The older I get, the less sure I become of basic cardiac issues. Consider the changing role of ICDs, non-statin cholesterol drugs, vitamins, and fish oil. All of these were once darlings of the field. Now, not so much. And it is not just cardiology, other areas of medicine have their uncertainties: breast and prostate cancer screening and MRIs for uncomplicated orthopedic issues, just to name a few.
But here is one thing I am sure of: Social Media will be a force for good in the healthcare world in the coming years. Sharing, connecting, informing, educating and yes, even empowering, both doctors and patients, will lead us to a better place. Decision quality will improve; it always does with more information.
Bob Coffield, Dr Wes Fisher. me, and Dr Jay Schloss
Major medical societies are seeing it. At last week’s Heart Rhythm Society sessions, I got together with three other giants of the healthcare media world and did a panel on: Social Media for Physicians — The State of the Art.
The recap, with many links, is over at theHeart.org:
Here is a PDF file of my portion of the talk: Twitter Talk at HRS 2013
Enjoy and connect.
JMM
Ken Grauer, MD says
Nice slide show John! – : )
Allison says
Blogs like yours make better patients. When I was first diagnosed, your blog provided me with a lot of information. Over time, I read the articles and drug studies you linked to, which helped me make informed decisions. For a civilian, it’s difficult to find the research. Social media raises the bar for everyone. You’re an invaluable resource and I thank you for taking the time and the effort to write well reasoned posts, and to linking to the supporting data.