A colleague recently told me about a patient who delayed cancer screening for months after reading online that mammograms “cause more cancer than they detect.” This isn’t an isolated incident. With 62 per cent of Canadians now encountering false health information, an eight percentage point increase from just a year ago, medical misinformation has become a routine challenge in clinical practice.
Yet, Canadian medical schools continue to graduate doctors without systematic training in social media literacy, leaving them unprepared to engage in the digital spaces where millions of Canadians seek health advice.
The scope of the problem is frightening: 35 per cent of Canadians have avoided effective treatments due to false information, up from 29 per cent last year. Meanwhile, with 6.5 million Canadians lacking a family doctor, 37 per cent turn to the internet for medical advice they cannot access through the health-care system. This creates a concerning cycle in which patients seek information online, where misinformation thrives, while physicians lack training to engage effectively in these spaces.
The disconnect between professional expectations and educational preparation is notable. While the Canadian Medical Protective Association published new social media guidance in January 2024 and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario refreshed its policy in November 2024, medical education hasn’t kept pace. Despite growing recognition of the importance of digital health communication, systematic social media training remains absent from most Canadian medical curricula.
Some medical schools are beginning to explore digital health communication, but comprehensive social media literacy training remains the exception rather than standard practice.
Despite this training gap, several Canadian physicians have demonstrated the potential of thoughtful social media engagement. Naheed Dosani uses social media to reach 86,000 followers with evidence-based information on health equity. Siobhan Deshauer’s YouTube channel, ViolinMD, has grown to 1.3 million subscribers, making hospital processes and medical science accessible. Joss Reimer, past president of the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), directly counters misinformation across multiple platforms.
This isn’t about forcing every physician onto social media; it’s about equipping those who choose to engage with the skills and support they need.
Their success shows what’s possible with proper support, but these physicians learned through trial and error, sometimes facing harassment and professional risk without institutional backing.
The barriers preventing broader physician engagement are systemic, not individual. Physicians cite regulatory concerns, time constraints, lack of remuneration and fear of online harassment as obstacles to social media participation. With 46 per cent of Canadian physicians experiencing burnout according to the 2025 CMA survey, expecting them to combat misinformation on their own time without training or compensation is neither realistic nor sustainable.
The solution requires structural change. Medical schools should integrate social media literacy into core curricula, teaching students not just professional conduct guidelines but how to communicate science effectively, recognize and counter misinformation and protect themselves from digital harassment. This training could cover platform-specific strategies, ethics of public health communication and practical skills for translating complex medical information for diverse audiences.
Professional organizations have provided frameworks; now accreditation bodies must ensure systematic implementation. This isn’t about forcing every physician onto social media; it’s about equipping those who choose to engage with the skills and support they need.
The CMA’s 2025 survey found that 43 per cent of Canadians are highly susceptible to health misinformation, with many experiencing mental distress and delaying treatment as a result. The Council of Canadian Academies’ 2023 research documented that vaccine hesitancy driven by misinformation cost at least $300 million in health-care expenses and led to approximately 2,800 preventable deaths during just nine months of the pandemic.
Medical education has adapted successfully before, integrating cultural competency, addressing systemic bias and incorporating virtual care during COVID-19. Social media literacy deserves similar priority. As digital platforms increasingly shape health behaviours and beliefs, preparing physicians to engage thoughtfully in these spaces is more important now than ever to medical practice.
The opportunity is clear: by integrating social media literacy into medical education, we can empower the next generation of physicians to meet patients where they are. This isn’t just about combating misinformation; it’s about ensuring physician voices contribute meaningfully to the health conversations already happening in digital spaces.
