Some patients might post to ask if they can get an earlier appointment—something his office tries to accommodate—or to thank Dr. Sunkureddi for relieving their discomfort. Other queries are more pointed. In one recent post, someone asked if Dr. Sunkureddi was the same doctor who had co-authored a 2005 medical report about lupus and eosinophilic enteritis and, if so, could he answer some questions privately.
Dr. Sunkureddi responded on his Facebook page, www.facebook.com/pages/Dr-Prashanth-Sunkureddi/133004582207, saying there was little published information on the subject and, after briefly referencing another paper in a medical journal, wrote that he hoped that his paper “can provide some guidance for your doctors on the workup for this condition.”
Regarding medical specifics, he says: “I try to give very general scientific answers, the conventional thinking on that topic, rather than giving any direct advice, per se.”
To date, Dr. Sunkureddi hasn’t gotten any negative comments on his Facebook page. “To be frank, I would probably delete it.” Neither has he become embroiled in a lengthy back-and-forth online discussion with a patient. “People do seem to understand these boundaries well,” he says.
Occasionally, he’ll get a new patient who liked the way he handled a question through Facebook and books an appointment. Potential patients also come across the page as they weigh which local rheumatologist to consult, he says. “These days, people go online to search about their doctor.”
The patient exchanges, by being so public, can’t help but be influential, he says. “This kind of raises the ante. This makes you want to constantly improve your own performance and that of your practice. It certainly increases the pressure on me to do my best.”
Charlotte Huff is a freelance journalist based in Fort Worth, Texas.
References
- American Medical Association. AMA Policy: Professionalism in the use of social media. www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/meeting/professionalism-social-media.shtml. Published Nov. 8, 2010. Accessed Nov. 14, 2010.
- Thompson LA, Dawson K, Ferdig R, et al. The Intersection of Online Social Networking with Medical Professionalism. J Gen Intern Med. 23:954-957.
- Facebook. Statistics. www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics. Accessed Nov. 14, 2010.
