Reclaim Your Voice: "Docfluencers" Want to Spark a Revolution – Here's Why It Matters to You

The endless scroll. We've all been there. But yesterday, something on Instagram stopped me cold. It started with a caption: "Today, an insurance company infringed on my practice of medicine by..."

Intrigued, I turned up the sound. I heard the earnest, slightly hurried voice of Dr. Alicia Robbins, clearly juggling a packed clinic schedule, sharing her frustration over a denied diagnostic mammogram. “Today an insurance company infringed on my practice of medicine by denying my patient's diagnostic mammogram. One in eight women will develop breast cancer, and a diagnostic mammogram is the imaging that we use to further characterize an area of concern or a lesion."

https://www.instagram.com/aliciarobbinsmd/reel/DNTmBgmO-jO/

One in eight women. Think about that. And then think about being denied the very test that could save your life, forced to shell out thousands because an insurance company said "no."

I wasn't alone in my outrage. The comments exploded with similar stories from doctors and patients alike. It was a raw, unfiltered look at the battles being fought every day in American healthcare. The battles – infuriating, mundane, a death by a thousand papercuts.

I kept seeing more of these videos in my feed. A cardiologist fighting to keep a patient on his existing life-saving cardiomyopathy medications, a gastroenterologist's patient requiring a surgery after being cut off his Crohn's medication, an internist battling for rehab after his patient's hip fracture. Doctors, tired and frustrated, yet still hopeful, speaking into their phones, in case it might make a difference.

I found myself hitting "repost" again and again, drawn to the energy and the shared sense of purpose. What was happening?

That's when I discovered Docfluencer, MDO, a platform uniting doctors to create real change via social media. Docfluencer, created by family medicine physician Dr. Olivia Richman, launched this week-long campaign to challenge insurance companies, "for our patients, for our profession, for each other, for the future of healthcare." As of today, there are already dozens of these powerful videos flooding social media.

https://www.instagram.com/docfluencermdo/reel/DNTiJzRBi6q/

Now, I'm not naive. Social media isn't a magic bullet. It can be a breeding ground for misinformation and negativity. But seeing these doctors stand up, share their experiences, and fight for their patients? It resonated deeply. It sparked something. It reminded me that physician-led movements can be a powerful force for change.

What truly excites me is that this type of movement reaffirms the expertise of physicians, and their rightful place to make medical decisions with their patients. "An insurance company infringed on my practice of medicine" – that phrase is brilliant. It highlights the simple truth: when insurance companies deny care with the stroke of a pen, they are practicing medicine without a license. They're making medical decisions based on profit, not patient well-being. It's about all of us collaborating to expose and fight the "administrative sludge" that buries patients in red tape and compromises their care.

And it's not just insurance companies. When the sludge hiding in many dark corners of the healthcare system—in hospitals and health systems, private equity-bought practices, and government—gets between doctors and patients, we all suffer.

The campaign also reminded me of a moment I'll never forget. As a palliative care physician, I had a patient with excruciating cancer-related pain. The insurance company suddenly demanded a prior authorization for their opioid medication refill. They ran out of pills. And while I spent hours on the phone completing a prior auth, my patient was admitted to the hospital in crisis. It was a completely avoidable situation, a stark reminder of the real-world consequences of these bureaucratic battles. I had completed fellowship training and learned the appropriate medications and doses, but I couldn't make my patient better. I felt ineffectual, angry, and exhausted.

And this feeling of disempowerment? It's a root cause of physician burnout – the very reason I founded Reclaim Physician Coaching.

Because a movement like Docfluencer? It represents a transformation from physicians disempowered in isolation, into leading collective action together. It's doctors recognizing their power.

This type of movement reignites purpose, reminding doctors they can effect change – and that's the energy I cultivate at Reclaim Physician Coaching. Whether it's a social media campaign, taking a leadership role at your hospital, or organizing for change, you have the potential to reclaim your role as a leader in healthcare.

And that's what I'm all about at Reclaim Physician Coaching. I help physicians like you to:

• Reclaim your voice: Find the courage to speak out and advocate for your patients and your profession.

• Reclaim your power: Recognize the strength you have, both individually and collectively, to shape the future of healthcare.

• Reclaim your purpose: Reconnect with the passion that drove you to medicine in the first place.

Ready to reclaim your role? Let's start now.