Health Care Harnesses Social Media

In the past decade, as the reach of Facebook and Twitter has grown, so, too, has the number of doctors, nurses and other medical workers who use those social networks. Already, 67 percent of physicians in 2011 reported using social media for “professional purposes,” a report by the Federation of State Medical Boards found, and by now that number “is almost certainly higher,” says Dr. Farris Timimi, medical director for the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. “It’s changed our dynamic in a striking way: If you look at online activity, one of the most common activities is looking for health information,” he tells U.S. News. “I don’t think providers are in a position to ignore their obligation to provide content of value where they’re spending a majority of their time.”

Originally Published in US News & World Report

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