Cosmetic Surgery Times - April 2009 - (Page 7) 7 APRIL 2009 parameters he specifies. He subscribes to feeds from “a variety of national newspapers, medical journals, other physician and patient blogs. Using an RSS aggregation tool is really the only way to skim through that many sources.” Dr. Pho says that he especially uses blogging and Twitter in peer-to-peer discussion with colleagues. “I give my take and opinion on news items that come out, and other doctors can respond It really generates a lot of discussion.” He believes that this is vital, because “over the next couple of years, things are going to fundamentally change in medicine, and being able to discuss this among other doctors on a blog offers a level of transparency so patients can see what doctors are talking about and what’s important to the doctors.” Another issue, Dr. Pho says, is that online users are inundated with information — and possibly significant misinformation — about medical conditions, as well as the spin that manufacturers put on products and medications. Through an active e-media presence, physicians can provide an informed perspective. THE POWER OF ‘NOW’ “It’s not that (with blogging) you’re giving medical advice; you’re not. But giving a physician’s opinion on something is valuable and with Twitter and blogging, you can dynamically update these in real-time, rather than waiting for an article to be published. It’s essentially information on demand, and offers the great advantage of speed.” Of course, docs have to be careful in what they say and how they say it, to avoid breaching confidentiality or offering medical opinions without examining a patient. Dr. Pho says it’s a matter of using common sense. Always have a disclaimer, and protect patient privacy. Some physicians blog about certain patients, feeling they’re protecting those patients’ privacy by changing details, but Dr. Pho feels even that’s crossing a line. “I don’t blog about patients at all. I don’t want a patient, when he or she sees me in the office, to worry that I’ll write about them.” Physicians need to remember that whatever they write will be read by the world. “Use common sense. Don’t publicize what you wouldn’t want the world to read.” Dr. Pho says creating and maintaining an electronic presence doesn’t need to be complicated. Any physician can easily fire up his or her own blog with little effort. “It can be as simple as going to Blogger,” a free blogging service from Google. “A blog can be set up in less than 15 minutes with very little Web knowledge. And it takes even less time if all you want to do is Twitter.” Intimidation of technology, Dr. Pho says, should not discourage any physician from taking a proactive approach to presenting his or her face on the Web. H http://www.boironusahcp.com http://www.boironusahcp.com
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