Leading digital insights consultancy, Creation Healthcare, and largest online global physician community, G-Med, announce historic partnership enabling comparative analysis of online conversations of millions of HCPs worldwide

• To showcase the insights the new partnership will offer, the two organizations have published a comparative analysis of HCP conversations surrounding breast cancer on public and closed social media platforms - X (formerly Twitter), and G-Med.
• Treatment access, equity and emerging therapies are discussed on both, though subtle differences exist in the nature and focus of HCP conversations.
• HCPs on public platforms “see a space for raising awareness and engaging with a broader audience”, while G-Med “facilitates deeper, more technical discussions among professionals”

A new collaboration has been announced between leading social media insights consultancy Creation Healthcare and G-Med, the largest online global platform exclusively for physicians. The partnership has been launched to investigate the diverse ways in which healthcare professionals across the globe are using social media to interact with peers and the wider public.

The partnership between both organizations aims to ‘bridge the gap’ in understanding how healthcare professionals use contrasting types of social media platforms - public (X - formerly Twitter) and closed (G-Med). 

“Integrated studies of HCP conversations on both open and closed social media platforms enables us to listen to what HCPs really care about”, said Daniel Ghinn, CEO of Creation Healthcare. 

G-Med hosts over 1.5 million verified physicians from more than 160 countries and 100 specialties, who use the platform to talk real-world medicine, consider the challenges to healthcare provision across the world, and collaborate on the most challenging patient cases. 

The partnership affords an opportunity for all-new investigations into HCP conversations in a wide variety of health contexts, fusing two major sources of HCP insight in order to more effectively understand the perspectives, priorities and concerns of healthcare professionals on the frontlines of delivery across the globe.

Study findings: How HCPs discuss breast cancer care on public versus closed social media platforms

Their first collaborative research project identifies where key similarities and differences lie in the nature and methods of online HCP discussion relating to breast cancer. 

It explores in detail the distinct ways in which breast cancer treatments, challenges, and innovations are perceived, digested, and shared in G-Med’s exclusively medical environment, and on a public-facing media platform, X. 

Creation Healthcare analyzed 83,516 data points from X, while G-Med reviewed 5,929 data points from their platform, both over the last 12 months. 

Treatment access and its challenges: a divergence in focus

The collaborative research found that access to breast cancer treatments was a recurring theme in HCP discussions on both X and G-Med, though subtle differences existed in the nature and focus of these conversations.

Creation Healthcare found that within conversations around treatment access in breast cancer on public social media platforms, HCPs often focused on the importance of early diagnosis - with a particular emphasis on raising awareness of symptoms as a means of supporting early detection. Conversations on X also spotlighted access and barriers to treatment, and the need for greater access to clinical trial data. 

On closed platforms like G-Med, though, the study found that healthcare professionals more often delved into technical barriers to breast cancer treatment access, particularly in underserved regions where access to certain diagnostic tools and immunotherapy trials were challenging. HCPs also discussed broader healthcare system inefficiencies on the platform, particularly those that contribute to treatment delays and unequal access. 22 per cent of HCP conversation on G-Med focused on quality of life, 20 percent on treatment options, and 17 per cent on patient management, outcomes, and recurrence prevention. 

Health equity: an underlying, yet crucial, concern

The research also found that conversations around health equity arose among HCPs on both closed and public platforms, though emphasis again differed. 

On public platforms, equity was more narrowly discussed, with references appearing in just 1.25 per cent of all posts discussing breast cancer. There was nonetheless some reference to racial and ethnic disparities in breast cancer care, with HCPs expressing concern about the implications of these for access to screening and treatment. HCPs on X focused on the broader societal and economic factors that contribute to unequal health outcomes.

While the term “equity” was not always explicitly mentioned in HCP conversations on G-Med, the study found that concerns were most often woven into broader conversations around access and treatment efficacy.  An underlying theme in discussions centered on the challenges in providing personalized care in less well-funded or underserved healthcare settings, where the availability of advanced diagnostics and treatments remain limited. 12 per cent of conversation between HCPs, for example, explicitly touched on early detection challenges, while 10 per cent focused on genetic testing and risk assessment. 

Excitement and caution around emerging treatments

According to the research, the advent of new breast cancer treatments is met with considerable enthusiasm on both public and closed social media platforms. The balance between excitement and caution around these new treatments, such as trastuzumab deruxtecan-nxki (Enhertu) and immunotherapies, is nonetheless not entirely equal. 

On X, Creation Healthcare found that HCPs more often celebrate these breakthroughs, highlighting their potential to significantly improve breast cancer outcomes, and more widely share news of emerging treatments to their peers and the wider public. Enhertu proved the most mentioned treatment, with more than 1,000 HCP posts in the study period. 

On closed platforms, however, G-Med found that enthusiasm is tempered with caution in conversations, shifting towards a consideration of the practical challenges in implementing these therapies. In the study period, for example, 25 per cent of HCP posts on G-Med expressed concern about the side effects associated with aggressive treatment regimens, as well as the accessibility of the newest treatments for those in underserved regions. 

The data from G-Med also highlighted a significant interest in personalized medicine among HCPs, including the use of PARP inhibitors for BRCA-mutated cancers and the advantages they offer in specific subtypes like triple-negative breast cancer.

G-Med’s closed network sees HCPs to come together with peers to explore in more detail the challenges accompanying the provision and effective delivery of the newest treatments in breast cancer space.

Addressing Misinformation

Healthcare misinformation also proved a pertinent issue in HCP conversations on X, according to Creation Healthcare’s investigation. Though the overall volume of conversation is relatively low, it focuses often on correcting common misconceptions, such as the erroneous belief that young women are not at risk of breast cancer.

On closed platforms, G-Med found that discussion around misinformation was less pronounced, but still surfaced within broader conversations about patient education and the role of HCPs in countering false narratives. In its closed environment and tendency towards evidence-based dialogue, HCPs on G-Med place less emphasis on countering misinformation directly, instead ensuring that the conversation remains accurate and scientifically grounded.

Commenting on the collaboration, Daniel Ghinn, CEO of Creation Healthcare, said:

“The findings of the first research project of this new partnership have been eye-opening, and are testament to the value that increasing numbers of healthcare professionals are placing on social media platforms, both open and closed.

“Interesting to note are the different approaches HCPs take when it comes to both in the breast cancer space, though. On public platforms, our research suggests HCPs see a space for raising awareness and engaging with a broader audience, focusing often on early diagnosis and the importance of timely access to care, as well as sharing innovations associated with better patient outcomes.

“In contrast, closed platforms facilitate deeper, more technical discussions among professionals, where the nuances of health equity, treatment accessibility, and the balance between innovation and practicality are more thoroughly explored. G-Med’s fascinating insights also reveal discussions on specific treatment options for breast cancer are marked by a balance between enthusiasm and concerns about accessibility.

“Integrated studies of HCP conversations on both open and closed social media platforms enables us to listen to what HCPs really care about, and we are so grateful to have the privilege of working alongside G-Med - beginning with this project in such an important disease space. We look forward to keeping up to date with how healthcare professionals across the length and breadth of the planet are using social media to identify, digest and discuss evolving challenges across a variety of healthcare fields.”

Ilan Ben Ezri, CEO of G-Med, said:

"Our mission at G-Med is to empower physicians worldwide by providing a secure, collaborative space where over 1.5 million medical experts share quality insights and real-world expertise. In today’s fast-evolving healthcare landscape, the value of an engaged community like G-Med cannot be overstated—it's through these global connections that we support improved patient outcomes and advance medical knowledge together."