By Matthew Holt

Of course, it’s not just cornering a Senator at July 4th picnic that changes policy.
These days there are online communities doing it too. And with increased grumpiness among many doctors, and now the almost-here-rather-than-looming-on-the-horizon cuts in Medicare, you can expect a response online. And here it is: Fed up Sermo docs draft manifesto. Yup, those docs hanging out on Sermo are not just discussing clinical cases, they’re on the verge of getting politically active. As you might expect, they’re pissed off with insurers, the government and lawyers. And who could disagree? (I know, I know it’s more complex than that….)

Never one to miss a trick, Sermo has allowed itself to be used as a vehicle for the open letter that’s going to get much more publicity (and yup, as a doc you have to sign up for Sermo to sign the letter, to verify that you are a doc!). Here’s the site called Doctors Unite.

Every other form of political activism has moved online, so don’t be surprised to see more like this. Of course, if the details get specific, it’s tricky to know whether the coalition of pissed off docs will hang together, and also whether Sermo will become type-cast as representing a particular flavor of doctor (see: Medical Association, American) which may somewhere down the road limit its business initiatives. But for now, it’s fun to see online organization get serious in health care.