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Social Media Making Its Mark

Whether we want it to happen or not, social media--much like mobile technology--is going to play a big role in the future of healthcare. From professional networks like LinkedIn and Ozmosis, to more consumer mediums like Twitter and Facebook, healthcare professionals all across the nation and throughout the world are jumping on the bandwagon.

Whether we want it to happen or not, social media--much like mobile technology--is going to play a big role in the future of healthcare. From professional networks like LinkedIn and Ozmosis, to more consumer mediums like Twitter and Facebook, healthcare professionals all across the nation and throughout the world are jumping on the bandwagon. And with the federal government pushing physicians' offices to utilize electronic medical records, it is only a matter of time before healthcare makes a push into social media, as well.

"I love how social media facilitates communication in a quick and effective manner, and allows you to broadcast to groups of people," said Dr. Jason Bhan, creator of the physician social network, Ozmosis. According to Dr. Bhan, a recent Manhattan Research survey found that 60 million U.S. healthcare consumers use social media to find healthcare information online. He added that a similar survey found that 60 percent of physicians are interested in, or are already using physician social networks. That same study concluded that "physicians who are currently participating in online physician communities and social networks write a mean of 24 more prescriptions a week than" their more old-fashioned counterparts.

So needless to say, social media should not be something that is taken lightly. For those of you interested in learning more, Stephen Rosenthal, of The Care Management Company of Montefiore Medical Center, and Columbia University's Richard Levine will lead the session "MDs Who IM @ WRK: Online Messaging Improves Physician-Patient Communication" on Sunday, April 5 at 8:30 a.m.

By Dan Bowman

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