From humble beginnings as a means of communication with loved ones and friends, social media has evolved into an all-encompassing powerful platform for general information, including medical news.
What’s seen on social media can either make or break you. Accuracy and credibility of the source are crucial factors. What you view or read should enhance your understanding of a subject, not impart false news or potentially harmful beliefs and practices.
This was a key point stressed by Dr. Erdie Fadreguilan in his lecture “Engaging the Digital Generation: Strategies for Effective Social Media Education” at the Philippine Heart Association-Philippine College of Cardiology (PHA-PCC) Midyear Convention themed “Cardiology for All.” Held at the SMX Convention Center in Clark, Pampanga, on Jan. 12- 13, 2024, the two-day confab drew 411 multi-specialty doctors, predominantly cardiologists and internists, together with primary care physicians, medical students and nurses.
Adapting to the digital landscape is an integral part of cascading cardiovascular (CV) health
A noted cardiologist- electrophysiologist, who is also the president of Philippine Heart Rhythm Society, Fadreguilan started to harness digitalization at the height of the COVID-19 scare. He started his “Heartbeat Doc” channel to share CV information relevant to both physicians and laypersons.
“The pandemic happened and we capitalized on this for CME [continuing medical education], to use Zoom and the such. I discovered that I had a lot of video lectures recorded, from basic to advanced ECG [electrocardiogram] lectures… I had watched my niece, a medical student, open a YouTube (YT) channel, and she suggested that I create my own as well,” he said.
He came to some realizations as he went about his content creator journey. For the longest time, Philippine healthcare has been beset by geographical, poor access and delivery issues, as well as lack of health literacy. Seventy percent of Filipinos go to public hospitals, but since only around 30% of hospitals are public in the country, a big percentage of the population are deprived of healthcare.
While social media has the potential to reach a wider audience, create/hype awareness on CV health and heart healthy behaviors, there are risks involved in the form of privacy concerns on top of fake news.
Cases such as a popular slimming coffee containing a harmful component called sibutramine; and the promotion of hydrogenated coconut oil as not increasing cholesterol, are some instances wherein Fadreguilan used his platform to debunk dangerous misinformation.
“Consultants use different, credible health information sites like Elsevier, Cambridge. Patients, however, use social media for health information. Research is for the benefit of everyone, and we doctors need to understand that we speak a different language from our patients and what they understand better are social media platforms. Googleopathy is even a thing now, wherein patients prescribe to their doctors based on what they learned online,” Fadrequilan explained.
To combat false ideas circulating online and make accurate health information engaging for people, he shared the following strategies:
“Define your goals and objectives, researching and presenting information in a way that patients can understand). Choose/design the right platform and channel; the audience on YouTube is on the older side, and may want to learn more about health in general, while on TikTok, the young people want to hear stories more than medical information. Create and curate content to match the platform and audience, and interact and communicate with followers to better monitor and evaluate performances,” he said.
Fadrequilan has 116,000 followers on TikTok and 102,000 subscribers on YouTube, garnering him a Silver Play Button Award from the latter.
For more information, visit https://www.philheart.org/
