A case study on doctor-shaming in social media and its effects on the perception of the Philippines’ healthcare system among the residents of the national capital region

Social media sites are now used to voice concerns and complaints, including the various concerns about the country’s inadequate healthcare system. In the past years, doctor shaming has become prevalent in the Philippines. Doctors have become a target of people expressing their frustrations on receiving substandard or poor-quality health care services. Numerous posts, photos, and videos that accuse doctors and other healthcare professionals have circulated on different social media platforms, which fueled the public’s rage against the country’s doctors and the healthcare system. This study aimed to gather information on how doctor shaming in social media could affect people’s perception of the Philippines’ healthcare system. The study presented results from 18 interviews of legally-aged NCR residents that use social media platforms and have seen posts on doctor-shaming. 4 themes emerged from the interviews: (1) Familiarity with the current Philippine Healthcare System, (2) Awareness of Doctor Shaming on Social Media, (3) Responses to Doctor Shaming on Social Media, (4) Credibility of our Healthcare system. The majority agree that the Philippine Healthcare system needs improvement and the common reason why people publicly shame doctors is that they feel that more could have been done for the patients. The majority also stand against doctor shaming and feel that doctor shaming affects how viewers see physicians and hospitals. Respondents believed that doctor shaming has contributed to the decline in the credibility of doctors and hospitals.