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The vast majority of physicians engaged with content created by healthcare influencers or key opinion leaders (KOLs) on social media at least weekly, and many also cited online creators as influential in their perception of medications and prescribing choices, according to a survey of more than 300 practitioners.

Nearly half of physicians (48%) reported engaging with healthcare influencers or KOLs on social media multiple times a day, with another 42% indicating they do so daily (21%) or weekly (21%), .

Additionally, 60% of physicians reported changing their perception of a medication based on content from a healthcare influencer or KOL on social media, and 50% reported changing their prescribing choices.

The survey was conducted by Sermo, an online platform that provides the healthcare industry with business insights and physician engagement, in partnership with LiveWorld, a digital and social marketing agency.

"Social media, in general, has helped to connect the global healthcare professional community," Joanna Molke, vice president of marketing at Sermo, told MedPage Today.

Accordingly, the survey on physicians' engagement with healthcare influencers and KOLs was aimed at better understanding who is on social media and who is trusted, as well as the impacts of information gathered by physicians from social media, she said.

In total, 11 specialties and three generations were represented in the survey, which was conducted online in July during an 8-hour period; the survey length was 10 minutes.

Looking at representation among specialties, allergy and immunology had the smallest sample (25) and general/family practice had the largest (38). There were 197 millennials (born 1981-1996) represented in the study, 76 Gen X participants (born 1965-1980), and 44 baby boomers (born 1946-1964).

Though 62% of respondents reported they would most prefer to receive medication information from a physician peer, 15% indicated they would prefer to receive this information from a healthcare influencer or KOL, 13% from a medical science liaison, and 10% from a pharmaceutical sales representative.

Some 36% of physicians said they considered information provided by healthcare influencers or KOLs on social media as "extremely or very trustworthy," and 37% said such information is "extremely or very effective" in keeping them updated on treatments.

As for who healthcare influencers and KOLs are, "there is a wide spectrum from micro-influencers and rising stars to established opinion leaders," according to the report about the survey's findings.

Rather than the size of someone's social media following, influence is tied more to the "types of content" being shared and whether physicians "find value in it," Molke explained, adding that it is more of an "information contest" than a "popularity contest."

However, credentials are incredibly important, survey results indicated.

The top factors that made a healthcare influencer or KOL credible to physicians included professional credentials (82%), evidence-based content (80%), and peer endorsements (47%).

Physicians also have cited information obtained from healthcare influencers and KOLs as a "spark" for them "to do additional research on the content itself," Molke said.

Indeed, 51% of physicians reported that healthcare influencers and KOLs had inspired them to conduct additional treatment research.

Furthermore, 74% said they were likely to consider information about a pharmaceutical product if it was presented by a trusted healthcare influencer or KOL, and 84% said they have shared a healthcare influencer's or KOL's content with a colleague or friend.

Ultimately, it is important for physicians to be "cautious" when it comes to information from social media, and to make sure to confirm information with "another reputable source," Molke noted.

Information from healthcare influencers and KOLs on social media should not replace medical congresses or publications, but social media is a "great way to see what is trending," and to get smaller pieces of information, often referred to as "snackable content," to lead physicians on an "educational journey," she said.

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