10 internists that physicians should follow on Twitter

While patients may find Twitter as a great way to connect with their family doctor, many physicians see it as a way to develop a global connection among colleagues in a variety of specialties.

For example, in a study last year from the Journal of Medical Internet Research, primary care physicians reported that among their biggest motivating factors for using social media was to gain access to and be influenced by peer physicians.

In that spirit, here is a subjective list of 10 internists who offer unique and engaging content to their followers on Twitter. Have your own suggestions? Tweet us at @MedEconomics.

Kevin Pho, MD (@kevinmd) – If you’re not already following Pho on Twitter, you might be the only one. With a whopping 75,116 followers, Pho remains, as he says in his biography, “social media’s leading physician voice.” As a physician and author, he offers best practice advice to physicians using social media, and he covers the latest news in healthcare on his website at KevinMD.com.

Robert M. Centor, MD (@medrants) –Centor is an academic general internist at the University of Alabama School of Medicine and serves as the associate dean for the Huntsville Regional Medical Campus of UASOM. Follow is blog at medrants.com.

Yul Ejnes, MD (@yejnes) –Ejnes, is an internal medicine specialist in a private practice. He is the 2012-2013 immediate past chair of the Board of Regents of the American College of Physicians.

Diane E. Meier, MD (@DianeEMeier) –Meier is director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care and a professor of geriatrics and palliative medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. She is also the recipient of the 2008 MacArthur Fellowship.

Vinny Arora, MD (@FutureDocs) –Arora is an associate program director for the Internal Medicine Residency and assistant dean of scholarship and discovery at the Pritzker School of Medicine for the University of Chicago. She’s interested in improving medical training and patient experiences in teaching hospitals. On her blog at futuredocsblog.com, she discusses medical education and offers tips for career advancement.

Andrew Morris-Singer, MD (@AMorrisSinger) –Morris-Singer is the founder and president of Primary Care Progress, an advocacy organization for primary care physicians that focuses on changing the delivery of primary care. He is also an instructor at Harvard Medical School. 

Linda Pourmassina, MD (@LindaP_MD) –Pourmassina is a primary care physician at the Polyclinic in Seattle, Washington. She also writes the column “On Health” in the Seattle Times. She says on her blog that she is “interested in the human side of medicine.”

Erin N. Marcus, MD (@ErinNMarcusMD) –Marcus is an academic general internist and associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. She is also a contributor to the Huffington Post.

Philip Lederer, MD (@philiplederer) –Lederer is a physician in internal medicine with an emphasis on public health. His website, Embracing Prevention, focuses on primary care and global health issues. He also contributes to doctorstories.org.

Susan Sadoughi, MD (@SadoughiMD) –Sadoughi is an internal medicine physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and an instructor in medicine at the Harvard School of Medicine. She is also an editor at Physician’s First Watch, which provides news from medical journals, government agencies and other major sources.

Begin following these physicians on Twitter by viewing our list.