Instagram for Physicians and Surgeons:
5 Tips from @nyplasticsurgeon

This is an invited article for online physican magazine Healio.com.

Although many traditionalist physicians and surgeons-- including myself-- have at some point been reluctant to embrace the internet as a professional tool, it's impossible to deny that the digital era has arrived. According to the Pew Research Center, 87% of American adults use the internet, 58% own a smartphone, and 72% of internet users say they looked online for health information within the past year.

Most healthcare professionals are familiar with websites, blogs, Facebook, and Twitter as professional development tools, but the latest and greatest social media app is Instagram.

With over 300 million users sharing 70 million photos and videos a day, Instagram has grown since 2010 into a large, loyal online community dedicated to sharing visual images. Many studies have analyzed Instagram demographics, and they suggest that Instagram has the most engaged user community of any social media app. It also tends to attract a younger, more affluent, and more city-centric group.

So how can you integrate a potentially frivolous application like Instagram into a serious medical practice, without losing your gravitas? Here are 5 tips.

Click the icon below to read them on Healio.com.