Your Doctor Is Instagram Famous. Do Likes Matter in the Exam Room?

How social media is changing relationships with health care providers

When Pamela Ramom awoke from eye surgery in April, she exclaimed, “Oh my god, I’m going to cry.” Ramom had undergone LASIK and was overcome with the result. “I can see everything,” the 24-year-old remembered saying to no one in particular.

Ramom’s surgeon was Dr. Dagny Zhu, an ophthalmologist based outside of Los Angeles who specializes in cornea, cataract, and LASIK surgery. Zhu overheard Ramom and found her comments moving. Zhu asked Ramom if they could take a photo together to commemorate the moment, adding that she wanted to post the image on Instagram. “I thought it was cute that she loves her job so much,” Ramom says.

Ramom agreed and smiled shyly as Zhu sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her patient. After the picture, Zhu asked for Ramom’s handle. That evening, Zhu posted the photo on Instagram to her 38,000 followers.

“As soon as that happened, I was like, ‘Oh, I really want to share this with others,’” Zhu says. “So I posted it the same day, toward the end of my clinic. I usually don’t do that. I think that’s the only post where I’m with a patient and sharing her experience.”

When Ramom was cleared to look at screens two days after the procedure, she picked up her phone and noticed she had dozens of new follower requests on her private Instagram account. While digging through her notifications, she saw Zhu’s post — where her handle was mentioned — and realized the doctor’s audience was far greater than she assumed. “I had no idea she had so many followers,” Ramom says. “A lot of people can see my post-surgery face.” She says she wasn’t upset by the post, just taken aback by its reach.

Many medical professionals like Zhu are leveraging Instagram as an educational tool and to promote their own practices. Just like Instagram users in industries like beauty, travel, or cooking, some doctors and…