Meet the influencers modernizing the diffusion of healthcare information
Health is a key component to overall happiness and fulfillment, but healthcare costs and gaps in medical knowledge present significant barriers. It doesn’t help that the US has the most expensive healthcare system in the world, with spending reaching $4.3 trillion in 2021. Alongside that, a 2019 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center found that only 48% of respondents knew what their medical doctors do.
How are patients circumventing these issues? For Gen Z and Millennial consumers, they turn to digital resources. Gen Z and millennials approach their healthcare vastly differently from previous generations, with many foregoing costly and lengthy hospital visits for telehealth services. Above all, they’re most likely to do extensive research about their health online, which is where disruptive health influencers come in.
Making healthcare information accessible for all
Influencers are bridging the information gap between healthcare providers and consumers by providing resources breaking down today’s modern healthcare innovations. The best part is, these influencers have extensive backgrounds and knowledge in the healthcare industry, giving them a level of credibility that consumers can trust. In fact, 33% of Gen Z trust TikTok more than their doctors about medical advice.
When it comes to sound, credible and current information about healthcare innovations, we’ve identified five standout influencers who utilize their wealth of knowledge to inform digital users about new trends in the space. Read on to see how these influencers would be a great fit for your company’s strategic comms strategy.
Top influencers to watch in healthcare
Focus Areas: digital health, molecular medicine, biotechnology
Atanas is a digital health influencer who regularly shares the latest innovations in health, medicine and biotechnology. He currently serves as the Principle Investigator of Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Digital Health and Patient Safety at Medical University of Vienna. Atanas extensive background in health and biotechnology gives him a high amount of fact-based credibility.
Influencer Creds
His content revolves around posting research articles relating to physical and mental health, ensuring that his audience has a constant stream of credible information that they can take into account as they look after their own health. These articles are available on all of his social channels, giving his audience ease of access via desktop or mobile. He also takes a cross-platform approach to his content where he shares screenshots of his colleagues’ LinkedIn articles and shares them on Instagram. Atanas cuts out all the fluff and provides information for his audience that is to the point, which makes him a top consideration for partnership with companies using a direct and fact-based approach to reaching consumers.
Focus Areas: AI, technology and healthcare, digital health, medical futuristic studies
Bertalan Meskó is an author and keynote speaker with a PhD in genomics. He is one of Linkedin's top voices in healthcare. His newsletter, The Medical Futurist℠, has 38,500 subscribers. He is a member of Mensa International and has been selected by the Huffington Post as one of the 30 biotech thinkers with the biggest global impact. Bertalan is focused on highlighting the disruptive technologies that are reshaping the healthcare landscape
Influencer Creds
Bertalan combines his clear communication style with his heavily-researched content to engage with his audience. While he does post long-form content, what really shines is his YouTube content, where he posts well-produced videos that never exceed 10 minutes. In these videos, he breaks down new trends and products that are making an impact on the healthcare industry, such as AI and wearables. Brands who work with him can leverage his YouTube channel to highlight trends in the healthcare space that are digestible to a wider audience or have him review a new product and explain its benefits.
Focus Areas: healthcare information technology, behavioral health, women's health
Christina Farr is a San Francisco-based health-tech investor; she's a principal at OMERS Ventures. Previously, she was a health-tech reporter and on-air contributor for CNBC, Fast Company and Reuters News. Raised in London, UK, she’s earned graduate degrees from University College London and Stanford University. She also has her own Substack newsletter called the Second Opinion, where she discusses many topics including digital healthcare trends, industry news and women’s health.
Influencer Creds
Christina’s background in journalism allows her to follow the ever-evolving landscape of modern health from a different perspective, which has given her an overarching view of news and trends within the digital healthcare landscape. Her background also enables her to conduct interviews with other leaders in the space, such as Sami Inkinen, the CEO and Founder of Virta Health.
Her content and tone of voice is approachable and conversational, with her Twitter account showcasing more of her personal thoughts and opinions. The personable element to her brand, as well as her passion for highlighting women’s health, are key to her connection with her audience. Brands who work with her can tap into an audience that trusts in and relates to her thoughts and opinions, especially women. Her audience, content focus and variety, make her a great choice to partner with for companies at the intersection of technology and women’s health.
Focus Areas: cardiology, genetics, genomics, digital medicine
Eric Topol is the Founder and Director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute and a practicing cardiologist. He’s a best selling writer, with his most recent book, Deep Medicine, focusing on AI's impact on modern day medicine. Eric has also published over 1,300 peer-reviewed articles and is one of the top 10 most cited researchers in the field of medicine. Elected to the National Academy of Medicine, his principal scientific focus is how genomic and digital data and AI can individualize medicine.
Influencer Creds
Eric’s medical background and knowledge of AI make him well-equipped to speak about new trends in the digital health space as well as health crises that are impacting the world, such as COVID. He also publishes his own research on his social profiles and Substack. Overall, he is incredibly knowledgeable about health and medicine, and how modern technology is becoming integrated into medicine, giving him a robust perspective on how healthcare will continue to evolve in the 21st century. He’s a great influencer to work with for brands looking to establish more trust with consumers as it pertains to technology in health, as he is able to provide credible reviews and insights via his own research and expertise.
Focus Areas: digital health, health technology, primary care
Kevin is a physician and host of The Podcast by KevinMD, where he shares the untold stories of people who intersect with the US healthcare system. He also has his own website, which is a platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students and patients can share their insights and tell their stories. Kevin has been on various media outlets speaking on topics like health policy and technological innovations that are changing healthcare today. His commentary regularly appears in CNN, New York Times and USA Today, where he is a member of its editorial Board of Contributors.
Influencer Creds
Kevin’s content focuses on highlighting individuals within the healthcare space, creating a closer-knit environment. While his YouTube channel features long-form videos, he also posts clips of those same videos on LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These videos work well because of how they tell true stories that doctors and patients go through, shedding a light on aspects of the healthcare system that most consumers wouldn’t know about. Given his background and content style, brands looking to work with Kevin should consider doing so with a focus on increasing executive visibility.
