With his TexMed 2025 appearance less than two months away, YouTube sensation, philanthropist, and family physician Mikhail “Doctor Mike” Varshavski, DO, spoke about fighting rampant online disinformation and building patient trust in an exclusive Q&A with Texas Medicine Today.
Doctor Mike went viral in 2015 for medically themed YouTube videos that both entertain and debunk false medical claims. His upcoming presentation – which will close out TexMed 2025 – was added to the conference’s schedule after the success of last year’s full house presentation by ophthalmologist Will Flanary, MD, also known as Dr. Glaucomflecken, another internet sensation.
Doctor Mike’s presentation, “Treating Patients in The Digital Era,” will share strategies he's developed over a decade of social media success, providing physicians with tools on how to become more effective communicators – or influencers.
Whether speaking one-on-one with a patient or reaching millions through a smartphone screen, Doctor Mike says the challenge remains the same: conveying complex medical information in a way that patients understand.
What started your career on YouTube? What inspired you to share medical content online?
During my medical training, both in school and residency, I saw a consistent pattern of celebrities and sometimes even doctors in the media spreading misinformation. It was leading to folks making poor choices surrounding their health. They would believe there was a shortcut to good health with some miracle supplement or worse, yet they would not even go see their doctor because of fear developed from disinformation spread online. I knew that as a family medicine doctor, we have to go to wherever our patients are. If they were admitted we’d see them as inpatient, if they were in a nursing home we’d do nursing home rounds, but now they’re online and it was time for us to show up there too.
Do you believe social media has been a helpful tool in advocating for medicine? How so?
Because of fear of being labeled as “unprofessional,” many doctors shied away from posting on social media. This created a dark hole of mis- and disinformation. Bad actors were able to have their content go viral without even as much as a fact-check or a challenge from evidence-based health professionals. Now that more and more doctors are becoming comfortable with the platforms, we stand a chance at fighting back not only against misinformation but also through public advocacy. There is no better way to get the ear of a local politician than to get a story or issue to go viral.
In your perspective, what are the greatest issues plaguing medicine/physicians today? Do you raise awareness of those issues on social media?
Universally, we are losing trust in our medical institutions and the general principles behind science are beginning to become undermined. Most doctors believe it is their impeccable knowledge that is primarily responsible for good patient outcomes. However, that is not exactly true. It is the trust given to us by patients. Without trust there can be no doctor-patient alliance and therefore no good outcomes. That is why I use social media every single day in a way to bolster that trust and fight back against those that try to trick our patients.
Why did you decide to present at TexMed?
I love my YouTube channel; I am able to reach an audience of millions. The last few months our viewership has averaged about 100 million views every 28 days. Those stats excite me as each one of those views represents someone that could have been influenced [by] good quality information. … My hope is to speak to my fellow colleagues and explain the need to consider ways to reach their patients in unique ways and to support each other when they are attempting to combat misinformation online.
What are you most excited to attend/do at TexMed?
I’m very much excited to connect with doctors who are equally as passionate in helping their patients.
Register now
TexMed will be hosted this year May 8-10 at the JW Marriott San Antonio Hill Country Resort & Spa located at 23808 Resort Pkwy, San Antonio. Registration for TMA members, county medical society and association staff, and TMA Alliance members is free – one of the many benefits of an annual TMA membership.
Physicians can register online or in-person. A $25 registration fee will be charged for on-site registrants. For more information, contact Keri Anderson or the TMA Knowledge Center at (800) 880-7955.
Alisa Pierce
Reporter, Division of Communications and Marketing
(512) 370-1469