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Cited by 40Social Media in Health EducationHealth Literacy and Information AccessibilitySocial Media and Politics

Social media and Internet usage of orthopaedic surgeons

Open access
Duymuş, Tahir Mutlu, Karadeniz, Hilmi, Şükür, Erhan, Atiç, Ramazan, Zehir, Sinan, Azboy, İbrahim·2017·Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma
DOI 10.1016/j.jcot.2016.10.007PMC PMC5359517
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Abstract

Introduction The main objective of this study was to identify the prevalence of social media and Internet usage of orthopaedists and to determine its effects on patient-physician communication.Methods Data were collected by e-mail from 321 orthopaedists who filled out the questionnaire. The questionnaire consists of a total 25 items pertaining to personal information, which social media tool they use, their overall views of and expectations from social media, the effects of social media on patient-physician relationship and communication.Results The rates of keeping in contact with patients and "often" helping patients to manage their treatments over social media increased with age (p < 0.05). It was found that the rate of helping patients to manage their treatments over social media was significantly higher in academicians compared to that in specialist physicians (p = 0.040). The rates of having a personal website and being a member of online physician platform and social-networking sites were higher in participants working in the private sector than participants working in the public sector (p = 0.001). It was found that the rate of finding it useful to be in contact with patients over social media was higher in physicians working in the private sector compared to that in those working in the public sector (p < 0.01).Conclusion Social media tools and Internet are commonly used by orthopaedists to communicate with their patients. Even though there are beneficial effects in patient-physician relationship, effective standards and regulations should be developed to enable a safe communication and to resolve ethical and legal uncertainties.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

In a cross-sectional email survey of Turkish orthopaedists, social media was commonly used, with Facebook the most popular account (73.2%) but WhatsApp (62.9%) and email (57.5%) the most used to communicate with patients. Use patterns varied by age, academic degree, and public/private sector, and many respondents reported legal/ethical concerns.

Key findings

  • Of 321 respondents, 98.8% were male, 73.2% were aged 25–45 years, and 235 (73.2%) had Facebook accounts; 246 (76.6%) were specialists and 75 (23.4%) were academicians.
  • For patient–physician communication, WhatsApp was most used (62.9%), followed by email (57.5%) and Facebook (23.3%). Private-sector physicians used email (69.3% vs 51.4%) and WhatsApp (72.3% vs 57.7%) more than public-sector physicians; academicians used email more than specialists (77.3% vs 50.8%).
  • Among Facebook account holders, 67.6% “sometimes” and 19.5% “often” received patient friend requests; only 5.8% “always” accepted them and 32.4% “never” accepted. Legal concerns were reported as “never” by 19.9%, “always” by 18.4%, and “often” by 61.57%.
  • Older age groups more often helped patients manage treatments over social media, and personal website use increased with age (p < 0.01); private-sector physicians and academicians were more likely to have personal websites.

Methods

  • Cross-sectional descriptive questionnaire emailed to 2597 orthopaedists registered on turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com; 321 agreed to participate (12.5%). The 30-question multiple-choice survey covered personal information, social media tools, views, expectations, and patient–physician interaction; it was developed from literature and tested on 10 orthopaedists.
  • Power analysis used G*Power with 90% confidence and 5% margin of error, yielding a minimum sample size of 244. Analysis used NCSS 2007 with descriptive statistics and Pearson chi-square, Fisher Freeman Halton, and Yates’ continuity correction tests; p < 0.01 and 0.05 were considered significant.

Limitations

  • Stated: participants’ ethical concerns were examined, but they were not asked whether they had experienced a legal problem before. Stated: conducting the study only with e-mail users, and possible nonresponse by those uninterested in social media, may be a limitation or bias.
  • Evident: the response rate was 12.5% (321/2597), and the sample was 98.8% male and limited to Turkish orthopaedists, limiting generalizability.
  • Evident: institution counts differ between the text (148 public/173 private) and Table 4 (public n = 220/private n = 101).

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.jcot.2016.10.007

Cites

24 of 24 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 13 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingnone given

    Turkish orthopaedists commonly use social media to communicate with patients.

    “Social media is commonly used by orthopaedists to communicate with their patients in Turkey.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.
  • Findingown data

    Workplace institution was not associated with statistically significant differences in holding social media accounts such as Facebook or Twitter (p>0.05).

    “There was no statistically significant difference in physicians' having social media accounts such as Facebook and Twitter according to the institution where they worked (p > 0.05)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.
  • Findingown data

    E-mail use for patient communication was significantly more common among academicians than among specialists.

    “In addition, the rate of using e-mail to communicate with patients was significantly higher in academicians compared to that in specialist physicians.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.
  • Findingown data

    The rate of 'often' helping patients manage their treatment through social media was significantly higher in academicians (p=0.040).

    “The rate of ''often'' helping patients to manage their treatment through social media was significantly higher in academicians (p = 0.040; p < 0.05)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.
  • Findingown data

    Rates of Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, and Instagram use did not differ significantly across age groups.

    “No statistically significant difference was noted in the rates of using Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and Instagram according to age groups”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.
  • May combine two claims. 30
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 21
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Among physicians who received friend requests, 5.8% always accepted them and 32.4% never did.

    “Of the physicians receiving friend requests, 5.8% ''always'' and 32.4% ''never'' accepted them.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The rates of finding it 'often useful' and 'always useful' to keep in contact with patients through social media were high in physicians working in the private sector, whereas the rates of finding it 'sometimes useful' and 'never useful' were high in the public sector (p<0.01).

    “The rates of finding it ''often useful'' and ''always useful'' to keep in contact with patients through social media were high in physicians working in the private sector whereas the rates of finding it ''sometimes useful'' and ''never useful'' were high in physicians working in the public sector (p < 0.01).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    Of the 321 participants, 98.8% were male.

    “Of all participants, 98.8% were males”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The rate of answering 'never' to the question of contacting patients through social media to help manage treatments was higher in public-sector physicians, whereas the rate of answering 'often' was higher in private-sector physicians (p<0.01).

    “The rate of answering ''never'' to the question of ''do you get into contact with your patients through social media in order to help them manage their treatments'' was higher in physicians working in the public sector whereas the rate of answering ''often'' was higher in those working in the private sector (p < 0.01)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingown data

    73.2% of participants were aged between 25 and 45 years.

    “were aged between 25 and 45 years (73.2%)”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Participants used social media at a high rate but used traditional or personal websites at a significantly low rate.

    “In this study, the rate of social media usage among the participants was high whereas the rate of using traditional or personal websites was significantly low.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Of all physicians, 6.9% reported finding it 'always', 49.5% 'sometimes' and 20.4% 'never' useful for patients to reach them using social media.

    “and 6.9% reported finding it ''always'', 49.5% ''sometimes'' and 20.4% ''never'' useful.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Among participants aged 46-55 and 56+, 30.6% and 43.2% respectively answered 'never' to helping patients manage treatments over social media, and this never rate was higher among younger age groups.

    “To the question of ''Do you help your patients to manage their treatments over social media'', 15 (30.6%) and 16 (43.2%)answered ''never'' from the 46-55 (n = 49) years old-group and 56 (n = 37) years oldgroup, respectively, whereas, this rate was higher among younger age groups.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The most commonly used social media tool for patient-physician communication was WhatsApp (62.9%), followed by email (57.5%), while Facebook was used by 23.3%.

    “The most commonly used social media tool in patient-physician communication was WhatsApp (62.9%) and email (57.5%) whereas only 23.3% reported using Facebook.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    The rates of using a personal website and 'often' helping patients manage treatments through social media were significantly higher in advanced-age physicians, private-sector physicians, and academicians.

    “the rates of using personal website and ''often'' helping patients to manage their treatments through social media were significantly higher in advanced age-physicians based on age, in private-sector physicians based on the institution where the participant work and in academicians based on academic degree.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    86.1% of participants with a Facebook account reported receiving friend requests from patients, but only 5.8% reported they would 'always' accept friend requests from patients.

    “In this study, 86.1% of the participants who had a Facebook account reported receiving friend requests from their patients but only 5.8% of them reported that they would ''always'' accept friend requests from their patients.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    148 (46.1%) participants worked in public hospitals and 173 (53.9%) in private hospitals.

    “According to the institution where the participant works, 148 (46.1%) in the public hospital, 173 (53.9%) in the private hospital.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Legal concerns about patient communication via social media were reported as never by 19.9%, always by 18.4%, and often by 61.57% of all physicians.

    “Of all physicians, 19.9% ''never'', 18.4% ''always'' and 61.57% ''often'' had legal concerns about communication with patients through social media.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The sample included 246 specialists (76.6%) and 75 academicians (23.4%).

    “Of all participants, 246 (76.6%) were specialist and 75 (23.4%)were academicians (assistant professor and professor).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Of all physicians, 17.8% answered 'often' and 65% answered 'sometimes' to the question of whether patients reach them using social media tools.

    “Of all physicians, 17.8% answered ''often'' and 65% answered ''sometimes'' to the question of ''do your patients reach you using social media tools''”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    Young orthopaedists used social media more overall but used it less for patient-physician relationships than older orthopaedists.

    “The rate of social media usage among young adults was higher whereas the rate of using social media in patient-physician relationships was lower in young orthopaedists compared to that in advanced-aged orthopaedists.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    There was no statistically significant difference between age groups in sharing online information about a disease, sharing medical practices online, and recommending patients to follow them on social media (p>0.05).

    “No statistically significant difference was found in terms of sharing online information about a disease, sharing medical practices (surgeries and treatments) online and recommending patients to follow them on social media between the age groups (p > 0.05).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Of participants with Facebook accounts, 67.6% answered 'sometimes' and 19.5% answered 'often' to receiving friend requests from patients.

    “Of the participants with Facebook accounts, 67.6% answered ''sometimes'' and 19.5% answered ''often'' to the question of ''do you receive friend requests from your patients''.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    In this study, more older physicians considered it useful for patients to view their social media posts and allowed patients to view their profiles.

    “Similarly, the rates of physicians who found it ''useful'' for patients to view their social media posts and those who allowed patients to view their profiles increased with age in this study.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.
    • Rests on an assumption: The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.
    • Rests on an assumption: The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Social networking sites, unlike traditional websites, permit face-to-face communication online.

    “Unlike traditional websites, social media networking sites allow online face-to-face communication.20”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [20] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    A report by Brown et al. found that 67% of Australian physicians preferred e-mail for patient communication.

    “Brown et al. reported that 67% of physicians preferred e-mail to communicate with their patients in Australia.6”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [6] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Greater age and professional experience may increase self-confidence, leading to a stronger desire to share that experience.

    “The advanced age and increased professional experience raise self-confidence, which results in the development of the desire to share this experience with everyone.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Social media may spread unnecessary and inaccurate information, making reliable high-quality information hard to find and confusing patient-physician relationships.

    “It appears to be difficult to reach high-quality and reliable information due to the probability of the collection or spread of unnecessary and inaccurate information through social media, resulting in confusion in patient-physician relationship.21”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [21] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Restricting the study to e-mail users may have helped yield more significant findings.

    “conducting this study only with e-mail users might have contributed to producing more significant results.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Traditional websites can have similar issues, but social media lets anyone download information regardless of user or quality, so it spreads quickly online.

    “Similar problems may be encountered with traditional websites, however, social media tools allow people to download information, regardless of who the user and what the quality of the information is, resulting in its rapid dissemination online.22”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [22] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Smartphones allow quick access to social media and rapid sharing of unverified inaccurate content, probably creating legal risks.

    “Particularly smartphones enable rapid access to social media sites and rapid spread of an inaccurate content without verifying it before, which is likely to result in legal risks and jeopardy.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Traditional medicine culture emphasizes privacy, confidentiality, one-on-one interaction, and professional conduct, while social media culture emphasizes openness, informality, transparency, and connection.

    “There is a distinct difference between the culture of traditional medicine which values privacy, confidentiality, one-on-one interactions and professional conduct and that of social media which values openness, informality and transparency, connection.25”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [25] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    Participants received no financial or educational incentive.

    “Participants received no financial or educational incentive.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductnone given

    No identifying information was collected, and each questionnaire received a number.

    “Participants identity information was not included in the questionnaire and each questionnaire was numbered.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    The study did not ask participants whether they had experienced a legal problem, which the authors consider a limitation.

    “In this study, participants' ethical concerns were examined through the questionnaire but they were not asked whether they had experienced a legal problem before, which may constitute one of the limitations of this study”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Patients frequently send friend requests to physicians on social media, especially Facebook, but few physicians accept them.

    “even though patients often extend friend requests to their physicians through social media, particularly on Facebook, these requests are accepted only by few physicians.12”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [12] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Online content can be discovered and exploited despite privacy settings and used against a person in a privacy-violation lawsuit.

    “it has been reported that a content shared online could be found and exploited, no matter what your privacy setting was, and be used against you in a suit filed in a possible violation of privacy.23”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [23] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Social media lets physicians share knowledge and experience quickly and at no cost, and promotes health conferences and social activities rapidly and freely.

    “social media offers opportunities for sharing their experiences and knowledge with large masses rapidly without paying any charges and enables fast and free introduction of health-related conferences and social activities.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Patients will continue to want to use social media to ask physicians about their diseases or seek solutions.

    “patients will always have demands to communicate with their physicians to obtain information about or seek solutions to their diseases using social media tools.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Study design and conductnone given

    The questionnaire's final version underwent testing with 10 orthopaedists.

    “The final version of the questionnaire was tested on 10 orthopaedists.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    The study was conducted only with those who had an e-mail account, and those uninterested in social media may not have responded, which may be a limitation or bias.

    “The fact that this study was conducted only with those who had an e-mail account or that those who had no interest in social media might have not responded to the e-mail invitation, may be evaluated as a limitation or bias.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Kietzmann et al. argued that social media's long-term outcomes remain unclear and that variations in its functions and impacts need monitoring and understanding.

    “Kietzmann et al. suggested that long-term results of social media are yet to be fully explored, therefore, how social media activities vary in terms of function and impact should be monitored and understood”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [24] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductown data

    The study was completed with 321 participants, representing about 12.5% of the targeted population.

    “About 12.5% of the targeted population participated in the study and the study was completed with 321 participants.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    WhatsApp on smartphones can effectively transmit patient X-rays, clinical photographs, and problem descriptions.

    “It has been reported that the WhatsApp application of smartphones enables sending patient X-rays and clinical photographs or sharing problems effectively.19”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites [19] source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Using WhatsApp for patient communication may make the patient-physician relationship less formal.

    “which can bring patient-physician relationship to an informal level.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Prior studies indicate that physicians often use social media privately but seldom use it to communicate with patients.

    “Therefore, several studies have reported that physicians use social media frequently in their own private lives, however, they rarely use social media to communicate with their patients.6,15”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites [6] source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites [15] source

      Not checked in the free run.

41 of 41

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The 2597 orthopaedists registered to the turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com email group are representative of orthopaedic surgeons in Turkey.

    “Data of this cross-sectional descriptive study were collected by sending a questionnaire by e-mail to 2597 orthopaedists who were registered users of turkorthopod@yahoo.groups.com.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The 321 orthopaedists who agreed to participate are representative of the targeted population of 2597 orthopaedists.

    “A total of 321 orthopaedists agreed to fill in the questionnaire.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The questionnaire responses accurately reflect participants' actual social media and Internet usage and views.

    “The questionnaire consisted of a total of 30 questions pertaining to personal information (age, the institution where the participant works, time of experience, academic degree), the social media tools used by the participants, their views of social media, their expectations from social media, their goals, whether social media is necessary in patient-physician interaction, the prevalence of social”
3 of 3

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Public- and private-sector participant counts disagree

    Major

    The results report 148 public-hospital and 173 private-hospital participants, but Table 4 uses 220 public and 101 private participants. Both pairs total 321, so the institution groups cannot both be correct.

  • Treatment-contact comparison has two significance levels

    Minor

    The results report p < 0.01 for the public-private difference in helping patients manage treatment through social media, but Table 4 gives p = 0.019 for that comparison.

  • WhatsApp institution comparison has two p values

    Minor

    The results assign p = 0.003 to the higher private-sector rates of both email and WhatsApp use, whereas Table 4 reports p = 0.012 for WhatsApp. Both values indicate significance at 0.05, but the reported p values disagree.

  • Academic-degree comparison calls p < 0.05 nonsignificant

    Minor

    The academic-degree comparison is described as nonsignificant despite its reported p < 0.05, which meets the paper's stated significance threshold.

  • Age comparison calls p < 0.05 nonsignificant

    Minor

    The paper defines p values below 0.05 as statistically significant, but describes the age comparison as having no statistically significant difference while reporting p < 0.05.

5 of 5

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 2

  1. Dawson, 2010, Doctors join patients in going online for health information, New Media Age, 7
  2. Dolan, 2011, Rebuff patient Facebook friend overtures, British Medical Assn. advises, AMA MedNews

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Duymuş, T. M., Karadeniz, H., Şükür, E., Atiç, R., Zehir, S., & Azboy, İ.
Affiliations
  • Haydarpaşa Numune Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi (TR)
  • Sakarya Eğitim ve Araştırma Hastanesi (TR)
  • Dicle University (TR)
  • Hitit Üniversitesi (TR)
Corresponding author
  • Duymuş, Tahir Mutlu
  • Karadeniz, Hilmi
  • Şükür, Erhan
  • Atiç, Ramazan
  • Zehir, Sinan
  • Azboy, İbrahim
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2017-01
Volume
8
Issue
1
Pages
25-30
ISSN
0976-5662 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.jcot.2016.10.007
PMC
PMC5359517
OpenAlex
W2534576933
Semantic Scholar
a1345a20c7546339b0750a42390c099f6b115b28
Cited by
40
References
24
Citations by year
2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1
FWCI
5.28
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Journal of Clinical Orthopaedics and Trauma (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Hitit University Institutional Repository (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Health › Social Media in Health Education
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Health Literacy and Information Accessibility
  • Social Sciences › Communication › Social Media and Politics
Keywords
social media, internet use, orthopaedic surgeons, patient-physician communication, physician-patient relationship, social networking sites, physician websites, treatment management

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-09.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-10-09.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

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