors saying they had a presence
on it. That’s probably a place where patients would go to check on their
physicians experience level.
A surprisingly high number — 65 percent — of physicians who said they have
a social media presence are aged 55 to 75. Not surprisingly 87 percent of
younger doctors — 26 to 55 — said they used social media.
This also represents a digitally oriented group of doctors responding to
increased demands for them to use technology to make more efficient use of
patient time in their office engage patients electronically. About 63 percent
said they allow patients to fill out medical forms online. Another 62
percent have sent e-prescriptions.
ZocDoc’s survey findings jibe with another survey earlier this year that broke down how patients
and hospitals use social media. Almost
half of patients, 47 percent, said they would share information online with a
doctor more than a hospital, 42 percent.
Stephanie Baum is the East Coast Innovation Reporter for MedCityNews.com.
She enjoys covering healthcare startups across health IT, drug development and
medical devices and innovations deployed to improve medical care. She graduated
from Franklin & Marshall College in Pennsylvania and has worked across
radio, print and video. She's written for The Christian Science Monitor, Dow
Jones & Co. and United Business Media.