Social media in pathology and laboratory medicine: A systematic review

Allyson Flippo; Bhakti Dixit; Casey P Schukow; Sean M Hacking; Leo Song; Kimberly Fiock; Kathryn Golab; Snehal Sowane; David N Alter; Rodney E Rohde; Swikrity U Baskota; Aadil Ahmed; Nicole R Jackson; Anna B Owczarczyk; Kyle S Conway; Kamran M Mirza

doi:10.1016/j.acpath.2024.100151

Social media in pathology and laboratory medicine: A systematic review

Acad Pathol. 2024 Nov 4;11(4):100151. doi: 10.1016/j.acpath.2024.100151. eCollection 2024 Oct-Dec.

Authors

Allyson Flippo¹, Bhakti Dixit², Casey P Schukow³, Sean M Hacking^{4

5}, Leo Song⁶, Kimberly Fiock⁷, Kathryn Golab⁸, Snehal Sowane⁹, David N Alter¹⁰, Rodney E Rohde¹¹, Swikrity U Baskota¹², Aadil Ahmed^{13

14}, Nicole R Jackson¹⁵, Anna B Owczarczyk¹⁶, Kyle S Conway¹⁷, Kamran M Mirza¹⁷

Affiliations

¹ School of Public Health, UTHealth, Houston, TX, USA.
² Department of Pathology, University of Toledo Medical Center, Toledo, OH, USA.
³ Department of Pathology, Corewell Health's Beaumont Hospital, Royal Oak, MI, USA.
⁴ Laboratory Medicine Program, University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁵ Department of Pathology, NYU Grossman School of Medicine, New York, NY, USA.
⁶ School of Medicine, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland.
⁷ Department of Pathology, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, USA.
⁸ Wisconsin Diagnostic Laboratories, Milwaukee, WI, USA.
⁹ Department of Pathology, University of Illinois Hospitals and Clinics, Chicago, IL, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA.
¹¹ Medical Laboratory Science Program, Texas State University, San Marcos, TX, USA.
¹² Department of Pathology and Cell Biology, Columbia University, Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, USA.
¹³ Illinois Dermatology Institute, Park Ridge IL, USA.
¹⁴ Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, IL, USA.
¹⁵ Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA.
¹⁶ Robert J. Tomsich Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, OH, USA.
¹⁷ Department of Pathology, University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.

Abstract

The use of social media platforms in pathology and medical laboratory science has increased in recent years, revolutionizing the way professionals in these fields interact, disseminate information, and collaborate. To gain an understanding of the current landscape regarding social media use in pathology and medical laboratory science, a novel systematic review was conducted. A search of PubMed, Medline, Embase, and Scopus was performed to identify articles evaluating social media use within pathology and medical laboratory science. Articles published in English within the previous 10 years were searched on December 22, 2022. Inclusion criteria were articles containing information regarding social media utility in pathology or laboratory medicine and related articles that mentioned specific hashtags for pathology. The review process involved analyzing the social media platforms referenced, hashtags mentioned, and the presence of international authors as key endpoints of interest. 802 publications were identified; 54 studies met inclusion criteria. Subspecialties represented were considered, but none were found to be statistically significant. X/Twitter (n = 42) was the most discussed social media platform. The top hashtags discussed were #pathJC (5.1%), #dermpathJC (4.2%), #USCAP2016 (3.4%), and #PathBoards (3.4%). Analysis of these articles provides insights into current trends, including the social media platforms referenced, hashtags used, and involvement of international authors. This review will contribute to a deeper understanding of the role and impact of social media in these fields, highlighting opportunities and challenges for future research and practice in pathology and lab medicine.

Keywords: Digital pathology; Laboratory medicine; Medical education; Pathology; Social media.