John R. Zaleski, PhD, CPHIMS

Is social media the new way of life? Are we to avoid it as a fad or simply agree to “become one with the Borg?” Is social media a means for improving the communication between we as the patient and we as the physician? There are many reasons to use social media, and many reasons to avoid it…especially if you are a professional. Once something appears on the Web it is effectively there forever (I know…)

I have been maintaining this blog for about 4 years now and have over 120 posts on various topics related to clinical decision making, medical devices, and data as well as links to my books, etc. I maintain this primarily for myself… as a professional diary and as a social tool for professional interaction. By and large this goal has been and is being achieved. Yet, I read something interesting on the use of Google+, with special emphasis on a use case for physicians, primarily, that provides a vehicle for interaction among themselves, possibly with their patients, and as a safe haven that is not quite as revealing as Facebook and not as “minimalist” but yet as open as Twitter.

In the world of medicine, especially in the relationship between physician and patient, it is extremely important to maintain privacy and control of the conversation. One of the key challenges in the health information technology age is ensuring that patient information and the communication between physician and patient remain private with control in the hands of the participants. I emphasize that security and control are key. The next generation of social media may involve more of the security and less of the social. This aspect of communication, once trustworthiness is assured, may represent or reflect the maturing of the technologies that heretofore have been seen as the wild west.