A dermatologist with nearly 18 million TikTok followers Dr. Munib Shah We hear a lot from telemedicine startups looking to work with him on branded content. But he is wary.
“Six or seven remote dermatology companies contacted me last year,” he said.
he decided to turn them down. After finding out that a board-certified dermatologist was used, he worked with one of them two years before his. But then, after changing his model of business and allowing non-dermatologists to prescribe skin his treatments online, he decided to end his deal with them.
“We feel strongly that a board-certified dermatologist should be involved in the process,” says Dr. Shah.
Last year, Cortina, a remote dermatology platform, a 7-month-old startup founded by Harvard Medical School faculty, asked me to provide sponsored content. Impressed by his dedication to using board-certified dermatologists, he decided to join as an investor and board member. He currently serves as his advisor for the company’s medical content, advising the company on his content on social with a focus on TikTok.
“We want to work with … dermatology professionals. Dr. Shah’s supporters trust him because he is a board-certified professional. Work with the right individuals. And it’s important to share your message across all forms of media, from print to digital to TikTok,” said Dr. Reid McClellan, Founder and CEO of Cortina. Dr. McClellan is currently an adjunct professor at Harvard Medical School and a surgeon treating birth defects at Boston Children’s Hospital.
Multiple telemedicine platforms such as Apostrophe and Nurxpitched its services to powerful skin influencers on TikTok. Dr. McClellan said working with a board-certified dermatologist was important for initial content partnerships, but the company plans to do sponsored content with other types of TikTok influencers in the future. is also positive.
Many consumers turn to dermatologists on TikTok because of barriers to seeing a traditional dermatologist, including high costs and long wait times. According to Shah, followers frequently send him his DMs with pictures of skin conditions and seek medical advice.
These barriers to in-person care continue to fuel interest in telemedicine even after the pandemic reopens. A February 2022 McKinsey research We found that 40% of survey respondents said they would continue to use telemedicine after the pandemic, and 60% said it was more convenient than in-person consultations.
But doctors tend to be more wary of telemedicine than consumers. Her 55% of patients say they are “much more satisfied” with telemedicine than in-person consultations, but only his 32% of doctors believe it can improve the patient experience. McKinsey research.
Regarding the healthcare industry, “many doctors and many people in the industry are skeptical of change,” Dr. Shah said. “In any industry, when technological disruption happens, people who are part of that industry’s legacy version become skeptical.”
But he said he maintains high standards for the companies he works with.
“You have to be a good trustee of care. [Telemedicine] is business, but it is also healthcare. Dr. Shah pointed out that these two aspects must be “balanced” in order to keep the standard of care intact.
Cortina has a network of in-office dermatologists who refer people for conditions not appropriate to treat online, such as when a biopsy is required. The platform currently treats only five conditions: acne, rosacea, hyperpigmentation, hair loss in men, and hair loss in women. Dr. McClellan said there are “about 3,000” conditions that can be treated virtually, and the company plans to increase that number in the future.
Dr. Shah said the startup’s future social content will focus on education. He initially creates content for the platform on the difference between rosacea and acne.
McClellan has high hopes for remote dermatology, which aims to make treatment of smaller skin problems more efficient and ensure more in-person appointment times for those who need it. “Over the next five years, we will see extreme growth potential in the field of telemedicine, especially teledermatology, because it is a very image-based field of medicine,” he said. .
