Digital Mediatization in Medicine: New Models of Clinic-to-Doctor-to-Patient Interaction

Abstract

Mediatization is an interdisciplinary construct, which allows us to study how the transformation of social institutions is affected by media influence and social theories. Researchers are focusing on peoples digital representations and new interaction models. As digital networks grow and overlap with traditional interaction forms, new models of clinic-doctor-patient interaction emerge. Researching this reveals the efficiency of communicative constructivism. The purpose of the research is to study the transformative effect of mediatization on medicine. The research methodology is based on communicative constructivism and phenomenological approach, including analysis of 70 Instagram accounts of doctors and clinics and in-depth interviews of 10 St. Petersburg-based doctors. The research validates the transformation tendencies in medicine as a social institution.