Study: Many Physicians Using Social Media To Find, Share Health Data

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Study: Many Physicians Using Social Media To Find, Share Health Data

Many physicians are using social media to find and share health information, according to a study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, FierceHealthIT reports.

For the study, researchers surveyed 485 practicing oncologists and primary care physicians.

The study found that 61% of respondents said that they used social media at least once weekly to scan or explore health information. About 24% of respondents said that they used social media at least once daily to scan for health information. The study also found that:

60% of respondents said that social media improves the quality of care they deliver;
57.5% said that they consider social media to be beneficial, engaging and a good way to get high-quality, up-to-date information;
46% said that they contribute new information through a social media platform at least once weekly; and
14.2% said that they contribute new information through a social media platform at least once daily.

Respondents said that ease of use and usefulness were the determining factors in their decision to share information with peers via social media (Hall, FierceHealthIT, 9/26).