Purpose. In relation to this research, only a few studies have been carried out around the world. However, in Saudi Arabia, there\nhave been no investigations into this subject. In this sense, the objective of this study was to investigate the physiciansâ?? attitudes\ntowards the use of social media for professional purposes in Saudi Arabia. Methods. A cross-sectional study was conducted among\n235 physicians from different regions of Saudi Arabia. The data were collected by means of a survey. The survey questionnaire was\ndistributed using the WhatsApp application. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results. Results. The most common\nsocial media used by the respondents was Facebook, and the majority of the participants agreed that social media improved their\nknowledge and skills. However, most of the participants did not interact with patients using these tools, did not feel comfortable\nconducting an online consultation, and believed that social media affected the choice of the healthcare provider. Similarly, 30.6%\nof the respondents opined that it is not appropriate to search online information about patients, and 44.3% of them considered that\npatients would not trust the medical advice if a physician obtained the information from a website. Conclusion. The results showed\nthat the majority of the respondents considered that social media improved the knowledge and abilities of physicians. In addition, the\nrespondents reflected that there were ethical issues that must be taken into account when using social media and more than half of\nthem did not interact with their patients employing these tools. The outcomes of this research will help to develop programs directed\nat the physicians in Saudi Arabia to enhance their knowledge, professional skills, medicine practice, patient-doctor interaction, and\nhandle the risks involved in the use of social media.
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