Physicians' Attitude and Perception Towards Social Media Medical Consultation

Social media plays a major role in modern healthcare. However, little is known about physicians' experience as related to medical consultation through social media, such as Twitter. This study aims to characterize physicians' attitudes and perceptions toward medical consultations through social media and estimate the use of social media for medical consultation purposes.

The study was conducted through the distribution of electronic questionnaires to physicians from different specialities. A total of 242 healthcare providers responded to the questionnaire.

Our results demonstrated that 79% of the healthcare providers received consultations through social media at least "sometimes" and that 56% of them agreed that it is appropriate to have personal social media platforms that can be accessible by patients. They also agreed (87%) that it is appropriate to interact with patients on social media; however, most of them do not find social media platforms appropriate for diagnosis or treatment.

Physicians think positively of social media consults, but do not consider it a proper method to manage medical conditions.