LinkedIn Top Voices 2018: Health Care

Health care professionals come to LinkedIn each day to join timely conversations about the issues that matter most to them.

More than 2 million posts, articles and videos are shared every day across the feed, generating tens of thousands of comments every hour — and tens of millions more shares and likes. So, who stood out in 2018 — and who should you be following to stay ahead?

We dug into the data to reveal our 4th annual LinkedIn Top Voices list, uncovering today's must-follow professionals in health care.

To find standout voices, we use a combination of data and editorial signals. We screen for engagement among professionals sharing in their area of expertise, looking at what kind of conversations — measured by engagement, including comments and re-shares — their original content is creating. We track relative follower growth, too: Are these professionals attracting dedicated fans in their particular sector? Finally, we emphasize quality and diversity; the list should reflect the world we work in.

Health care professionals — doctors and nurses on the frontlines of patient care — dominated the list of Top Voices in Health Care this year. The issues important to them include supporting patients with mental illness, preventing nurse bullying and creating leadership opportunities for nurses and physician assistants. They’re helping people understand how Amazon will transform the industry and why drug prices are spiraling out of control for certain products. 

Here are this year’s 10 #LinkedInTopVoices in health care.

Dr. Sachin Jain | President and CEO, CareMore Health, a division of Anthem

What he talks about: Jain’s career has spanned several fronts: from practicing physician to digital health advisor to top executive at companies like Merck. He draws upon those diverse experiences to write about transformation, innovation and leadership within health care.

Favorite conversation starter: “One particularly memorable discussion was on the role artificial intelligence will play in augmenting or replacing the work of physicians — a topic that is very important to people, but that often doesn’t have a home for discussion,” he says about a conversation that brought together doctors, nurses and entrepreneurs. “I love the dialogue with individuals who bring different perspectives to the same issues.”

Most interesting news story of 2018: Jain has been closely watching the fallout from Theranos, a blood testing company accused of overhyping its technology. “It called out how badly we desire medical progress — and how impatient we sometimes are to achieve it,” he says.

See more by Dr. Sachin Jain.

Dr. Patricia Salber | CEO, The Doctor Weighs In

What she talks about: Salber’s passion is in helping to dissect the complex world of health care, whether it’s the Affordable Care Act, drug price increases or health guidelines.

Favorite conversation starter: “How to kill pre-existing conditions,” an article that helped explain why the U.S. Justice Department was not supporting the Affordable Care Act in a lawsuit that aimed to invalidate the health care reform law. “The story was based on letters the Attorney General sent to Congress to explain his reasoning,” she says. “It was mind-bending.”

Most interesting news story of 2018: Salber points to a spate of instances where pharmaceutical companies raised prices on previously inexpensive drugs. While “pharma bro” Martin Shkreli might be the most notorious example, similar price increases have inflated the cost of EpiPens and insulin, she notes, adding, “We can’t share these types of stories enough.”

See more by Dr. Patricia Salber.

Renee Thompson | CEO & Founder, The Healthy Workforce Institute

What she talks about: As a nurse, Thompson is passionate about trying to eradicate bullying and incivility in health care organizations. “I focus primarily on equipping frontline leaders with the essential skills they need to set behavioral expectations and hold their employees accountable for professional behavior,” she says.

Favorite conversation starter: “How to avoid hiring a bully in your hospital,” which sparked 50 comments mostly from nurses. In her article, Thompson makes the case that hiring people who treat their coworkers with respect is just as important as hiring for strong clinical skills.

Trend she’s watching in 2019: The U.S. doesn’t have a legal definition for what constitutes bullying, nor do victims have much legal recourse. However, a number of states are trying to strengthen their laws on the issue, Thompson notes.

See more by Renee Thompson.

Dr. Umbereen Nehal | Chief Medical Officer, Community Healthcare Network

What she talks about: Nehal writes about patient- and family-centered health care, community health and health disparities from the perspective of a physician executive.

Top conversation starter: Nehal’s posts often touch on the topic of women’s health and advancement. For instance, she sparked more than 60 comments across industries on a post about whether mothers get the appropriate level of support while they support their families, and how that ties into their mental well-being and economic opportunity.

Trend she’s watching in 2019: Amazon’s appointment of Dr. Atul Gawande to head its health care venture with JPMorgan and Berkshire Hathaway. “The collective brain trust of [Jeff] Bezos, [Warren] Buffett, [Jamie] Dimon and Gawande will powerfully disrupt health care,” Nehal says, adding that she’s “excited to see how it develops and how it drives fresh approaches and needed innovation in a historically risk-averse industry that can rely too heavily on tradition.”

See more by Dr. Umbereen Nehal.

Dr. Greg Martin | Editor in Chief, Globalization and Health

What he talks about: With short explanatory videos and articles, Martin, a Dublin-based public health expert, tackles the social and political structures that impact people’s health.

Favorite conversation starter: An explanatory article and video that aimed to simplify the topic of universal health coverage. “UHC is a simple and beautiful idea and has been described by Tedros [Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization] as one of the most important public health ideas available today,” he says. “As a topic, however, it is a little divisive.”

Most interesting news story of 2018: Martin points to the 100-year anniversary of the Spanish flu, which killed 50 million people, more than both World Wars combined. “The article reminded me that the work we do in public health, putting mechanisms in place to protect the public ... can have important implications for the lives of millions of people,” he says.

See more by Dr. Greg Martin.

Dr. David Bearman | Executive Vice President, American Association of Cannabinoid Medicine

What he talks about: Bearman is one of the growing number of voices on LinkedIn writing about medical marijuana. His decades of experience and interest as a physician in both pain medicine, public health and drug addiction inform his posts and add authority to his discussions on the platform.

Top conversation starter: “Cannabis does not kill brain cells, it protects them,” which looks at what the research says about marijuana and brain health. It’s one of his many articles that tackle the myths and misconceptions about cannabis.

What’s not on his LinkedIn profile: Bearman has been interested in cannabis and its therapeutic uses since he was a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In 1968, he started Seattle’s first teach-in on psychoactive drugs.

See more by Dr. David Bearman.

Dr. Vinod Dasa | Associate Professor, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center

What he talks about: Dasa, an orthopedic surgeon and consultant to medical device companies, focuses on the opportunities in the health care system to create “value,” or how to improve outcomes while still removing excess costs. But he also offers a dose of realism where doctors and patients need to confront the realities of the current health care payment model.

Favorite conversation starter: Dasa is particularly passionate about the need for innovation around pain relief options for patients, like this post on strategies for helping patients reduce their narcotic use, which sparked more than two dozen comments from doctors, medical device executives and others.

What’s not on his LinkedIn profile: “I love to travel,” Dasa says. “I'm trying to get to 50 countries visited in the next few years.”

See more by Dr. Vinod Dasa.

Dr. Melissa Welby | Psychiatrist & Health care Blogger

What she writes about: Welby tackles mental health-related topics, from suicide prevention to how to find a psychiatrist, with an aim to destigmatize mental illness.

Favorite conversation starter: “How to best support someone with psychosis,” which offered practical advice for friends and families. “When I published this article, I wasn’t sure anyone would be interested in reading about psychosis,” she says. “I was shocked and happy to see so much support. People with psychosis are often misunderstood and shunned because people don’t know how to communicate with them, don’t know how to be helpful, and feel intimidated.”

What’s not on her LinkedIn profile: Welby challenges herself with marathons and endurance races. “I haven’t yet met my goal of running a 50-mile race as my knees haven’t agreed to the plan,” she says. “I am still in intense negotiations with them and haven’t given up on it.” 

See more by Dr. Melissa Welby.

Bianca Belcher | Director, Center for Healthcare Leadership and Management

What she talks about: As a physician assistant, Belcher often writes about the role of mid-level clinicians in patient care. She also tackles leadership topics, like how to get more PAs into management roles.

Favorite conversation starter: “The best conversations around my posts and writings have been by people sharing their own wins and challenges around (physician assistant and nurse practitioner) utilization, career growth and mentorship,” Belcher says. “It helps to form a connected community of PA/NP managers and leaders who all trying to do their best for their direct reports and patients.”

Trend she’s watching in 2019: Belcher points to companies like Amazon and Apple entering the health care space. “These companies and their data repositories are appealing (and marketing) to what patients want more aggressively than the health care industry is used to, and I'm very curious to see how it all plays out,” she said. “Health care/Non-health care mergers? Or just a more competitive market?”

See more by Bianca Belcher.

Nat'e Guyton | Chief Nurse Officer, Spok

What she talks about: Guyton aims to serve as the voice of the nurse leader in technology, writing about the lack of nurses at the decision-making table while also empowering them to serve as leaders and innovators.

Top conversation starter: “The voice of the nurse leader in technology,” which ran as part of LinkedIn’s Hard Cases series. “Nurses are the largest health care provider in hospitals, their voice in decision-making, implementing, and innovating in the technology is mandatory,” she says.

Where she gets her best ideas: “I give myself time on a weekly basis, actually I assigned four hours each week to sit and conduct research or reflect on innovation,” Guyton says. “I conduct several focus groups throughout the year with leaders across the United States; this feedback-oriented approach allows me to understand the problems clinicians face, and it helps me generate ideas to help solve their problems.”

See more by Nat'e Guyton.

You’ve read about the Top Voices in health care this year. Now, check out the #LinkedInTopVoices in technology, management, education and more.

All activity measured took place over a 12-month period, from mid-September 2017 to mid-September 2018, and as with all LinkedIn Lists, we excluded LinkedIn and Microsoft employees from consideration.