Best Practices: Kevin Campbell
Dr. Kevin Campbell recognizes the enormous potential that social media has in healthcare today. Through Twitter, Facebook and his blog, Dr. Campbell aims to educate, engage and inspire his patients and other physicians.
As a cardiac electrophysiologist and prolific media figure, Dr. Kevin Campbell believes that engaging with his patients on and offline is an essential part of providing personalized, compassionate medical care. Whether attending to patients on the remote islands of Fiji or creating wellness engagement circles on social media, Dr. Campbell believes that connection is key. A frequent media consultant, Dr. Campbell has spoken about the complex issues facing our current healthcare system today. Read on to learn more about Dr. Campbell’s unique take on medicine and social media, the challenges facing our healthcare system, and preserving the doctor-patient relationship.
How did you get started in medicine and what inspired you to choose your specialty?
As an undergraduate I had a propensity for chemistry and math, and in general really enjoyed science. I began volunteering at a local hospital and eventually got a job as an orderly in the operating room. During my spare time, I started watching surgeries and got to know a lot of surgeons and quickly discovered that surgery was exactly what I wanted to do.
I chose my specialty of cardiac electrophysiology (also known as cardiac EP) because it brought together the best of two worlds: cardiac electrophysiologists are internists who also get to solve Sherlock Holmes-like medical puzzles and riddles. The other great part about being a cardiac electrophysiologist is that you get to take action as a surgeon in the operating room, like inserting catheters in the heart to cure atrial fibrillation or plant a defibrillator to prevent cardiac death. All in all, cardiac EP was the perfect blend of medicine and surgery.
What is one of the biggest obstacles facing the medical community today? How would you resolve it?
The bureaucracy of electronic medical records and interference in the exam room. Our current system has created this enormous infrastructure with so many middle managers and upper managers who aren’t physicians or nurses, who have nothing clinical about their background, and as a result they don’t understand the importance of the doctor-patient relationship. This really gets in the way of providing adequate and appropriate medical care. In short, we have too many bean counters involved, and we need to get back to preserving the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship and the humanness of the practice of medicine.
Tell us about how you use social media to stay connected with your patients and community.
It’s really important to be where our patients are and where they want us to be. According to Pew Research Center, almost 75% of women over the age of 65 are on Facebook mobile daily. So as physicians, we need to use Facebook to reach patients with health information or wellness engagement. Twitter, Instagram and other platforms draw different demographics, but it’s important to use multiple channels to grab the attention of a crosssection of potential patients. In general, social media is a great way to communicate with patients about health risks, prevention, and where they can go to get help.
As a regular practice, digital wellness engagement is crucial to helping us connect with and inform patients before they get sick, so that we can focus our energy on prevention, rather than treatment.
How can other physicians leverage social media to benefit their practice?
First things first, review the institutional policies at your hospital, clinic, or school, and make sure that you’re compliant with those regulations. Then, answer two important questions: 1) what do I want to accomplish with social media, and 2) who is my target audience? Think seriously about those two questions and when you’ve got the answers, set-up multiple channels on multiple accounts. Do what I call “social listening,” or observing the posts and comments in your community, to get a sense of what people are talking about on a regular basis. Start following medical leaders and watch what they do on their channels. Let them mentor you digitally (even though you might never meet them), and see what tips and tricks you can learn from their social media practice. Start posting, start connecting, and start developing your own style–dip your feet into the social media waters and see what comes back.
As a physician, you’re uniquely committed to the charitable community. What is one of the most rewarding experiences you’ve had working with these organizations?
The most rewarding experience I had was with the charity Sea Mercy. I went on two medical missions with them to the Fiji islands, and both trips forever changed my worldview and my view on medical care here in the United States. During these missions, I sailed from one remote island to the next with a team of physicians to provide free medical care to those in need. The return to basics in terms of the doctor-patient relationship really opened my eyes to what we’re doing wrong in the United States and has committed me to seeking change. Getting to spend valuable, tailored time with patients in Fiji really highlighted how our system in the U.S. focuses too much on electronic records, coding and billing, and checking off boxes. Our system has prioritized seeing more patients in less time, but when I go and see these patients in their homes in Fiji, I’m reminded that medicine really is all about the genuine, non-digitized relationship between patient and doctor.
What inspired you to write your books, Losing Our Way in Healthcare, and Women and Cardiovascular Disease?
There were two very different inspirations behind these books. Women and Cardiovascular Disease was inspired by my daughter, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age five. I wanted to educate both women and healthcare providers about the fact that women are undertreated and underserved when it comes to heart disease. I wanted to ensure that my daughter, and all women, get the advocacy they deserve, and thought that this book would be a good place to start.
Losing Our Way in Healthcare was fueled by my displeasure for the way healthcare is practiced in the United States. I believe that we can no longer allow big companies to charge whatever they want or to decide who lives or dies based on coverages. Though the reform required to make those changes would seriously uproot our current system, I felt like I had to speak up about these issues.
Vital Signs
Favorite meal? I love Italian food, so probably chicken parmesan.
Next destination on your travel bucket-list? I’m fortunate enough to be speaking at the Asia-Pacific Heart Rhythm Society in Thailand in October. I’ll be presenting some research work as well as seeing the sights.
All-time favorite book? What about a poem? I love Walt Whitman’s “Crossing Brooklyn Ferry.” Anything by the transcendentalists.
How do you de-stress after a tough week? Exercise, I ride the Peloton bike.
What’s the one gadget you couldn’t live without? Easy, my iPhone.
If you weren’t a doctor, what would you be? I turned down an appointment to the Air Force Academy, so probably a fighter pilot.
Learn more about Dr. Kevin Campbell here and follow him on Twitter!
Know an innovative practice in NYC? We’d love to hear, introduce us here!
