Social Media and Digital Footprints in Orthopaedic Trauma: An Analysis of 1465 Orthopaedic Trauma Association Members.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to quantify social media usage among Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) members. All active OTA members were searched for involvement among common social media platforms. Surgeons were then classified as "active" on any given social media site if they posted within the last 6 months. Surgeons were also identified by the region they practiced in, gender, and their practice setting (academic vs private). Lastly, a surgeon's score and number of reviews from common physician review websites was examined. A total of 1,465 Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) members were included in the analysis. Most surgeons were male [89.1% (n=1305)] and practiced in a private setting [54.5% (n = 799)]. A total of 590 (40.3%) surgeons had at least 1 form of social media account. Social media sites most used were LinkedIn with 48.7% (n = 713) and ResearchGate with 29.2% (n = 428). Academic surgeons were more likely to have a ResearchGate, LinkedIn, and Twitter account, while private surgeons were more likely to have a personal website (P<0.05). Lastly, there was no correlation between surgeons more active on social media and average scores on Vitals.com or Healthgrade.com (P>0.05). Most orthopaedic trauma surgeons do not have professional social media accounts. While social media may help spread scholarship, having a professional social media account does not correlate with better online physician reviews or increased online reviews among orthopaedic trauma surgeons.