The Digitalization of Medicine and the Era of Social Media

COURTENEY MALIN – Medicine, like the rest of the world, is susceptible to the changes brought by technology and the prevalence of social media. Digital patient files can be accessed by many doctors, allowing them to determine whether someone is doctor-shopping and receiving multiple prescriptions for the same medication. Social media has spread awareness of different illnesses, allowing researchers and patients to source new funds for research and treatment. Social media may also raise awareness about certain illnesses and their symptoms, such as the warning signs of melanoma, so that people may recognize the symptoms and seek treatment before the illness progresses.

However, social media poses a threat to the conventions of modern medicine. Doctors must maintain confidentiality about patient history, but social media encourages openness, interaction, and connection. The premises of these two fields contradict each other, yet medicine and social media are becoming further entwined.

Doctors, nurses, and hospital staff have complained about “terrible” patients on their social media accounts, with several of them going viral for posting sensitive information about these patients. In 2014, one ER doctor posted a picture of a female patient with the caption “I like what I like.” A few months later, another doctor created a blog about a patient who she claimed was “lazy” and “ignorant” for not controlling her glucose level. In 2013, about 30% of state medical boards reported having complaints about social media and online invasions of patient privacy. In 2019, that number increased to 80%.

Social media companies, such as Facebook, have created platforms specific to patient-doctor interactions. While these spaces may be useful for encouraging dialogue about certain medications or their side effects, these companies have historically failed to protect their users’ data. Most data are sold and analyzed by third-party companies for profit. Insurance companies may use this data to increase premiums for certain individuals or groups of people. For example, if one town in New Mexico were to have an increased rate of heart disease when compared to the normal population, the insurance companies may institute higher insurance costs, solely based on probability. These platforms could ultimately lead to the persecution of private citizens if privacy is not maintained.

The use of online patient communication platforms also puts a burden on doctors and nurses. Healthcare professionals have set schedules that allow them to see patients in person, answer emails, fill out and approve prescriptions, print out paperwork, and look at patient files. Adding fifty patient concerns and questions about refills to the mix results in an even more chaotic work schedule where the health professional’s attention is diverted away from usual tasks. A doctor who I shadowed once remarked that whether she cooked dinner and spent time with her children that night depended on how many messages she had from patients.

In addition, social media can spread hysteria. Spreading awareness of illnesses, such as influenza, is beneficial to curbing the effects of preventable diseases by promoting vaccination. However, false information can just as easily (if not faster) spread. The anti-vax movement has gained traction online over the past few years due to the outspoken members of this group, pushing incorrect and outrageous information. As most of us are aware, outrageous information tends to grab hold faster than correct or verified information just because it sparks anger and frustration.  In addition, worry about illnesses can also escalate online, such as worry about the coronavirus and Ebola, when well-known, local illnesses, such as the flu, kill many more people each year.

While the digitalization of medicine has increased efficiency and helped decrease prescription drug abuse, the introduction of social media into medicine is extremely risky. Most health professionals guard patient privacy and confidentiality; however, there are several bad apples in the community that threaten the principles of medicine. Also, large companies that are supported by the selling and analysis of information should not be trusted with important and sensitive medical data. Since the world is connected by social media, this degree of interaction can also cause mass concern over small problems and allow small groups to spread false information.

Copy Editor: Celeste Kazani

Photography Source: http://eclinicalforum.org/webinar-social-media-in-clinical-trials-going-beyond-patient-recruitment