"Professional use of Twitter is ideal for physicians interested in both networking and education and is optimally used to facilitate in-person networking."

Arch Pathol Lab Med. 2016 May 19. [Epub ahead of print]

Let's Have a Tweetup: The Case for Using Twitter Professionally.

Fuller MY1, Allen TC1.

Author information

• 1From the Department of Pathology and Genomic Medicine, Houston Methodist Hospital, Houston, Texas (Dr Fuller); and the Department of Pathology, University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston (Dr Allen).

Abstract

Social media use is very common and can be an effective way for professionals to discuss information and interact with colleagues. Twitter (Twitter, Inc, San Francisco, California) is a social media network where posts, termed tweets, are limited to 140 characters. Professional use of Twitter is ideal for physicians interested in both networking and education and is optimally used to facilitate in-person networking. Live-tweeting (posting real-time reactions to events) at professional meetings is also a popular and highly successful use of Twitter. Physicians report patient privacy as the top concern preventing use of social media for professional reasons, and although generally social media use is safe, it is essential to understand how to protect patient confidentially. Other social media platforms with potential for professional use include Facebook (Facebook, Inc, Menlo Park, California), Instagram (Facebook, Inc), YouTube (YouTube, LLC, San Bruno, California), and Periscope (Twitter, Inc). With Twitter and other social media options, now is the time for pathologists to increase our visibility on social media and worldwide.