In May, Montana became the first state to ban TikTok, making it illegal to download the application within the state, according to an May 18 report from NPR.
TikTok has drawn attention in the medical community over the last year, both positive and negative. While the application has created dangerous health trends, and physicians have been disciplined for live streaming procedures on the platform, it has also offered health systems a new way to connect with patients and grow their client base.
There is no doubt that TikTok has impacted healthcare over the last year. In 2022, 30 percent of users reported seeing health related videos on their feeds frequently. Physicians have raised concerns about some trends, including a new one telling users to drink or bathe in water laced with borax.
But some hashtag trends on the application can be helpful. In 2022, TikTok content creators used the app to share information on gut health conditions, treatment tips and personal experiences through the #Guttok movement. The trend created a growing consumer interest in gastroenterological health.
Additionally, several practices and physicians use TikTok as a way to connect with patients and even grow their practices.
Matthew Harb, MD, an orthopedic surgeon at the Centers for Advanced Orthopaedics in Washington, D.C., has over 360,000 followers on the social media app.
"[Surgeons] get to spend so little time in the office with our patients that social media is a tool to connect in a different manner that patients almost feel like you're speaking directly to them. You build patient rapport better, and I think you develop a deeper and more trustworthy connection with the patients as well," he told Becker's.
Without the ability to use TikTok, Dr. Harb would lose some of the grassroots marketing his practice relies on.
"What I've found is that social media accomplishes a bunch of different goals. The first one is it opens lines of patient communication, meaning you have a new way to interact with your patient population. You can target them directly because instead of paying for direct-to-consumer marketing and things of that nature, the algorithms that are built into social media engines basically have the patients who are on these platforms find your channel," he said.
He believes that all physicians should be using social media even more and that one day practices will be expected to have a social media presence.
Daniel Choi, MD, an orthopedic spine surgeon at Spine Medicine & Surgery of Long Island (N.Y.), also notes the importance of TikTok for physicians. Dr. Choi opened his own practice in the heart of the COVID-19 pandemic and used social media to amass a following. His TikTok account has over 33,500 followers.
"In the age of social media, you can see physician-related content directly on social media, and it's like you are meeting a practitioner before you go into the office," he told Becker's.
While TikTok does have its downfalls in healthcare, it can be a useful tool for physicians and practices — especially physicians at practices that lack a major marketing budget.