The world is evolving to where technology has become a way of life in almost every profession you can think of, and the medical profession is no different. One part of technology that has had a profound effect on the medical field is social media. Whether doctors like it or not, social media is here to stay as health 2.0 continues to advance. The beauty of social media for physicians is that it gives them the opportunity to collaborate with many other physicians around the world at the same time, in real time; thus information is dispersed quicker, more efficiently, and resolutions can be made more rapidly. Below is a list of the top 10 free physician social networks for doctors that essentially bring physicians together under one roof to share, discuss, and support one another regarding things like anomalies they find on the job, all the while making friends along the way. In all these online doctor communities the objective is essentially to have doctors network and collaborate on a professional level: diseases, drugs, medical devices, and clinical matters as well as a personal level: hobbies and family life. Because the offerings are similar I’ve decided to showcase only what separates each product from their counterparts.
Sermo
Unique: Ad-free because revenue comes from health, financial, and government institutions that are interested in purchasing market research data.
Doctors Hangout
Unique: Wide array of things to do: post a blog, add video, upload images, join groups, participate in forums, post events, post a position on the Doctors Hangout job board for free, and apply for a job.
Student Doctor
Unique: A non-profit social network run purely by volunteers and caters specifically to medical and health students.
Doc 2 Doc
Unique: The site is run by BMJ Group, a global medical publishing company.
Dr Connected
Unique: The ease of use of the website with how-to instructions.
Relax Doc
Unique: Offer physicians’ discounts on partnering products.
Tiro Med
Unique: Part of a myriad of student medical associations and encourages mentorship.
My Scrub Hub
Unique: It’s not just about work; the site also offers fun with games and photo ratings.
Ozmosis
Unique: Includes web 2.0 tools such as bookmarking and news alerts specifically catered to what you’re looking for.
iMedExchange
Unique: Offers VitalSigns, a resource on healthcare reform and policy for physicians.
