# ₹30 Lakh Instagram Docs & banned Pakistan creams | Dakshin Health Summit 2025

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl1Chp0Z008

[00:08] I'm thrilled to moderate today's panel on social media's influence on skin and hair health.
[00:12] A topic that every dermatologist today is dealing with whether we like it or not.
[00:16] Social media has completely changed the way people think about skincare and hair care.
[00:23] One reel can convince them to start exfoliating every day and another reel can scare people into throwing away their sunscreens.
[00:29] And suddenly everybody is buying derma rollers and acids online.
[00:33] And as dermatologist of course we are seeing both sides of this revolution.
[00:37] Better awareness yes but also a lot of barrier damage and and big lot of confusion.
[00:42] Today through this discussion we'll explore how social media shapes skin and hair health, the good, the bad and everything in between.
[00:51] To open the discussion, I'd like to turn to Dr. Shivanjini.
[00:53] Ma'am, first ma'am, first question for you.
[00:58] In dermatology today, we are surrounded by product endorsements, paid collaborations, and a constant blood between education and advertisement.
[01:03] How do you think doctors can stay truly?
[01:08] Ethical and authentic while still using social media as a tool to educate and connect with people?
[01:17] First, I think if you have to be really 100% ethical, you cannot endorse anything on social media, any brand, any product, anything.
[01:27] But if you still think that, you know, there are some people who give this argument that, see, if we don't, then there are so many quacks out there who are endorsing some nonsense, so it's better we tell people what are the better ones to use in that case also.
[01:42] So in that case also, you draw the line, do your due diligence before endorsing something.
[01:50] But if it's me, I wouldn't endorse anything.
[01:57] I want to pitch in here.
[01:59] Yes.
[02:00] So the code of ethics 2002 for medical practitioners clearly says that no registered medical.
[02:10] Practitioner should endorse anything.
[02:13] Now what you think, what I think is immaterial; it is what law of the land says.
[02:17] And this argument we keep hearing a lot because, uh, yeah, we were instrumental in getting those social media etiquette guidelines approved by our IADL general body, and they were hated by many dermatologists.
[02:34] So here there are multiple problems, one of which is that disclosure of conflict of interest is not happening.
[02:40] We know for sure that many of them are actually paid promotions, paid collaborations; people are not telling that.
[02:47] Second thing, if Shivanji and I wanted to endorse a product, you know what we would do?
[02:53] We would go to court and we would get the law changed.
[02:57] But as long as law of the land says that, then you have to, as a good citizen, fall in line with it.
[03:07] Yeah.
[03:07] So I'm also sharing something very relevant here.
[03:10] These are.
[03:11] The social media eticate guidelines for IDville members prepared by IDville ethics committee in which Rajata ma'am has been very instrumental in formulating.
[03:23] And one important point highlighted here is that doctors are prohibited from advertising or endorsing any products in their professional capacity.
[03:31] But this is something which is becoming increasingly important, especially with how social media is evolving every day.
[03:40] Yeah.
[03:40] Can I say something?
[03:42] Yes.
[03:42] So this argument didn't come from a dermatologist.
[03:44] This came from a pediatrician.
[03:48] So yeah, I do call out pediatricians who are endorsing milk mixes, gummies, and they say I'm jealous of them.
[03:57] Yes ma'am.
[03:58] I mean, why do I need to be jealous of them of all things?
[04:04] So these are the kind of arguments that come forth, you know, so you try to justify yourself in some way or the other, right?
[04:11] You have to be right at the.
[04:13] End of the day and sleep with a clear conscience and that's how you do it.
[04:18] I don't, I mean I agree with Raja that we have to be very clear on this.
[04:23] Yes, ma'am.
[04:23] Thank you for sharing that with us.
[04:24] And uh here I put some screenshots and these screenshots are examples to show that medical councils are begin to take some action making it clear that even on social media doctors are accountable to professional ethics.
[04:42] Yes, speaking of courage and ethics, our next panelist has been at the front forefront of protecting both Dr. Rajata Damshetti ma'am who chased IADL's anti-quackery legal and ethics committee.
[04:55] Ma'am, you've seen quackery evolve over the years from unqualified people running clinics to what we now call digital quackery on social media.
[05:02] How do you see this new wave of unqualified skin experts online and what kind of risks do you think it poses to public skin health?
[05:15] This is a very important question; thank you for using this.
[05:17] So, social media has become a great facilitator of quackery because it has given people the reach.
[05:26] So, one major aspect is just online consultations.
[05:29] Today morning we were discussing, so online, how do you check what the credentials are?
[05:34] How do you know whether this clinic has an establishment license?
[05:38] Where are they going to even display it?
[05:41] And in India, we have telemedicine rules, and they're very, very clear.
[05:46] You can barely prescribe anything relevant in your first consultation.
[05:51] For a follow-up, there are certain things like anti-diabetic medicines and anti-hypertensives that you can continue.
[05:57] We could probably continue or as-is medicines and all those things, but you are not allowed to prescribe even a methotrexate or isotretinoin or any immunosuppressive or a biological or so many things we can't do.
[06:09] So, digital quackery, because of these online consults, is one thing.
[06:13] Second thing is because we put out so much.
[06:17] Content there we are facilitating the aping of these procedures.
[06:24] Now if I want to talk about awareness regarding a particular acne scar procedure, a particular laser procedure, then I could talk about the benefits.
[06:33] But if I am going to show someone how I inject Botox, where I put how many units and things like that, like a totally DIY kind of a thing, then it is creating a platform for people to ape.
[06:47] Now if Salman Khan jumps off something, either they, there's a disclaimer saying that you know this has to be done by trained professionals in certain safety, you know, safe environments.
[06:55] But then here, who's going to safeguard that?
[06:56] So I think this is one more important aspect of digital quackery that we are enabling these people.
[07:04] Law is clear.
[07:05] They are not acting on it.
[07:08] That's all.
[07:09] They're not implementing it.
[07:11] That's where we have to be really, you know, pushing for it.
[07:17] Thank you, ma'am.
[07:18] Thank you for such a.
[07:18] Valuable insight.
[07:21] Let me also show one of my patient experiences here.
[07:23] This is one of my patients who tried a DIY hack she found online.
[07:28] She used some soda lime to remove her DPNs and unfortunately it caused severe burns and scarring.
[07:33] So it's a painful reminder that what looks simple or harmless online can sometimes even cause permanent damage.
[07:44] And then I want to add one more point here.
[07:46] So there is something uh like recently in recent months there is one thing trending and that is made by a Hollywood celebs that is Accutane micro doing like using a low do isotenoine very low do micro do for years together and they are promoting it in like online platforms and like many good uh u like news channels and all these are also like not not news editorial channels like uh V and all they are also uh printing it in the uh and making it public so Like isotin we know like even.
[08:18] In very low dose it is a very risky drug.
[08:21] And if the celebrities are promoting that, like if a common person takes it and if she said in a reparative age group, so that might lead to a lot of uh like pregnancy complications, like uh uh birth irregularities and all.
[08:34] So the celebrities also should uh take the responsibility and uh should stop, should do research when endorsing a product and when speaking about a product, what is it, what is it and what are its complications, and then they have to come do it in a public platform.
[08:50] Excellent point about responsibility that all of us should take, including celebrities, when they speak on social media.
[08:56] The problem is in the US or in any in any other country, probably not the Indian subcontinent, you will not be able to buy isotenine without a prescription.
[09:08] But in India, you know that everything is available except schedule X drugs.
[09:13] So till the and that is not going to be relevant to our dermatology.
[09:19] Medications ever.
[09:21] Yeah, thank you for sharing your thoughts, doctors.
[09:24] So let me shift gears towards Dr. point to add like this DIY, like how they buy online chemical peels and they apply on the face and they come with the first degree and second degree burns also.
[09:35] So DIY is for the home, we can do it ourselves for at home something for the other thing, not for the skin care.
[09:42] It's not a chemistry lab, what we can do on the face, so that we have to understand.
[09:47] And this can be done through, as a dermatologist, we should create the awareness in the social media.
[09:54] Very important, sir, yes.
[09:57] My next question to Dr. Avin Pra, who has been one of the most active and fearless voices online.
[10:05] Dr. Ainach, we are seeing so many people blindly following skin care trends online, exfoliating acids, mixing actives, often without understanding their skin type or safety.
[10:14] How much damage do you think this kind of...
[10:19] Social media-driven experimentation is really causing, and how often are you seeing such cases in your day-to-day practice?
[10:26] So it's a, it's a, it's a good question actually.
[10:29] So I recently saw a patient where he has applied some onion peeling oil, some yellow peeling oil.
[10:36] She is told by an influencer who was told that he was born black and she has become white because of the peeling oil.
[10:47] I saw the ingredients; it has 50% glycolic acid as an OTC.
[10:50] So he has come with the same all burns.
[10:53] So I recorded the video with his consent and this thing.
[10:59] He just applied that, feeling that when he applies, if he applies that, he'll become very the...
[11:07] Insta, what she tells, I was like, this, it is not your mistake to be like this.
[11:10] You can change with the oil that contains high strength peels.
[11:15] So yeah, people leave the acids, the all the...
[11:21] Salisia.
[11:23] All these stuffs now people are using some mercury containing creams, gori, all these stuffs.
[11:28] It is sold in fancy shops, some local shops.
[11:35] So this mercury containing creams will cause all renal manifestations in the long term.
[11:41] So nobody has that control.
[11:45] The FDA has told that this gori, taisa, fisa all these are banned but still it's circulating in India and is manufactured from Pakistan.
[11:53] So we have to protect from Pakistan also.
[11:55] So these from these creams entering our Indian market and destroying our people's health.
[12:05] Yeah.
[12:05] Mercury is a poison in long term and it and it and it creates a vicious cycle also.
[12:11] If a if a pregnant woman applies that the fetus will be affected and all these.
[12:17] Yeah.
[12:17] This is a common scene we see in our clinics these days that they'll come with a bag full of products and then.
[12:22] They'll open our entire consultation table is full of their products these days, and finally, they are unable to see the results also, some of them.
[12:31] So it's not only uh just the barrier damage; it's their pocket also getting damaged.
[12:38] In India, uh, health care is not very accessible to most people, so especially women, obviously, they're concerned about their looks.
[12:47] So if they're getting something like easy, they can go; it's cheap and you buy, so they're going to go for it.
[12:55] So how do we bridge that gap is where we have to focus on.
[12:58] Yes.
[13:01] One side is educated people and all that.
[13:03] Okay.
[13:07] But this section of people are quite uh huge in number where they can't wait in cues, and anyway, government hospital mostly it won't be cosmetic related.
[13:14] Right.
[13:16] Yes, ma'am.
[13:17] Yes.
[13:17] Yeah.
[13:20] I mean, there's no time for that, and here they can't pay the fees.
[13:20] So.
[13:22] Where, where do, how do we address that gap?
[13:25] That is where we need to actually look into also.
[13:30] Yes ma'am.
[13:30] Rajita ma'am, I'd like to hear your take on this too.
[13:32] Uh, excellent points because, uh, you know, we are focusing only on our urban setup.
[13:38] Our, like, know, we are exposed to a very small portion of privileged people, but real India is not this.
[13:46] So I had a girl who was my son's nanny who came to visit us, and then she had, uh, a lot of acne.
[13:55] She was in her late 30s, and then I realized that she was, uh, using something called No Scar cream because she saw on some YouTube.
[14:06] Now this vernacular social media is very powerful because these are, she's not educated.
[14:11] She's not even literate, but I don't know how they manage to find these things.
[14:16] Is it a voice search?
[14:18] What kind of, uh, hashtags make these things come up?
[14:21] But she found.
[14:23] That, and she'd been using it for years.
[14:26] So these, you know, this vernacular media...
[14:28] I think social media is the problem, but I think social media is also the solution.
[14:33] So one, especially non-English social media, I think is going to be the route to get to these people who cannot afford consultations, who don't have access to good quality health and skin advice.
[14:48] I want to add one more point here.
[14:50] So these people, like uh as ma'ams has spoken, uh they don't have accessibility to a real dermatologist, but they have access to their phone and social media and 2 million skin doctors in Instagram.
[15:05] According to NMC, there are only 18,000 dermatologists, but according to Instagram, there are 2 million dermatologists in India.
[15:13] So they are very easy to access in Instagram.
[15:16] So whatever they speak, they believe.
[15:19] It's it's their innocence also because they are not much educated, uh they might be deceived easily by the looks of the.
[15:26] Influencer by the looks of the uh product before and after pictures they are posting.
[15:29] So that is also one major point which is uh making the the making this adding to this uh uh social media uh whatever is going on.
[15:41] So let me put up some stats here.
[15:43] Uh there's a question study that is mentioned here in conducted in Saudi Arabia found that 51% of the of the study population became familiar with skincare products through social media.
[15:56] And in an interesting 2025 study of female college students done in Tamil Nadu over 92% said that social media influenced their skincare product choices.
[16:05] And about 87.5% even experience side effects from the in those influenced skincare.
[16:13] And according to American Society of Dermatological Surgery 2021 consumer survey, social media ranked among the top three factors when consumers are choosing their skincare products.
[16:27] And also whether to have a cosmetic treatment.
[16:30] Yes ma'am.
[16:30] Yes.
[16:33] And let's look at it from a legal and regulatory perspective.
[16:34] While IADF, IADL and other associations are working hard against quackery, the digital space still feels like a gray zone.
[16:45] There are no clear regulations on who can call themselves a skin expert online.
[16:50] Dr. Vijay, sir, as a legal and antiquaryy committee member, what kind of legal or policy framework do you think we need to bridge this gap?
[17:01] So the policy framework and the legal uh implications and all the guidelines are already actually framed and already uh in NMC.
[17:09] And we like if if we remember when we finished MBBS and when we are attending ethics class I don't think any no one will remember I guess because we'll be sleeping in the backbench uh just we after finishing the internship medical council members will come and take a class ethics class that is for 1.
[17:28] Hour they will take 80 slides.
[17:31] This also I came to know after I became a medical council member I came to know.
[17:36] Yes ma'am.
[17:36] So that is what like every every college member every college there will be ethics class.
[17:40] After that ethics certificate if you show the ethics certificate and your provisional certificate then only we will medical council will register the final certificate.
[17:48] So maybe like whoever not attended they might have the the college principles have given like as the on their own wish.
[17:55] So like the guidelines are already framed and uh the only thing is uh we are not aware many are not aware.
[18:03] Uh so like social media guidelines and all they are they are all uh like the advertisement the whatever we are speaking about advertisements and endorsements and posting before after pictures and making reals and like buying likes and followers.
[18:17] So all these are uh have are ethical mal practices and uh we don't know like um in future we might take action on these kind of things also because who who who thought that like.
[18:30] There will be we will suspend six doctors for associating with um uh quax.
[18:36] For associating with quax we have suspended four doctors.
[18:38] And for a do we suspended a MBS doctor for uh um claiming himself as a hair transplant surgeon.
[18:45] And also one more doctor we have suspended uh for claiming himself as a neurologist.
[18:50] So we don't know like if we receive complaints we might act on them also.
[18:55] So one thing I want to add here see.
[19:08] Why don't we uh start advertising that dermatologist or proper skin specialist in this contest?
[19:16] I want to ask this question.
[19:17] What is stopping us to do from uh appointing influences?
[19:21] Because.
[19:32] I just want to ask Raja.
[19:35] Madam, we have our own ethical influencer here.
[19:39] And she'll work for free also.
[19:43] No, but but no, we have such a mic.
[19:51] Let let us approach we can approach them and we can start educating them regarding this all guidelines.
[20:14] One important thing I wanted to say, China has already declared that if you want to speak about a particular subject on social media, you need to have a qualification.
[20:23] You need to actually have expertise and training in that.
[20:28] And one of the things we are hoping to do is to again go, you know, I have this.
[20:33] obsession with going to court. So yeah,
[20:35] I think that is where we need to go.
[20:37] Uh I think now it is the time for
[20:39] doctors to be the influencers. We have
[20:42] the term dog influencers also. So
[20:45] because now we are the person having the
[20:48] uh like proper amount of knowledge, it
[20:50] is time for us to reach out uh to the
[20:53] people ourselves. I think rather than
[20:55] again depending upon uh people not from
[20:58] our field. So I think that change should
[21:01] be started from now. And the problem
[21:03] with the dermatologist or any other
[21:05] doctor is like we don't take time for
[21:07] these videos actually. So with a busy
[21:09] schedule in our lives so at least once
[21:12] in a week at least for take some one
[21:14] hour time to make some short videos
[21:16] regarding this myth bursting videos all
[21:18] these kind of which creates awareness in
[21:20] the community.
[21:22] Yeah I agree with you sir and Dr.
[21:24] Karishni because even now the lot of
[21:26] skincare content is still coming from
[21:28] non- dermatologist. Skin care content
[21:30] coming from non- dermatologist. There
[21:32] are many dermatologists who have social
[21:34] media presence but there are a lot of
[21:36] non skin care content from non-
[21:39] dermatologists as well. So I really hope
[21:41] the number of dermatologists doing
[21:44] educational and short informative videos
[21:46] goes up
[21:49] there.
[21:51] There's a huge lacuna there. So medical
[21:54] professionals, ethical, qualified ones,
[21:57] please come forward
[21:59] and uh yeah be there on social media. We
[22:03] don't have to look great and all. Just
[22:05] be comfortable in your skin. I think I
[22:08] proved that point more than anybody.
[22:11] And I used to get some agist remarks,
[22:14] racist remarks. Who cares, man? Huh? You
[22:17] want to You are there to educate.
[22:20] Educate. Forget it. That's all. over.
[22:24] Uh so a few years back during co I
[22:28] started my YouTube channel uh to create
[22:30] awareness. Uh recently when I shared a
[22:34] video uh regarding dermatology awareness
[22:37] that is uh Dr. Ajetta ma'am's video uh I
[22:41] received some really uh like I can't
[22:44] even say what comments I have received
[22:46] and what DMs I have received. uh that
[22:49] was on Instagram. Then I filed a police
[22:52] complaint with the cyber uh hyper
[22:55] Hyderabad cyber team but uh like even
[22:58] after pestering them so much no uh like
[23:02] uh no action was taken. So these things
[23:06] will hold us back. Uh even like uh when
[23:10] the law is not taking any action on
[23:13] these people to answer that also it
[23:16] actually makes you feel bad. your whole
[23:19] day you know goes off right I'm really
[23:21] scared to post anything later in the
[23:23] beginning it will be like that after
[23:24] that you'll become very thick skinned
[23:27] and after that what I did I took
[23:29] screenshots of all the fake accounts
[23:31] made a real and I said boss I know you
[23:35] this is a fake account don't bother to
[23:38] waste your time I'm not bothered so I've
[23:41] reached that level after a lot of you
[23:43] know initially feeling bad oh it it it
[23:47] just spoils That's your day. You have to
[23:50] become thick skinned.
[23:51] You know they are all like idiots there.
[23:53] No, you are much more qualified, smart,
[23:56] uh, ethical, genuine person.
[24:00] How can those idiots bother you?
[24:02] Also, we need unity among doctors and
[24:06] support from the medical council to
[24:08] address these issues.
[24:13] I'll take this forward from here. So I
[24:16] have a few
[24:17] one point about Dr. Lawya. Dr. Lawya is
[24:20] a true anti-quaker warrior. She is
[24:23] solely responsible for getting that
[24:25] facile clinic shut down from
[24:28] Yes. This actually I wanted to speak
[24:31] about this. So about the facile clinic
[24:34] we from medical council we didn't get
[24:36] get any like formal complaint. So I
[24:40] think ma'am has messaged to sinasar or
[24:42] someone and she has directly contacted
[24:44] to la madam dm madam
[24:46] I also put a letter to medical councils.
[24:49] Okay. You also that is for like a
[24:51] protocol maybe
[24:51] tried uh lodging a complaint in the
[24:53] police station but they refused to take
[24:55] my complaint.
[24:56] Okay. Okay.
[24:57] And uh uh they even forced the patient
[24:59] to take the complaint back.
[25:01] No. So when you go through directly to
[25:04] police station they they will not take.
[25:06] So you have to go from DM and HO or a
[25:08] medical council. So DMH DM and HHO
[25:11] actually have really really good powers
[25:13] than a medical council compared to like
[25:15] seizing a clinic. They can really seize
[25:17] the clinic. We can only lodge an FIR and
[25:20] take action on them than and that that
[25:21] FIR and to like really take an action
[25:24] like to convict him and uh put behind
[25:27] bars. It will take lot of times years of
[25:28] time. that if you go to DMHO directly
[25:30] like if they find really it's not
[25:32] registered they can shut down
[25:34] immediately just in instantly they can
[25:36] shut down. So that's what happened in a
[25:38] facial clinic also and
[25:39] sir the patient had complications uh it
[25:42] was done by uh un like MBBS or dentist
[25:47] and she had all like swelling of the
[25:49] whole face so it was a criminal offense
[25:52] patient faced an issue she came to the
[25:54] police station and complained still they
[25:56] were not like they don't want to take
[25:58] any action they
[26:01] is it is it documented
[26:02] yes it was
[26:03] then if it is documented you can go to
[26:05] court like the uh the patient can go to
[26:07] court and uh uh fight. But in in general
[26:11] like general population people won't uh
[26:14] take that much time and that that much
[26:16] stress also and risk also to fight for
[26:18] uh uh that thing. But anyway like if it
[26:21] is uh received by medical council
[26:23] definitely it will take uh its own
[26:25] course and they will uh uh file a fire
[26:28] and uh put the uh take action on the uh
[26:31] quack anyway. Okay.
[26:33] Thank you sir.
[26:37] And uh one more thing like so whoever is
[26:39] there like dermatologist or any doctors
[26:42] uh there's no need to come to medical
[26:44] council or like for every uh to give
[26:46] complaint on anyone nearby medical
[26:48] medical council is in Hyderabad like
[26:50] only one center for whole Telangana but
[26:52] DMH is is there in every district so
[26:55] like uh if you feel there is anything
[26:57] wrong in a clinic or any uh if the
[26:59] clinic is not registered or if the
[27:01] person is not qualified you can directly
[27:03] go and talk to the DMH there they also
[27:05] doctors and they will there are many
[27:07] like good DMHs also. Uh so and you can
[27:10] approach district collector also if you
[27:12] feel like the gravity is more and it's
[27:15] causing a lot of damage to public health
[27:16] you can directly go to collect district
[27:18] collector also because district
[27:19] collector he is the uh chairman of
[27:21] chairman of district registration
[27:22] authority so district regist uh
[27:24] authority has chairman as a district
[27:27] collector and the secretary and the next
[27:29] post are like DMH and IMA presidents. So
[27:33] you you can you need not rely on any one
[27:35] single person. You can directly go to
[27:37] like DM and HHO and then on you need not
[27:40] go directly to police station. You can
[27:41] go to DMHO and through the proper
[27:43] channel they will take action on them.
[27:45] And it's not it's the responsibility of
[27:47] every doctor not just I have seen like
[27:49] many people uh WhatsAppapping me and
[27:52] other medical person members about the
[27:53] clinic. So sir see this clinic see this
[27:55] clinic. instead of like you you uh give
[27:58] to a message to us but along with that
[28:01] you just go like take some effort and
[28:03] make some effort and go to your nearby
[28:04] DM and Ho and
[28:07] uh write a letter and uh represent give
[28:09] representation to them also so it will
[28:12] be better
[28:17] that's all I just wanted to say that
[28:21] yeah I have one uh video to show you all
[28:25] this video is a disturbing
[28:31] but important example of
[28:33] disturbing but important example of
[28:34] what's happening online in the name of
[28:35] treatment. Here you can see a female
[28:37] with a st around the neck asking a
[28:39] mother if a child soriasis has improved
[28:42] but the child clearly shows signs of
[28:44] Cushing syndrome with stray on the
[28:45] abdomen and definitely is being given
[28:48] steroids by this lady doctor. So what's
[28:51] even more concerning is how casually
[28:52] such content is shared online with a
[28:54] child being unrested on camera and this
[28:57] doctor clearly is looking ignorant of
[28:59] long-term uh long-term damage the
[29:01] steroid can cause to that child. So this
[29:04] is being promoted widely on her channel
[29:07] her videos are being promoted widely on
[29:09] Instagram and
[29:11] Sure ma'am.
[29:14] So this is the current state of social
[29:16] media's influence on
[29:19] kids, adolescents and all age groups.
[29:31] And another issue we all facing now is
[29:34] fear-mongering. Social media has made
[29:36] people afraid of the basic skin care
[29:39] like minoxidil, sunscreens and even
[29:40] moisturizers. Dr. Sange sir, what role
[29:43] do we as dermatologist play in
[29:46] countering this fear and rebuilding
[29:48] trust when patients come influenced by
[29:51] such misinformation?
[29:53] So it's the most most common uh
[29:55] difficult challenge what we see every
[29:57] day in our clinic like every one day at
[29:59] least one patient we comes with uh some
[30:01] misinformation and they come to the
[30:03] clinic and they ask all the details like
[30:05] whether sunscreens are safe or not that
[30:07] does it causes cancer or not does
[30:09] minoxidil causes more hair fall once we
[30:11] started. So first of all we should
[30:13] acknowledge that the fear and we should
[30:16] not dismiss it like we should clearly uh
[30:18] inform them that these things uh as we
[30:22] all studied in our MBBS and
[30:24] post-graduation so we have the SC
[30:26] evidence-based medicine we have to
[30:28] clearly explain calmly to them and uh
[30:31] once they get we clearly explain them we
[30:33] get the they get the confidence and also
[30:35] the other thing is like uh if we are
[30:37] very honest to the patients about the
[30:39] side effects of the products what uh if
[30:42] they are showing it and automatically
[30:44] they build the confidence and they don't
[30:46] rely on the influencers also
[30:49] that's a great perspective sir and I
[30:52] think you answered this question already
[30:54] so
[30:54] one more thing is if a small
[30:56] misinformation takes million views why
[30:58] don't why can't a good information can
[31:00] take so we should come out of our space
[31:03] and we should take some time at least
[31:05] make one video per week and also all the
[31:08] dermatology if the same der if the same
[31:10] content is made by all the dermat
[31:12] ologist then definitely the influence
[31:14] cannot come back with us like
[31:18] thank you sir.
[31:22] The other thing is there are some
[31:24] dermatologist who is more uh they have
[31:26] more online presence initially once they
[31:28] get the views and they start
[31:30] collaborating with the companies
[31:33] and that's a major problem and all and
[31:35] all these dermatologists are projecting
[31:36] the products online they even just
[31:40] telling the disease name and they're uh
[31:42] prescribing the ointment names also on
[31:44] the social platform.
[31:45] Yes sir.
[31:46] I just want to talk a madam on this. So
[31:49] uh what we did this year in IADL in our
[31:51] antiquacy legal and ethics committee is
[31:54] uh there were a few people who were
[31:59] influencing young dermatologist to take
[32:02] this path because when I was a newly
[32:06] minted MD then I wanted to become like
[32:09] Dr. Maya Dr. Malvika out learn go give
[32:13] talks now people don't want to become
[32:15] like us people the young people I mean
[32:18] at least some of them they want to get
[32:20] followers they want to get likes and
[32:22] they want to get endorsements because we
[32:24] know we have authentic information that
[32:26] they are dermatologists who make at
[32:27] least 10 to 30 lakhs a month just doing
[32:31] paid collaborations. Now this is a b
[32:34] bubble that is going to burst because if
[32:36] a dermatologist is getting this kind of
[32:38] money then they're going to become too
[32:40] expensive for the uh for all these uh
[32:43] whoever is paying them all these pharma
[32:45] people and the cosmetic companies and
[32:47] there is going to be another person who
[32:50] is probably younger better looking may
[32:53] be willing to push the boundaries. Now
[32:55] these are finally doctors so they have
[32:57] some boundaries are colleagues. So
[33:00] whereas there you know there is a lot of
[33:02] there is a paper on sexualization of
[33:04] doctors on Instagram for likes. So where
[33:07] are where is this going? So I mean where
[33:10] does one end this? So in fact there was
[33:13] a
[33:14] dermatologist who was talking about
[33:16] shampoos and the thumbnail was was
[33:20] shocking. I mean I wouldn't dare put it
[33:22] in this kind of a thing. I don't want I
[33:24] I don't want to be seen in the same
[33:26] frame as it. So this is so there will be
[33:29] people who are wishing to push the
[33:30] boundaries. So dermatologists cannot win
[33:33] in this game. We are too few and we have
[33:36] some ethics and there will be few
[33:38] dermatologists who are willing to lose
[33:40] their licenses and become total
[33:42] influencers. Those are a minority. But
[33:45] if we all don't take a collective stand
[33:48] against this unethical behavior, we're
[33:50] going to be in trouble. So I'll tell you
[33:52] what we did in IDL committee this year.
[33:54] We had sent shoka's notices, few
[33:58] replied, few didn't and we have
[34:00] escalated them to the respective medical
[34:03] councils especially the ones who the
[34:05] mainly the ones who did not give proper
[34:07] replies. So we have a case going on in
[34:09] Karnataka Medical Council. We also
[34:12] recently received a notice from Delhi
[34:15] Medical Council asking us to resubmit
[34:17] the proper evidence. So this is being
[34:20] already taken up. This we have not done
[34:22] in Telangana because I'm very proud to
[34:25] say that we don't have such people in I
[34:27] mean at least we have not noticed we
[34:29] don't have such dermatologists in
[34:30] Telangana.
[34:32] Sad part is now uh I'm I also belong to
[34:35] this younger generation only. So uh so
[34:38] like visibility is equal to credibility
[34:40] that is the thing like there is that
[34:42] misconception has come in doctors and
[34:44] also in public also. If a person is more
[34:47] visible and talking more about a disease
[34:48] or any treatment, they think that they
[34:50] are more qualified and they treat very
[34:52] better than other person who is not
[34:54] doing all this. uh previously when there
[34:56] is no social media these people all like
[34:58] all senior sitting on they're all famous
[34:59] like they're all uh credible because of
[35:02] their knowledge and uh how they treat
[35:04] that thing that misconception uh the
[35:06] misconception was not there uh in the in
[35:09] your era but in our era there's this
[35:11] kind of misconception which should be
[35:13] like uh somehow it should go from the
[35:16] minds of public also
[35:17] uh I want Dr. Rabbin Praindu Mitchin
[35:20] here. He is the Kanyakumari
[35:22] dermatologist. The Kanyakumari
[35:24] dermatologist for those of you who have
[35:25] not uh who don't know him. Uh so uh
[35:29] Ainas we've been facing a lot of issues
[35:31] about how people think only scheduleish
[35:33] drug should not be promoted but you want
[35:34] to talk a little bit about that.
[35:36] Yeah actually ma'am now for each company
[35:40] if a dermatologist does some promotion
[35:42] it is extra mileage for them. So even in
[35:44] my email I get inboxes full of I do all
[35:48] these I expose these quacks everything
[35:51] for me itself they are sending me emails
[35:53] can you do this promotion some silage
[35:56] some some wave protein see my body I can
[35:59] I do some wave protein for bodybuilding
[36:02] they they want more more mileage more
[36:05] visibility so that something so for fan
[36:08] and all I got request to do some
[36:11] endorsements fan
[36:13] fan. So basically doctors cannot endorse
[36:16] products
[36:18] medicines. What about fan dress? These
[36:22] are all things people are doing. I saw
[36:23] orthopetician who endorsing some
[36:25] underwear. So this is also happening. So
[36:28] we need some so we need some uh NMC has
[36:33] to I really feel NMC has to the 2002 is
[36:38] well gone again. Now they have to update
[36:42] certain regulations also if they want to
[36:45] this thing because they are telling
[36:46] doctors to not endorse products. But
[36:49] finally what is happening is doctors are
[36:51] endorsing products are becoming the
[36:53] super celebrities in Instagram. People
[36:56] who are doing awareness the the reals
[36:59] are not getting that much reach. These
[37:01] people tell same thing only salis
[37:04] in different different format we know.
[37:06] So today I saw one real one one doctor
[37:10] is telling that doing endorsements is
[37:13] illegal. So seeing that another 100
[37:16] doctors will do. NMC has to pitch in.
[37:19] NMC has to make things better because
[37:21] 2002 regulations has to be uh updated
[37:25] now to this era because 2002 regulations
[37:28] we doctors cannot be in social media
[37:30] itself. Actually if I talk this these
[37:32] people give me counter you are in social
[37:35] media you are indirectly and uh uh you
[37:37] are in this thing you are getting
[37:39] patients from social media so Google
[37:41] reviews is social media it's a mother of
[37:43] social media every patient is giving
[37:45] review if they don't like that this
[37:47] thing face of the staff they'll put I
[37:49] mean patients are seeing all the Google
[37:51] reviews and coming but NMC is telling
[37:54] you should not endorse or bring patients
[37:56] through social media but social media is
[37:58] becoming the new thing in uh this thing.
[38:01] So NMC also has to update the
[38:03] regulations.
[38:04] I want to share my experience with this
[38:06] NMC thing. I've written multiple times
[38:09] to them about gridzo
[38:11] and pediatricians endorsing these
[38:13] products. Okay. So those pediatricians
[38:17] blocked me. All those things happened.
[38:19] Okay.
[38:20] Blocked them many time.
[38:21] Blocked blocked blocked. And apparently
[38:24] I'm jealous also that that's the common
[38:27] uh thing they play you know. So I wrote
[38:30] to NMC I sent proofs about these in
[38:34] addition to my OS thing even to the when
[38:37] I wrote I had written to the central
[38:38] health ministry I've included these kind
[38:41] of things and finally you know few days
[38:44] back who reached out to me for
[38:46] endorsement
[38:48] gridzo
[38:50] can you I mean I was laughing I didn't
[38:52] even accept the message you get that
[38:54] accept option but it it was ridiculous
[38:57] like
[38:59] I They don't do their research. I think
[39:01] these people who are reaching out are
[39:02] just reaching out to whoever is popular
[39:04] on social media.
[39:05] They give money to the some influencer
[39:07] and these people are now reaching out to
[39:08] multiple doctors. They are now not
[39:12] telling the brand itself. After you
[39:14] accept only the terms and conditions
[39:15] they tell a team so we don't know what
[39:17] we are going to endorse it is fan or
[39:19] light or this thing they it's a very
[39:21] popular brand. If you accept the terms,
[39:24] we will then go to next. Nowadays I am
[39:27] so scared they're calling me for so many
[39:29] forums and all right I'm asking surely
[39:32] there is no sponsor from any infant
[39:36] formula any gumies on milk mix then only
[39:40] I'll accept otherwise tomorrow no the
[39:42] radar is like on me now
[39:45] makes a small mistake ethical mistake I
[39:48] mean unknowingly also it will be blown
[39:51] out of proportion right now so I'm
[39:54] making sure like
[39:57] Shiva you have to run all your these
[39:59] collaborations with Ainach or one of our
[40:01] people because there are so many
[40:02] dermatologists who are doing all kinds
[40:04] of brand promotions on social media who
[40:06] want to you know ride the gravy train
[40:09] with her so they are all tagging her
[40:16] so once somebody is trending for any
[40:18] reason they all want to
[40:21] we collaborate
[40:22] but you have to collaborate only with
[40:23] ethical people and we will tell tell you
[40:25] who they are.
[40:29] Yeah. My next question is to Dr.
[40:31] Karishni. Dr. Karishni, since you are
[40:34] also from Jenzi yourself, I'd love to
[40:36] hear you your take on this. Social media
[40:40] creates this illusion of perfect skin,
[40:42] filter free, spot- free, poreless, which
[40:45] simply doesn't exist. So how do you
[40:46] think this flawless skin culture is
[40:48] affecting self-image and mental health
[40:50] of genzi who are growing up constantly
[40:53] comparing themselves to these filtered
[40:55] standards? Yes. So uh definitely uh
[40:59] there is a lot of mental health impact
[41:01] due to social media particular
[41:03] particularly to the Zen Z because we are
[41:06] always constantly having our social
[41:08] media presence invariably like uh out of
[41:11] peer pressure or it is like I think
[41:14] parents themselves are starting a social
[41:16] media account for just newborn children
[41:18] as well. So that is how uh inherent
[41:21] social media is now added to our
[41:23] culture. So um because of the presence
[41:25] of social media, we do have a lot of uh
[41:28] you know u unrealistic expectations of
[41:31] having a flawless skin or any new
[41:33] skinare routine that comes up like for
[41:35] Korean glass skin after watching the K
[41:37] dramas and all. So all these are
[41:39] present. So uh we can't escape that but
[41:43] what we can use that as myself I am a
[41:45] genzee doctor I can use the same social
[41:48] media actually to bring about more
[41:51] awareness. That's what I have
[41:52] discovered. So if I just keep on uh you
[41:56] know talking about this that these
[41:57] people are getting uh influenced and
[41:59] coming to me there is no solution at
[42:01] least something should start from our
[42:03] side as a qualified uh dermatologist as
[42:06] well. So uh if we bring about some
[42:08] awareness through the same uh channel
[42:11] there are people who even support us
[42:14] definitely see because uh the audience
[42:16] who are watching they just don't care
[42:18] about who is telling or anything they
[42:19] need some 2 minutes of entertainment or
[42:22] some knowledge on this. So if we could
[42:24] provide validated evidence definitely uh
[42:27] people are uh supporting us and
[42:28] appreciating us and I've gone through
[42:31] many studies showing that social media
[42:34] is increasing like there is a direct
[42:36] relation to the increase of anxiety and
[42:38] even body dysmorphic syndrome in the Gen
[42:41] Z and in the teens and adolescence. So
[42:44] there is a actually a term called
[42:46] Snapchat dysmorphia as well. So because
[42:49] of the usage of continuously usage of
[42:51] Snapchat the filters they want to change
[42:54] themselves and look like how they're
[42:56] looking on because of the filters. So
[42:58] that is one aspect of it but I would say
[43:01] that there's also another aspect which
[43:03] is showing that like uh which is
[43:05] promoting body positivity in Gen Z. So
[43:08] these people uh they want to you know
[43:10] focus more on skin care rather than you
[43:13] know uh just an immediate solution. So
[43:15] that is a positive change as well
[43:17] because of social media and Gen Z
[43:19] because these are I feel they are more
[43:21] uh better educated and uh um so they
[43:25] they don't want all these immediate
[43:26] solutions as well. So they would uh
[43:29] prefer a skincare routine and uh they
[43:32] have more awareness about sunscreens and
[43:34] all these even retinoids and all also.
[43:36] So I feel that is a positive change. Uh
[43:39] so it is both positive and negative
[43:41] influence.
[43:42] Understood. Very thoughtful Dr. Karishni
[43:45] my next question is uh to you Dr.
[43:47] Shivanji ma'am. So how much of a role
[43:50] did social media play in amplifying your
[43:52] fight against misleading OS companies
[43:54] both in raising awareness during the
[43:56] process and in in the aftermath of your
[43:58] will?
[43:59] So I was only writing letter letters to
[44:03] the authorities filing a PIL following
[44:06] up on that but amplification it's 90%
[44:10] social media 95%.
[44:12] That's awesome. like it it came like a
[44:15] wave like I think that day it had to
[44:18] happen
[44:19] and it just happened
[44:21] when I went on social media and when the
[44:23] doctor was arrested for the cough syrup
[44:26] thing it just like
[44:29] I said what nonsense is this how will I
[44:32] know if I'm prescribing a paracetamol
[44:34] how do I know there's a contaminant in
[44:36] it you people were sleeping till 20
[44:38] children died and now you're waking up
[44:41] so when will you wake up about the OS
[44:43] thing. This is how I blasted them.
[44:45] Yes ma'am. Yes.
[44:46] And then it just there was no stopping
[44:49] the social media wave after that.
[44:51] Wonderful.
[44:52] Yeah.
[44:52] And there are some of the social media
[44:53] news posts that followed Dr. Shiranji
[44:56] mam's case have posted here. So showing
[44:59] how widely it resonated beyond the
[45:01] medical community.
[45:05] We want the same wave uh to show like to
[45:09] same wave in aesthetics also dermatology
[45:12] also.
[45:14] Yes ma'am.
[45:14] We have to persist and it will happen.
[45:17] Persistence, perseverance is important.
[45:21] Even with Shiva's battle, it's like
[45:23] seeing the Olympic winner finish the
[45:25] race in you know 2 minutes and thinking
[45:28] that that is that is it that is the what
[45:31] you see what went behind was 8 years of
[45:34] struggle and she was alone. So one of
[45:36] the things that made me change from bar
[45:38] dermatologist to bar doctors is this
[45:40] that we you know we need you now but we
[45:43] going to be there for you as well for
[45:44] the pediatricians
[45:48] together we can do it better faster
[45:51] right
[45:51] yes
[45:53] Rajata ma'am you've been one of the
[45:54] boldest voices against quackery in our
[45:56] field and many of us have seen how you
[45:59] faced trolling sadly even on a personal
[46:01] level for standing up for what's right
[46:05] what gives give you the courage to keep
[46:07] speaking out so fearlessly and how did
[46:09] you stay strong through that kind of
[46:12] online negativity and I'm here posting
[46:15] some of the screenshots
[46:19] uh I think some of us are
[46:23] made of a different metal so honestly
[46:27] most of these they didn't really affect
[46:30] me much most of them didn't
[46:34] a few did There was one particular one
[46:36] about uh menstruation related comment
[46:39] that somehow
[46:41] uh it it was like a major trigger but
[46:44] most I remember the time when I saw the
[46:48] comment about me going to Manipal
[46:50] studying for 7 years and having multiple
[46:52] boyfriends. So I I went to Jupiter
[46:56] completed my MBBS in five and a half
[46:58] years and I had only one boyfriend whom
[47:00] I later married that's a different
[47:02] story. So and then doctor and I was
[47:05] laughing about it. My son was laughing
[47:07] about it. So I think we were okay
[47:09] because you know you don't have to let
[47:12] it affect you. But I also realized that
[47:15] when they these people do it to me and
[47:17] Shiva and we are okay there's so many
[47:19] women out there who are scared because
[47:21] it's because the message that they are
[47:24] getting is that if you go out and speak
[47:26] up then this is what you're going to be
[47:28] subjected to and that is scary for a lot
[47:31] of young women. So for that reason I
[47:33] went and did file a cyber bullying
[47:35] complaint. I kind of lost interest in
[47:38] it. I've not pursued it but maybe I will
[47:40] take it up just for that reason.
[47:43] The other thing is family family is
[47:45] stressed also especially if they are on
[47:47] social media they're reading these
[47:48] comments it becomes unpleasant.
[47:50] Yeah.
[47:51] My my cousins in the US
[47:52] unpleasantness actually. So I think we
[47:55] have to tutor our families also
[47:58] and not just immediate family. There
[48:00] were cousins of mine in the US who
[48:02] they're not doctors and they saw this
[48:04] and then they were they were wondering
[48:05] what was going on and I never tell
[48:07] anything to family members because we
[48:09] don't have time to talk to them anywhere
[48:11] but it is and there were so many but
[48:14] what happened was the good thing was
[48:16] that when this was happening there were
[48:17] so many dermatologists whom I didn't
[48:19] know whom I'd never met who texted who
[48:23] called who offered to give money for
[48:26] legal support Dr. Amish I had met like
[48:28] that. So those kind of things happened.
[48:31] Dr. Amrindra called and he was furious.
[48:33] He said who is this guy who's talking
[48:35] about boyfriends? He was ready to take a
[48:36] gun and come here and then and I said so
[48:40] I knew when he called immediately that
[48:41] you know is this about my boyfriends? I
[48:43] asked. Then he said ma'am stop laughing
[48:45] about this. He said so there are some
[48:48] people who react like that there's some
[48:49] people who are react like this but what
[48:52] is the bottom line is that you know
[48:54] especially women are targeted. There is
[48:57] body shaming. There is character
[48:58] assassination men. I mean if in in fact
[49:01] Ammenra was the one who was saying that
[49:03] you know if it were a man would they say
[49:05] he had many girlfriends and if they did
[49:08] say it would it be such a bad thing?
[49:10] Would a man ever be uh you know blamed
[49:13] for saying that you know your character
[49:14] is bad you had many girlfriends. Nobody
[49:17] is going to say that.
[49:19] I want to add this ma'am.
[49:20] Yes please.
[49:21] Uh I was a student leader actually
[49:23] during my postgraduation. So I was the
[49:25] president of Gandhi Judah as well. So
[49:27] when I used to tackle some scenarios
[49:30] over there. So there was one particular
[49:32] incident which happened in which one PG
[49:34] was like wanted to uh commit suicide and
[49:37] all. So he approached us and I have
[49:39] approached the department uh HOD. So she
[49:43] uh did like this like uh she was a
[49:45] female and she did this character
[49:47] assassination on me like why are you
[49:49] speaking up for him?
[49:51] So it just like uh just because I'm a
[49:54] girl and uh they feel that we should not
[49:56] take any uh like you know place of power
[49:59] and uh so and many women are actually
[50:01] against this. So that is one very bad
[50:04] bitter experience that I had.
[50:08] No. So ignore if it is harmless but
[50:11] always make sure that the protest is
[50:14] heard and women please don't worry. See
[50:17] because these comments should not let
[50:19] you know should uh you should not let
[50:21] these people silence you. No but for
[50:23] that we have a forum. So that is one of
[50:26] the reasons because as individuals we
[50:27] can be targeted but when you have a
[50:30] platform then you know we don't have to
[50:33] be all these people who want to speak up
[50:35] who want to act but they don't want to
[50:38] be faced with the B word and the
[50:41] fourletter word and those kind of things
[50:43] we have what is that uh algorithm
[50:47] it won't let it be shared let it be on
[50:50] you don't read or you have some people
[50:54] neutral
[50:55] Let them do the work. Let them answer
[50:57] whatever you post and you're done with
[51:00] it. That's all.
[51:02] But no one should be discouraged ma'am.
[51:04] Uh and uh like you are the example for
[51:07] that because uh if you have uh discou if
[51:10] you have lost any like confidence and if
[51:12] you have not taken up the issue like
[51:14] since for 8 years then it would not be
[51:17] like this on this day. So no one should
[51:20] lo lose confidence and they have to
[51:22] pursue uh keep pursuing uh it might take
[51:25] time but the fruits will be very good.
[51:27] No I also hope that there will be better
[51:29] cyber bullying control and uh loss for
[51:32] this. I'm I am quite hopeful. See again
[51:36] that is not in our top list of things
[51:37] because we have so many things to battle
[51:40] with but eventually I think we'll get
[51:42] there especially and maybe some other
[51:45] you know see there's so many of us we'll
[51:48] all have to take up different different
[51:49] things and fight simultaneously
[51:52] like what about like bullying you get
[51:54] less social media bullying from patients
[51:56] no sometimes they start threatening you
[51:58] like post so many reviews the same thing
[52:01] happens you know I had a incident like
[52:04] that like especially if they are very
[52:06] popular and they have you know YouTube
[52:08] so many followers they're coming and
[52:09] threatening you you gave one treatment
[52:12] it's not okay you know you need to give
[52:14] three treatments you need to refund
[52:16] money so many things they can tell you
[52:18] so I had an incident like that they'll
[52:20] start posting you know so many reviews
[52:22] it it goes on finally I had to give a
[52:24] police complaint like so this can happen
[52:27] because if they are very popular they
[52:30] can start threatening the doctors
[52:32] yeah in some patients are using these
[52:34] reviews as blackmail blackmailing
[52:36] things. I had a patient who said
[52:38] like once one of my patient I was late
[52:41] you know they waited for like more than
[52:43] one hour they posted review they made
[52:44] four others to post a review just
[52:46] because you know you are engaged in
[52:48] something else and you couldn't meet the
[52:50] patient at that time.
[52:52] Yes I I had I had recently a patient who
[52:54] was asking extra discount in pharmacy
[52:57] when our pharmacist said no he said he
[52:59] will post a negative review on Google.
[53:01] So they are using this to blackmail for
[53:03] everything and anything these days.
[53:06] Please ma'am.
[53:11] So please.
[53:12] Okay. My appointment system is like you
[53:15] have to keep your appointment. If you're
[53:17] late, you'll have to wait or uh we'll
[53:22] postpone it. So that lady was using four
[53:25] language against my assistant like when
[53:27] he said okay uh
[53:30] you can come in the evening now you have
[53:32] crossed your time she said she wanted to
[53:34] talk to me so I also said the same thing
[53:38] and then uh she I gave the phone to my
[53:41] assistant unfortunately the speaker was
[53:43] on and she screamed using the b word and
[53:47] said I will uh do a negative review for
[53:51] your doctor. I was there only I told
[53:54] tell her it's okay no problem doctor it
[53:56] doesn't care see for me word of mouth
[54:00] not thing of my practice is based on
[54:02] reviews but it may not be the same for
[54:05] all of you but trust me trust me if you
[54:08] are honest if you are genuine and we
[54:11] know we did the right thing our patients
[54:14] will speak for us we don't have to be
[54:18] worried about the reviews at all give a
[54:20] nice answer give your explanation
[54:23] And that's it. That's all. Okay. So,
[54:26] word of mouth is the strongest thing
[54:28] even in this era.
[54:31] And there is also legal uh recourse that
[54:34] you could take if it is a malicious
[54:37] review, if it is not a genuine review.
[54:39] In fact, we had a patient who threatened
[54:41] my assistant with a fake review because
[54:43] she was not getting an appointment and
[54:45] it was a first time patient.
[54:48] So now how so can a firsttime patient
[54:50] even before coming to the clinic post a
[54:53] review? No, they should actually have
[54:55] visited the clinic and only then they
[54:58] can. So and you can also complain to
[55:00] Google and in fact when uh this social
[55:03] media thing was happening with uh me in
[55:05] May there were hundreds of reviews on my
[55:08] clinic and anyway I had terrible reviews
[55:12] because uh because of the waiting time,
[55:14] appointment time and all those things.
[55:16] So we I didn't mind but then somebody
[55:19] one of the dermatologist saw and then
[55:21] they started posting positive reviews
[55:23] and then finally Google realized
[55:24] something was going wrong. So till date
[55:26] my Google reviews are off. We are not
[55:28] able to post any and surprisingly during
[55:31] this battle somehow the rating went up.
[55:35] Uh I have a question ma'am. Uh so I'm a
[55:38] recently graduated dermatologist. So I
[55:40] get a lot of suggestions like why don't
[55:42] you join Instagram? I'm personally not
[55:44] very interested but uh looking at the
[55:48] visibility of other doctors and
[55:49] everyone. So what should be the line? Uh
[55:52] is it okay not being there? Is it uh am
[55:56] I missing out on something? Yeah.
[56:01] I'm not on Insta
[56:03] for my practice. You won't get any
[56:06] details. Even now when people reach out
[56:09] to me they'll say ma'am we had to do so
[56:12] much and we contacted that person this
[56:15] person or found out that you are at
[56:17] Magna Centers through Google search and
[56:19] then they reached me okay it is purely
[56:22] word of mouth so why do you want to be
[56:25] on Insta I wanted to be because I wanted
[56:28] to raise awareness it was very clear for
[56:30] me it is not to build my practice at all
[56:34] in fact I wanted to keep it away so that
[56:36] there's no bias Yes.
[56:39] Okay. So, why do you want to be on
[56:42] Instagram?
[56:43] I think there's a lot of pressure from
[56:45] the peers and all.
[56:46] No. Why do you want Why do you think how
[56:49] do you think it will help you?
[56:51] I I I I I personally feel that I'll be
[56:54] missing out uh you know like
[56:56] FOMO then.
[56:56] Yeah.
[56:57] And you are not going to miss out
[56:58] anything. You do your practice. uh just
[57:02] uh be good
[57:05] effective communication with your
[57:07] patients follow up properly your
[57:09] practice will build up and you want to
[57:11] be on uh I mean uh get more clients
[57:14] through social media if that's your
[57:16] agenda yes be there but if you're
[57:18] comfortable as I said if you're not
[57:20] comfortable you don't have to do it by
[57:23] her practice built up on social because
[57:25] of social media or what no my practice
[57:28] no definitely no Now, now I'm I'm going
[57:33] mad. But otherwise, it was purely word
[57:36] of mouth. Word of mouth, word of mouth,
[57:39] word of mouth. That's all. So even in
[57:42] this zamana, you stick to your ethics.
[57:46] Be honest. It may be a little slow, but
[57:50] you'll do well in life.
[57:51] And also if you see some all the doctors
[57:54] might have 100k followers. It's not that
[57:56] 100k of patients is getting conversion.
[57:59] It is just followers. Some it is empty
[58:01] followers. You can even pay and get the
[58:03] followers. It's not that they are
[58:04] getting 400k of patients every day
[58:06] through Instagram. It is just a
[58:08] visibility.
[58:09] It's not organic.
[58:10] Yes.
[58:11] I was in in I came to Instagram to
[58:13] expose all these
[58:15] all these influencers, quacks and all to
[58:17] bring this thing.
[58:18] You have to be clear
[58:19] depending on your goal. Yeah. Yeah.
[58:21] What we have heard today makes it clear
[58:23] social media itself isn't the enemy.
[58:25] misinformation is it can educate or
[58:27] mislead, heal or harm depending on how
[58:29] we use it. As dermatologists, we have
[58:31] the opportunity and responsibility to be
[58:33] the credible voice people can trust both
[58:35] in our clinics and online. And to the
[58:38] public, the key is awareness to always
[58:40] ask who is giving that information
[58:43] because the source matters just as much
[58:45] as the advice. Thank you all once again
[58:47] for being such an engaging audience and
[58:49] to our panelists for a truly
[58:50] enlightening session.