title: Social media for patients: benefits and drawbacks.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Social media is increasingly utilized by patients to educate themselves on a disease process and to find hospital, physicians, and physician networks most capable of treating their condition. However, little is known about quality of the content of the multiple online platforms patients have to communicate with other potential patients and their potential benefits and drawbacks.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients are not passive consumers of health information anymore but are playing an active role in the delivery of health services through an online environment. The control and the regulation of the sources of information are very difficult. The overall quality of the information was poor. Bad or misleading information can be detrimental for patients as well as influence their confidence on physicians and their mutual relationship. Orthopedic surgeons and hospital networks must be aware of these online patient portals as they provide important feedback on the patient opinion and experience that can have a major impact on future patient volume, patient opinion, and perceived quality of care.
authors.affiliation: Complex Joint Reconstruction Center, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Hospital for Special Surgery, 535 East 70th Street, New York, NY, 10021, USA. DeMartinoI@HSS.EDU.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: De Martino
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: Rocco
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: D'Apolito
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: Alexander S
authors.initials: AS
authors.lastname: McLawhorn
authors.affiliation: Hip & Knee Center, Ortho Carolina, 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
authors.affiliation: Orthopedic Surgery Division, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences, University of Catanzaro Magna Græcia, Viale Europa, Germaneto, 88100, Catanzaro, CZ, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gasparini
keywords: Internet; Patient-patient relations; Social media; Social networking; Web 2.0