Published online Sep 20, 2023. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v13.i4.337
Peer-review started: April 7, 2023
First decision: May 15, 2023
Revised: July 18, 2023
Accepted: August 29, 2023
Article in press: August 29, 2023
Published online: September 20, 2023
Processing time: 167 Days and 3.8 Hours
There is a growing recognition among certain physicians about the significance of social media in facilitating the dissemination of research findings. While some physicians are beginning to appreciate the usefulness of social media, a ton of others are yet to comprehend its importance. In 2014, Hall proposed the K-index as a scientific metric aimed at evaluating if a physician's celebrity status on Twitter (assessed by the high number of followers) is at par with their scientific contributions based on the number of cited research work.
The coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic brought about a lot of misinformation on social media relating to its treatment and prevention. Hence, there arose a need to measure the scientific contribution (number of cited research works) of physician celebrities on Twitter. A study on the K-index of cardiology showed that the majority of the cardiologists on Twitter had a K-index < 2 (indicating more research works compared to the number of social media followers). We were motivated to find out the K-index of gastroenterologists on Twitter.
Our objectives are: (1) To assess whether a gastroenterologist's celebrity status on Twitter equates to the number of published and cited research works; (2) to assess the Twitter activity level of the gastroenterologists in the Top 100 hospitals as reported by the United States World News; and (3) to determine the effect of high Twitter followers on the number of cited scholarly works.
An extensive search was done to identify all gastroenterologists actively practicing and associated with the top 100 hospitals as the United States News reported. We collected specific data on a sub-group including their names, affiliations, degrees, and sub-specializations. To gauge their social media popularity, we utilized the K-index calculation which is determined by dividing the actual number of Twitter followers by the number of researcher’s citations. The expected number of followers is calculated using the formula F = 43.3 C0.32, where C represents the number of citations.
We found that physicians affiliated with Mayo Clinic emerged as the most prominent presence on Twitter, constituting 16% of the total. They were followed closely by physicians from Mount Sinai Hospital (9%) and the University of Michigan Hospital (9%). 76% of the physicians evaluated exhibited a low K-index of 0-2 which suggested that a significant number of highly influential physician-scientists are not receiving due recognition, as indicated by their relatively low number of followers. However, 24% of the physicians had an inflated K-index of > 5, which positioned them as the "Kardashians” or physician celebrities. These individuals enjoyed greater social media popularity than their actual scientific contributions.
Encouraging highly cited gastroenterology physicians to be more active on Twitter may have positive implications, including increased citation of research works and the availability of accurate health information and research findings for the public. Twitter also offers opportunities for networking, recruitment, and participation in academic discussions.
Some physicians, though, may misunderstand the intent of creating the K-index measure. We have been able to determine from the literature review that active presence on Twitter as evidenced by increased tweeting and retweeting of articles can help boost citation and the H-index of scientists. Physicians who are actively invested in research may find an alternative way to get the result of their research findings to the public and increase their visibility. Mayo Clinic has been at the forefront of utilizing socialmedia in health care, embarking on its journey with podcasting in 2005 and eventually expanding to various social media platforms like Twitter, YouTube, and Facebook. Their objective has been to disseminate the knowledge and expertise of their physicians to a wider audience while also providing a platform for patients to share their stories and experiences. By leveraging these channels, Mayo Clinic has effectively made healthcare information and personal narratives easily accessible to a diverse range of individuals. It is not surprising they ranked number 1 in our study. We hope that other programs will adopt and replicate this approach. In the future, we hope for a scientifically proven index or metric to assess a physician's impact and research influence.