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Social media and your practice: navigating the surgeon-patient relationship

  • Social Media and Orthopedics (P Sculco, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Reviews in Musculoskeletal Medicine Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Utilization of social media both in the private and professional arenas has grown rapidly in the last decade. The rise of social media use within health care can be viewed as the Internet-based corollary of the patient-centered care movement, in which patient perspectives and values are central to the delivery of quality care. For orthopedic surgeons and their practices, general-purpose online social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, are convenient platforms for marketing, providing patient education and generating referrals. Virtual health communities are used less frequently by orthopedic surgeons but provide forums for patient engagement and active surgeon-to-patient communication via blogs and ask-the-doctor platforms. This commentary reviews the current state of social media use in orthopedic practice, with particular emphasis on managing the extension of the surgeon-patient relationship online, including the unique practice risks social media poses, such as privacy concerns, potential liability, and time consumption.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Division, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA

    Alexander S. McLawhorn, Ivan De Martino & Peter K. Sculco

  2. Hip & Knee Center, OrthoCarolina, 2001 Vail Avenue Suite 200A, Charlotte, NC, 28207, USA

    Keith A. Fehring

Authors
  1. Alexander S. McLawhorn
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  2. Ivan De Martino
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  3. Keith A. Fehring
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  4. Peter K. Sculco
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Correspondence to Alexander S. McLawhorn.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Social Media and Orthopedics

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McLawhorn, A.S., De Martino, I., Fehring, K.A. et al. Social media and your practice: navigating the surgeon-patient relationship. Curr Rev Musculoskelet Med 9, 487–495 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-016-9376-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12178-016-9376-1

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