Liveworld

HCPs are social and curious. They make the most of their time away from direct patient care. Gated physician social communities, known as the “walled gardens” have become a thing. Just like mainstream social media, each private HCP-only platform offers its own experience.

Sermo has become a leading social spot for HCPs for sharing drug reviews, crowd-sourcing patient cases, participating in polls and surveys, and discussing trending topics. Doximity has established itself as a directory of sorts for professional networking and career opportunities with access to CME learnings and a newsfeed from renowned organizations, along with the recent release of their “Dialer Video” which enables virtual care. Skipta features specialized online medical communities, HCP tribes if you will, with case sharing, news and research articles, and a jobs board. Figure-1 is a visually-geared feed of shared images and patient cases and conditions towards improving health outcomes through posting and commenting as well as the education center.

Now there is a new entrant in the HCP social and digital space, a platform poised to do everything the others do, and more. G-Med’s Global Physicians Community  touts itself as the leading global platform for peer-to-peer physician discussions, with a reported reach of over 1.5 million verified physicians from more than 120 countries and 100 specialties.

G-Med is a lot more international than any of the other HCP digital platforms, with notable activity of physicians from every continent across the world offering perspectives and expertise that goes beyond borders and cultures. Physicians post questions or patient cases for discussion, connect with peers and colleagues through a community search feature (with the ability to communicate through an integrated messenger), and share of trending topics and news.

The “My Groups” functionality allows for a more focused, on-topic, and relevant feed of a subject matter that is of interest and importance to an HCP. An events calendar of virtual congresses further keeps HCPs plugged in. There’s a flowing feed of trending content and questions, polls, surveys to engage HCPs. The recent release of G-Med’s “Rare Disease Hub” further establishes itself as a digital go-to destination for HCPs, facilitating the networking between physicians and rare disease specialists.

Physicians have repeatedly stated that there’s no comparison to peer-to-peer dialogue. The ease and immediacy of the information and data exchanged is invaluable and it doesn’t take them away from patient care. There have been user-list groups, academic sites, association boards, and industry forums for HCPs for as long as there’s been the internet. But the level and timeliness of engagement has been underwhelming.

Private HCP social media platforms have created an appetite for real-time feedback and follow-up. G-Med’s entry into the fray will prompt competitive responses that should increase functionality and urgency among the walled garden peers. Marketers should check out the “new” G-Med platform and comparatively assess promotional opportunities in this evolving digital channel.

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About the Author: Umar Siddiqui, MD, Chief Medical Officer at LiveWorld