Doctors will embrace Social Media as KOL's

Key opinion leaders (KOL) are still one of the most important corner stones for the marketing machines of pharmaceutical companies. Their network, expertise, reach and authority is what pharma is interested in. 

What have been the  implications social media has on KOL’ism?

First off  – I am sick of the term “social media so I've even taken the step of renaming it social health on this blog, because that is what it is really about for healthcare, outreaching the health care practice, reaching patient communities, education and more”  

The term Social Media is being used so generically and so often that it doesn’t mean anything anymore. 

I mean take a moment to think about it – the whole internet is social. There isn't a site where you can’t “like” or comment on stuff. That’s the essence of social media and web 2.0. But that’s another story.

Let’s put these linguistic talks aside and get real: social media is here to stay and the day will come when even doctors will embrace it as professional and that is not too far into the future. 

We are now in the throws of a quiet revolution underway in how doctors connect with their patients and with each other online around the globe.

For a long time, many practices have limited their involvement in the digital world to a website.

It provided static, one-way information with no room for interaction. But the question arose: if a practice posted an update on their website, how do they get patients to read it and respond to it?

According to Australian Doctor if results of a recent Australian survey are correct, only 17% of patients read the printed health brochures displayed in waiting rooms, while a staggering 85% of patients look for information online. 

It's fairly obvious from this data that spending money on old world communication is inefficient and a waste of any marketing spend.

Our communities, patients, are online. Why then does the healthcare professional so largely resist change and to be frank the evidential statistics of how health is searched on the net and where their patients are. 

The fact is bricks n mortar walls are coming down. No professional can now operate without innovation and digital outposts for communication. Doubt me? Think of the fax machine, now long obsolete for new and more efficient methods of communication - email and now text, heck Facebook even has it's own email address for you and more. Your practice can actually have your own website on Facebook - check out some of the apps, amazing stuff. Imagine having your practice url address diverted to your Facebook page complete with email, video educationals on disease management, patient education downloads. It's all possible.

With this in mind we are already seeing influential, early adopter doctors recommending training courses in social media for peers, advocating to learn the framework and understand how it can benefit their practice of medicine.  These are the trail blazers, the early adopters.

Only late last week I had a doctor share with me that he uses social media to connect with peers who are early adopters, it helps him keep ahead, for connections and, taps him into patient and health activist communities that benefit his work. Make no mistake - the realm of KOL'ism is blurring with Health Activists becoming just as important as medicos for their leadership of communities. The New KOL in medicine now needs to know how to engage with the leadership of these e- patient activist  communities.

And of course we have the Mayo Clinic Health Network who connect other healthcare professionals around the globe, training them through their social media residency programme how to outreach their clinics, hospitals and more. In so doing - what is the Mayo Clinic achieving? Building itself as an influential KOL and if you like first to the future, showcasing their own cutting edge methodologies. It's all about relationships, engagement and influence as a KOL.

I wrote a post the other day suggesting that while we have developed the most miraculous tools for dealing with the health of humankind but the best tools in the world don't make a bit of difference if they don't get out to where they're needed. And that is the essence of social media. 

Whilst many healthcare practitioners are still stuck the future KOL must understand that. She must be able to interact with social media and interact with strategic peers on a far superior level.  In time it will become a functional skill set that is required of all professions and healthcare is not immune. 

In the past, authority has always been a regional phenomenon, localised, but now there is the opportunity to enter world stage. A future KOL, might not be a local hero, but rather known around the globe. For example, she might host regular google patient education tutorials, the scope is only limited to the imagination. 

I can think of one Australian doctor who has built himself an enviable global reputation for outreaching his practice and connecting, educating and participating in conversations that are vital to public health. Accurate information in a sea of often inaccuracy is to be applauded.

 Social media changes the landscape.

Through social media platforms such as Twitter and Facebook, the geographic borders vanish. So it has become quite easy to turn into a leading voice in your specific medical field with the help of innovative social media outlets.

The implications of this vary. Pharma will need to work with these global KOLs in the digital ecosphere. A tweet from a KOL can help and harm your brand in an instant. A hint for all in this space - learn to find these KOL's, master Klout.

Think about how pharma will need to embrace social media in order to keep up. They must understand that it’s bidirectional, it’s not the sales pipeline anymore, it’s about transparent communication.