Friday 14 July 2017

Headline: Doctors and internet can be friends






Ask any doctor today and they might tell you internet is the bane of their existence. People all over the world are on a path of self diagnosis like never before and come to doctor staying ‘I know I have prostate cancer because Google told me so’. Self diagnosis aside, doctors are also forever grieved by the number of misleading information internet provides to the people. However, one positive aspect of internet is that it can lead people right to you and the services you offer. Social media and websites are the most beneficial to the doctors in more than one way. Doctors can not only connect with their patients they can also grasp the latest buzz in the world of internet.

So it brings us to the million dollar question why should doctors use the internet? As mentioned before, it is one of the best ways to connect with people and to make sure that your services reach your patients in the best way possible.

Start a library

Post blogs, links to your articles, journal articles and other online resources that you deem credible.  These will not only help you but also help the patients who follow you. Patients turn to the internet for their medical queries and come up with random diagnosis. You can put an end to it by providing answers that will soothe their worries, educate them or even lead them to the right professionals.

Find collaborators  

The internet is great in helping you connect with likeminded professionals. It is always good to have collaborators who can help you with a tricky diagnosis or better opportunity.  Science is a team sport an strength lies in number.

Grow your practice

Let the patients find you rather than waiting for a referral.  For example when someone searches “best [your specialty] in [your area]” your name should be listed among the top names. This helps your practice grow. Given the high number of people relying on internet for all their queries, this is one great way to grow your practice as you lead more people to you.

Manage what patients can see
Patients rely on reviews and comments left by patients and other doctors. The internet is far more powerful in providing a better reference than you think. With the internet, you can manage what patients see about you. Have yourself listed on websites, answer quires and keep an eye on your ranking. Patients are already keeping an eye on the websites.

Manage your professional reputation. 

Websites that advertise your services are quite helpful in managing your reputation. Any kind of lawsuit or penalizing actions from your medical board are very gravely destructive even if they are baseless. A little bit of active web presence can counter worthless or damaging information that can potentially ruin your reputation.  You can manage your own reputation with internet by your side.

Performance analytics  

Internet will allow you and others to analyze your own performance. You could show the number of times your papers have been read or cited, compare your rank to your colleagues. Measure the number of visitors on your website visitors etc.

Learn

The internet may have too much information but it is also a great learning ground. You can gather the latest information online and research it in all ways possible. 

Advance your career.

By making it easy for people to find you and all about your services, you can advance your career like never before. It’s not just writing articles that gets you ahead. You have to utilize it in more than one way be it with videos online or interactive services. Internet is a great place for experiments. .

What makes this easier on you is when you stop thinking about web activity as unsavory self-promotion.   You need to understand that a successful academic career depends on people being acquainted with your work and your name. Disseminating knowledge helps the advancement of science and internet allows that. In future you much look at this boon of science as one the best thing that has happened to the world of medicine and to you as a professional. Allow internet to broaden your horizon as a professional as your help yourself and your career grow.

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