The healthcare creator is finally diagnosing how they best fit into the creator economy

Though this type of creator gained popularity during the COVID pandemic, Brad Hoos, CEO of influencer marketing agency Outloud Group, told Digiday he’s anecdotally seen immense growth in the space in the last 18 to 24 months as audiences now prioritize trust differently and health “has become culture.”

Joanna Campbell, vp of influencer and social media digital marketing agency MKD (which trademarked the term “phys-influencer” in 2021), told Digiday that the rise of health and wellness influencers “acting like doctors” has created a demand for actual experts.

“Physicians feel the need to have a louder voice right now,” Campbell said, who added that an aesthetics brand worked with a “phys-influencer” to earn 2.7 million impressions. 

Physicians have their actual licenses to consider when posting online, and brands still have to adhere to regulations when working with them. This isn’t a loophole to avoid the rigors of traditional healthcare advertising, in fact, it’s often a more rigorous process.

“A traditional influencer answers to the FTC and the brand’s legal team. A physician answers to all of that plus their state medical board, their specialty’s ethics guidelines, and their own professional reputation, which took years to build. That’s a much bigger deterrent against saying something misleading than anything in an advertising contract,” said Dylan Flinn, head of AI at Underscore Talent and leader of the agencies new “expert” division.

Of the three medical creators Digiday spoke with, all of them stressed that their credibility is their number one priority, especially when posting on social media, which can often be inundated with misinformation. 

“I’m a physician first…I only work with brands, technologies, or products that I genuinely believe in, personally use, or feel comfortable recommending to patients,” Dr. Annie Gonzalez, a dermatologist, said. “I’m also very transparent about realistic expectations. In aesthetics especially, I think it’s dangerous when social media promotes unattainable beauty standards or oversells results.”

Gonzalez said that she’s declined partnerships, pushed back on edits, and even requested edits if something felt “too exaggerated, misleading, or not aligned” with her medical expertise. “I think physician creators have to remember that influence comes with responsibility,” she added.

Dr. Michelle Lee, a board-certified plastic surgeon who starred on E Network’s Dr. 90210 said she’s “extremely careful” who she works with and considers the entire patient experience when approached by a brand.

“Very large skincare brands want me to substantiate that ‘this moisturizer is the next greatest and the best’ and it’s very lucrative,” Dr. Lee said. “Those brands, we actually turn down, even though it’s good for a partnership with the practice for visibility. Because if I don’t think that this cream is any better than any drugstore cream, I’m not going to be a doctor that backs that up.”

Campbell said that this level of credibility makes physician creators a powerful brand asset, which is why Evolve MDK leverages a roster of over 500 of them for deals such as injectables and contraception. 

“Physician creators sit in a uniquely powerful position because they combine two forms of credibility that rarely coexist: institutional authority and digital fluency.” Hoos said. “A doctor who can actually communicate online has an outsized halo effect. The MD gives legitimacy. The creator skillset makes people listen. Together, it’s a force multiplier.”

Finding the right brands and balance

But that power doesn’t mean physicians easily slot into the creator economy. It’s often the opposite. 

Flinn said that medical creators are “regimented and rigorous” and that means they cost a premium for brands to work with. When evaluating potential deals for medical creators like their own Nick Norwitz, Flinn said Underscore researches the company, its clinical team and its product.

Flinn said that, though every creator is priced differently and the partnership cost varies depending on the clinical rigor of the product and company, “you can safely say it’s about double what a non-expert would be.” 

Medical creators’ rigorous research and credibility concerns means partnerships could take longer to bear fruit. Brands also have to realize that these creators cannot be treated like traditional influencers. 

“[They can’t be just] reading from a script,” Hoos said. “The relationship has to work within medical ethics, platform policies, legal considerations, and audience trust.”

And the creators themselves have to balance their healthcare practice with posting on social media platforms, which poses an entirely different problem: burnout.

Dr. Dillon Batalo, an optometrist, said that his content output has somewhat slowed as of late. 

“Several years ago when I was first blowing up I would bring outfits into work and eat my lunch between my last few patients then use my lunch hour to make content,” Batalo said. “But as time went on, I kind of burnt out…I felt I made every possible joke, I was running out of content, I was relying on a trend to come out to adapt.” Instead of making several videos a week, he now makes one or two TikToks or Reels a month.

After medical creators spiked in popularity during the height of Covid, creator management companies worked to create infrastructure surrounding their businesses, said Kyle Hjelmeseth, CEO and founder of G&B Digital Management. Now some of those creators are posting more lifestyle content.

“They’re more built out now, some of those creators share more of their holistic lifestyle, you can fit more things into it,” he said.