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ROCHESTER, MI – Mayo Clinic continues to demonstrate its leadership in social media. This month it launched its own social network for patients and caregivers, and it recently became one of the largest U.S. medical centers to establish a Spanish-language presence online.
On July 19, Mayo Clinic established its Facebook page, Mayo Clinic en español, and announced the successful growth of @ClinicaMayo on Twitter, which already has more than 1,000 followers. Officials said both sites offer the opportunity for deeper engagement by patients and medical professionals within the Hispanic social media community, which will broadly expand the information and support available in Spanish on health issues.
[See also: Mayo Clinic to launch social media center]"Our desire is that Mayo Clinic offers an authentic and honest voice that promotes the interests of patients in an environment that is plagued by an otherwise unreliable and commercially biased source of information," says Victor Montori, MD, endocrinologist and medical director of the Center for Social Media at Mayo Clinic. "Social networking tools such as Facebook and Twitter also allow us to listen to the patient's voice in a more clear and direct manner."
He adds that "the dialogue between health professionals and patients should lead to health services more responsive to the needs and preferences of patients, and that is our primary mission, in the clinic and online."
Earlier this month, on July 13, Mayo Clinic launched a new online social network to connect its global community of patients and caregivers with others who share similar health interests.
[See also: Social media plays a role in patient's choice of hospital]The site is free and is open to anyone, not just those who have been patients at Mayo. It includes content from various Mayo Clinic blogs, health and medical videos from its YouTube channel and links to news articles about Mayo Clinic research and treatment advances, along with a member discussion forum.
"Each year, more than 500,000 unique patients from every U.S. state and nearly 150 countries visit one of our Mayo Clinic campuses in Arizona, Florida or Minnesota for diagnosis and treatment," says Lee Aase, director of the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media. "These patients, their families and friends, and Mayo Clinic's 56,000 employees and students are part of the global Mayo Clinic community. This new site provides a place for community members to share their experiences and connect with others who've faced similar experiences."
"This new Mayo Clinic social network builds on previous social media platforms Mayo Clinic has created," says Montori. "It provides an environment that offers more control over privacy settings and a customizable, tailored space for conversation around health care topics among people in the same situation with no distractions of advertisement."
