title: Social media and your practice: navigating the surgeon-patient relationship.
abstract: Utilization of social media both in the private and professional arenas has grown rapidly in the last decade. The rise of social media use within health care can be viewed as the Internet-based corollary of the patient-centered care movement, in which patient perspectives and values are central to the delivery of quality care. For orthopedic surgeons and their practices, general-purpose online social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, are convenient platforms for marketing, providing patient education and generating referrals. Virtual health communities are used less frequently by orthopedic surgeons but provide forums for patient engagement and active surgeon-to-patient communication via blogs and ask-the-doctor platforms. This commentary reviews the current state of social media use in orthopedic practice, with particular emphasis on managing the extension of the surgeon-patient relationship online, including the unique practice risks social media poses, such as privacy concerns, potential liability, and time consumption.
authors.affiliation: Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Division, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA. McLawhornA@HSS.EDU.
authors.forename: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: McLawhorn
authors.affiliation: Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Division, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Martino
authors.affiliation: Hip & Knee Center, OrthoCarolina, 2001 Vail Avenue Suite 200A, Charlotte, NC, 28207, USA.
authors.forename: Keith A
authors.initials: KA
authors.lastname: Fehring
authors.affiliation: Adult Reconstruction and Joint Replacement Division, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA.
authors.forename: Peter K
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Sculco
keywords: Blogging; Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act; Marketing of health services; Medical practice management; Physician-patient relations; Social media; Twitter