Social media is the key to survival of private practices, according to Dr. Jeffrey Benabio.
"Your specialty depends on it," he said at a cosmetic dermatology seminar sponsored by Skin Disease Education Foundation in Santa Monica, Calif. "Word of mouth is the original social media platform. People connected live, in person," said Dr. Benabio, who practices in San Diego. Now word of mouth is spread through Ethernet cables and Wi-Fi connections. Patients log on and share their experiences.
Dr. Jeffrey Benabio
He described the changing landscape in which nonphysicians, and to some extent advertisers, are usurping the dermatologist's role as the primary provider of health information pertaining to the skin.
"Our lack of presence will lead to loss of trust with the public; therefore, this is a critical time for us to demonstrate our value to the public as practitioners," he said. "The more comfortable people are with nonphysicians, the more difficult it will be for us to fight nonphysicians' expansion of their scope of practice."
And he is determined not to let this happen to him. Google Dr. Benabio's name and the first five Google results are for his blog, his profile on www.livestrong.com, his biography on the same site, his Facebook profile, and his LinkedIn profile. "I am every link for the first 15 pages of Google," he said.
The key to networking via the Internet is not as simple as creating a Web site and placing advertisements. "You cannot buy your way into a social network. You must build relationships by interacting and listening to your audience," said Dr. Benabio. "Heavy advertising, marketing, and spamming will only harm your online presence." Just like anything, it takes practice.
To help physicians get started with social media, he suggested the following:
- Talk about dermatology online, don't practice it. (For example, talk about psoriasis, but don't give medical advice); and always respect HIPAA.
- Share tips and news with colleagues, and be human and responsive with others.
- Create high-quality personal content that is interesting, helpful, or funny.
- Use head shots, never icons.
- Separate your personal and professional online presence.
- And lastly, and most important, remember what is posted online, stays there forever.
Dr. Benabio disclosed that he is a consultant for www.livestrong.com and an employee of Southern California Kaiser Permanente Medical Group.
SDEF and this news organization are owned by Elsevier.