Top 10 Medical Experts on Twitter

Advances in medicine, new studies and reports seem to happen at rapid pace, especially when social media is used to communicate the information to the public. Making sense of the latest findings, keeping track of which vegetable was recently discovered to be a cancer fighting super-food, which drug just received approval, or how frequently you should undergo common medical tests can be nearly impossible when you’re dealing with an information overload. Luckily there are plenty of health and medical experts who have embraced social media to share news, expert opinions, and scientific findings. Here are the top ten health and medical experts on Twitter – follow them to keep informed.

1. @foxnews: While Fox News holds the second highest MMI Score, their Twitter feed for specific health news, @foxnewshealth, features links to all the articles in the Health section of the Fox News website. Articles range from fighting everyday allergies and staying trim to cancer and reviews of health-related products and medicines.

Tweets: 153,498 | Followers: 1,702,588 | MMI Rank: 2 | Stars: 5

2. @bengoldacre: Dr. Ben Goldacre is an author, broadcaster, medical doctor and academic who debunks suspect scientific research that would otherwise be generally accepted as fact. He shares his findings on his blog Bad Science and on his Twitter page. He has written the Bad Science weekly column in the Guardian since 2003 and his book Bad Science has been published in 18 countries.

Tweets: 28,387 | Followers: 203,701 | MMI Rank: 225 | Stars: 5

3. @rilescat: Leveraging his years of experience in the healthcare industry, Shawn Riley is a contributor to the popular Health Technica.com blog. By day he is the Leader of Information Management Office at Mayo Clinic and was previously the CTO/Director of Information Technology at Austin Medical Center in the Mayo Clinic Health System.

Tweets: 18,712 | Followers: 33,522 | MMI Rank: 1,021 | Stars: 5

4. @kevinmd: Best known for his prolific contribution to health and medicine thought leadership on social media, Dr. Kevin Pho has appeared on the CBS Evening News, CNN.com and in USA Today and the New York Times. His blog KevinMD.com was voted Best Medical blog in Medgadget.com’s 2008 Medical Weblog awards.

Tweets: 18,400 | Followers: 55,599 | MMI Rank: 1,363 | Stars: 5

5. @NBCNewsHealth: In addition to covering general news, NBC also happens to be one of the most reliable sources for health news. Their Twitter feed shares the latest updates in medical and health news, including pharmaceutical news, health regulations and laws, technology and science, research and findings.

Tweets: 15,194 | Followers: 266,181 | MMI Rank: 1,735 | Stars: 5

6. @amednews: The American Medical Association’s American Medical News is a publication aimed at physicians across various geographical regions, practices and medical specialties. Their Twitter feed provides updates on medicine-related legislature, studies, statistics, fraud, and more.

Tweets: 25,921 | Followers: 24,547 | MMI Rank: 1,749 | Stars: 5

7. @DrVes: Ranked among the Top 6 Most Influential People in Chicago on Twitter by the Chicago Tribune, Dr. Ves Dimov is an Allergist/Immunologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine & Pediatrics at the University of Chicago. Dr. Dimov shares his medical insights on his Cases Blog and is a much-published author of scientific papers, book chapers and abstracts. He was also selected as one of the 2012 Chicago Super Doctors, an honor given to the top 5% of physicians in Chicago.

Tweets: 28,959 | Followers: 9,505 | MMI Rank: 1,805 | Stars: 5

8. @dailycamera: While it may sound like a photography site, The Daily Camera is actually a Boulder, Colorado based newspaper that provides up-to-date, informative health news. Its Health & Fitness section includes everything from healthy recipes and yoga tips to information on curing hormonal imbalances.

Tweets: 27,233 | Followers: 14,057 | MMI Rank: 1,881 | Stars: 5

9. @MargoJMilne: UK based blogger Margo Milne draws on her battle with multiple sclerosis to write multiple blogs. Her food blog, The Spoonie Recipe Blog, shares recipes ideal for people with long-term illnesses. Her second blog, Funky Mango’s Musings, is Milne’s space for sharing her thoughts on hospitals, living with a  long-term illness, and updates in medical research.

Tweets: 72,977 | Followers: 1,685 | MMI Rank: 2,102 | Stars: 5

10. @david_dobbs: Best-selling author David Dobbs has written for several publications including the Atlantic, the New York Times Magazine, National Geographic, and Wired. His focus is on understanding genetics and he is currently writing his fourth book The Orchid and the Dandelion, an exploration into the impact of genetics on temperament.

Tweets: 26,928 | Followers: 8,921 | MMI Rank: 2,768 | Stars: 5

* Number of tweets and followers are based on data collected on the date the article was written.

**MMI Rank: If you are a MyMediaInfo client with access to the social media module, you can recreate this list using the easy steps below. To learn more about the social media module, click here.

1. Click on the Social Media Module. On this page, under the ‘Twitter’ column, click on ‘Beats/Focus’. This will bring you a list of Top-level beats.

2. Here, type in the search term ‘medical’, and click on ‘GO’.

3. Select the “Health and Medical News” sub-level beat, and click “OK”.

4. You will now see a display of the number of results from this search. Click on “Get Results” to view the list.

5. To rearrange the list in a descending order of MMI rank, click on the column called “MMI Rank”. Remember, the smaller the MMI Rank number, the more influential the Twitter handle.