Doctors on Social Media: Why Are Digital Opinion Leaders Using Social Media?

Key Takeaways

• Digital opinion leaders (DOLs) are physicians and other healthcare professionals who share clinical views primarily through social media, not only through journals and conferences.
• Social media lets a physician reach peers and the public within minutes, without the delay of peer review and conference scheduling.
• Doctors typically use social media for five reasons: advocacy, education, speed of sharing, platform control, and personal satisfaction.
• Social media does not replace peer review. When a physician posts a contested claim, other clinicians fact-check it in what functions as an informal peer review.
• For Medical Affairs teams, understanding why DOLs post is the starting point for engaging these voices ethically and compliantly.

A digital opinion leader (DOL) is a healthcare professional who shapes clinical conversation primarily through social media and other digital channels, rather than through traditional publications and in-person forums alone.

On April 22, 2020, two Bakersfield, California physicians from Accelerated Urgent Care, Drs. Dan Erickson and Artin Massihi, recorded and published an impromptu press conference. They wanted their opinions about the novel coronavirus known. The video quickly went viral, amassing 4.3 million views in a week. For over an hour, the two doctors explained their views: that lockdown is a bad idea, that COVID-19 response czar Dr. Anthony Fauci is not a credible authority because he had not seen a patient in twenty years, and that the virus had spread widely in their community undetected yet did not force the hospitalizations that Dr. Fauci expected.

Drs. Erickson and Massihi held controversial opinions, no doubt. The point of this article is not to critique or confirm their views, but rather to glean a valuable lesson from how these two physicians disseminated their views. By recording a video and sharing it with their social media followers, who in turn shared it with their own followers, their opinions spread quickly and widely.

How did doctors share their opinions before social media?

The traditional way for doctors to share data or insights from their work is to run a study, write a paper about it, get it published in a peer-reviewed journal, and then present that paper at a forum where a couple dozen (or fewer) other healthcare practitioners (HCPs) attend. If a physician lacks the funding or free time to publish, they may write an analysis of another doctor's study and then pursue speaking opportunities to share their views on the topic. Either way, very few if any members of the general public ever hear their opinions.

What made the approach Drs. Erickson and Massihi took so different was not only their use of social media to share their views, but their belief that their opinion on COVID-19 mitigation measures was in the best interest of the general public. They used social media to advocate for a different treatment paradigm.

Given these two physicians' divergent views and the ensuing backlash, there was probably no process that could have led to their opinion being shared the traditional way. If they had written a paper, it is doubtful it would have passed peer review. If by some miracle it had, they would have had to schedule their presentation at a conference three years out, the soonest a spot might be available. But the novel coronavirus was spreading now, so the public needed to hear from them now, went their reasoning.

Despite social media's reach, it does not displace the benefit of peer review. When an article is published in a journal, other doctors, the peer reviewers, have essentially said, "Yes, this is legitimate. I agree. It looks like the author followed the right procedures." All of a sudden, the article is not one person's opinion; ten people consider the perspective valid. Still, as the viral video shows, if a physician disagrees with the mainstream opinion, they are invariably fact-checked by other doctors. This is an example of the informal peer review process that social media provides.

Besides the ability to share disparate views, what other reasons do doctors have for using social media?

Why do doctors use social media? Five reasons

Healthcare professionals who are considered digital opinion leaders (DOLs) typically share their opinions on social media for five reasons. Adoption is meaningful but far from universal: one JMIR study found that 49.5% of physicians used social media to exchange medical knowledge with peers, while an earlier JMIR study reported about 24% of physicians used it daily to scan or explore medical information.

Doctors who want to advocate for something, such as a change in a treatment paradigm, use their social media platform. Within a matter of minutes, hundreds, thousands, or even millions of people, including both the physician's peers and the general public, can learn about whatever cause is on the doctor's mind.

Dermatologist and internist Dr. Steven T. Chen is known for "#tweetorials," long threads exploring the latest clinical findings from his profession. These posts mainly serve to educate his peers, but at times he and other doctors on social media turn their attention to the general public, sharing important information in language that everyone can understand.

Millions of people in the United States and around the world knew exactly what Drs. Erickson and Massihi thought of Dr. Fauci within hours of the video's publication. No other medium offers the same opportunity to instantly share a physician's opinion, unreviewed and unverified as it may be, as social media does.

Unlike the traditional publication-to-presentation path, HCPs can control their own social media platform. They do not have to be peer-reviewed before sharing their perspective. That autonomy is an attractive alternative to the gatekeeping doctors deal with in other areas of their profession.

While immeasurable, the personal satisfaction of sharing one's perspective on current events makes social media worthwhile for many doctors. A physician who works at a local clinic may have no notoriety, but if they have 6,000 followers across LinkedIn, Instagram, and other platforms, that doctor has the satisfaction of knowing many people want to hear what they have to say, on a consistent basis.

It feels good to be heard, it feels good to start a lively discussion, and it feels good to educate. Ultimately, these motivations connect back to the patient experience, which is a primary reason many doctors turn to social media in the first place.

For Medical Affairs teams, the takeaway is practical. Understanding why physicians post is what makes it possible to identify the right digital voices and engage them in a compliant, non-promotional way. To see how this plays out in specific settings, our work on the role of digital opinion leaders at medical conferences and on rethinking thought leader segmentation explores how teams map and prioritize these relationships.

Curious how this applies to your organization? Let's talk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a digital opinion leader (DOL)?
A digital opinion leader is a healthcare professional who influences clinical conversation primarily through social media and other digital channels, rather than only through journal publications and in-person conferences. DOLs often reach both peers and the general public.

Why do doctors use social media?
Doctors typically use social media for five reasons: to advocate for a cause or treatment approach, to educate peers and the public, to share information quickly, to control their own platform without gatekeeping, and for the personal satisfaction of being heard.

Does social media replace peer review for physicians?
No. Social media lets physicians share views without formal peer review, but it does not replace it. When a physician posts a contested claim, other clinicians publicly fact-check it, which functions as an informal peer review while lacking the rigor of a journal's formal process.

How can Medical Affairs teams engage doctors on social media compliantly?
Medical Affairs teams engage digital opinion leaders by first identifying credible voices and understanding their motivations, then interacting through non-promotional, scientific exchange that respects the independence of Field Medical and the boundaries between Medical and Commercial functions.

How many physicians use social media professionally?
Estimates vary by study and use case. One JMIR study found 49.5% of physicians used social media to exchange medical knowledge with peers, while an earlier JMIR study reported roughly 24% used it daily to scan or explore medical information.

Further Reading:

• The Role of Digital Opinion Leaders at Medical Conferences → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/digital-opinion-leader-medical-conferences/
• 3 Digital Ways to Engage Key Opinion Leaders (And Why) → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/3-digital-ways-to-engage-key-opinion-leaders-and-why/
• Rethinking Thought Leader Segmentation: A Modern Approach for Medical Affairs Teams → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/rethinking-thought-leader-segmentation-a-modern-approach-for-medical-affairs-teams/