Social media is changing choices for patients, providers, and pharma marketers

Article by Lisa Phillips | Feb 16, 2023

The data on doctors: 57% of US-based physicians frequently or occasionally change their perception of a medication or treatment based on content they’ve seen on social media, per a joint survey by Sermo and LiveWorld.

More than 200 physicians across various specialties were surveyed in November 2022.

Drilling down on doctors: People who are trained to look for evidence-based solutions turn to their professional colleagues for insight and advice. So, it’s no surprise that walled-garden communities like Doximity and Sermo top the list of social media platforms doctors go to for clinical or professional purposes (59% and 58%, respectively).

But doctors are also using public social platforms for medical information and professional networking.

52% use Facebook as their public platform of choice to join private medical groups.
35% say LinkedIn is the most helpful social platform for learning about Congressional actions and key opinion leader presentations.
62% use Twitter to follow hospitals and professional organizations.

The data on patients: Doctors are still the go-to information source (62%) for patients with chronic conditions.

However, a large share (38%) of chronic condition patients are more likely to turn to online influencers and social media for medical information, per a joint survey by Hall & Partners and Think Next.
10,500 adults from China, Germany, Japan, the UK, and the US were surveyed online in 2022.

Drilling down on patients: Age is a determining factor for most patient engagement on social media platforms. Younger people—Gen Z and millennials—are more active in seeking medical advice there than are older people—Gen X and Baby boomers.

33% of Gen Z patients use specific groups on social media to discuss an illness or medical situation. Their top 3 platforms are TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter.
26% of millennial patients used social media platforms to talk about medical issues, citing Facebook, TikTok, and Twitter.
14% of Gen X patients sought out medical discussions on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Just 5% of boomer patients turned to social media for medical reasons—Facebook was their chief resource.

Pharma marketers are taking notice: 90% of the 50+ pharma marketers surveyed by Sermo/LiveWorld have implemented social media plans in 2023. And 50% planned to increase budgets aimed at physicians this year. No one expects to decrease their social media spending.

Our take: Although US physicians were the target in the Sermo/LiveWorld survey, we expect we’d see similar results from a global canvas of doctors’ social media usage. For younger patients, seeking medical information online comes naturally.