Bryan Vartabedian, M.D., a pediatric gastroenterologist, was recently interviewed by Russ. Dr. Vartabedian was an early adopter of all things Internet, including his blog, 33charts.com and a massive Twitter (@Doctor_V) account, in 2008. He is an authority on technology, the future of medicine and social media. He and Russ talk about how “Dr. V” got started, why he isn’t using this prowess to build a practice, but is a huge advocate of creating digital “visibility” to create opportunity. It’s a great listen.
This post corresponds to our latest podcast episode of “Russ and Randy” – a podcast on Healthcare and Medical Internet Marketing. We hope you like “Interview with Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. | His Blog Doesn’t Build Practice.” You can find us on iTunes …and now, ReachMD.com!
Bryan Vartabedian, M.D. (Dr. V) is an assistant professor at Baylor College of Medicine. He started 33Charts.com and has a Twitter following of at least 30k. He has a busy clinical practice to which he devotes 100% of his clinical time. He is otherwise engaged with Twitter and his blog.
Twitter and his blog, however, are not his practice builders, but he has some convincing reasons why anyone interested in establishing a public presence better get started.
“Colic” Gives Vartabedian “Oh Crap!” Moment
After writing an article about how pediatric colic is related to gastric reflux, Dr. Vartabedian first used a blog as a means to promote himself as an author. The blog was read by Nestle/Gerber executives who reached out to him. Realizing that a blog now gave him a platform to communicate publicly, he then created 33Charts.com.
33Charts.com does not reach out to patients, but rather helps those professionals learn the nuances of entering the digital world.
Tweet, Tweet, Tweet
When not seeing patients, Vartabedian is constantly on Twitter. Twitter serves as a filter for the content he consumes. By following a smattering of thought leaders, his Twitter community curates all kinds of in formation. Bryan then spends his time figuring out how to introduce these “oddball” concepts to medicine.
Visibility Creates Opportunity
Developing a digital presence is mandatory for the modern physician, whether you grew up in an analog world or digital generation, we have a responsibility to our patients to provide information where they spend the time…that is, digitally.
Whether building a practice or not, Vartabedian advocates improving your digital visibility. He notes that his digital efforts (media, Twitter, blog) increase his visibility (authority?) which has resulted in opportunities, both clinical and business.
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