Austin Chiang, MD, a Harvard-trained gastroenterologist at Jefferson Health/Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia, was recently appointed the institution’s first chief medical social media officer.
The 33-year-old Chiang, president of a new nonprofit called the Association for Healthcare Social Media (AHSM), is trying to encourage physicians and other health care professionals at Jefferson and across the country to establish an online presence beyond sharing vacation photos with friends on Facebook.
Physicians need to recognize that patients are getting much of their information about health care via social media, often from unreliable sources trying to sell questionable products, notes Chiang, who is board-certified in internal medicine and obesity medicine. Instead of scoffing at Instagram and Twitter, he says, physicians should regard the social media platforms as tools with which to inform patients and connect with colleagues….read full article here
