Posted at: 10/28/2009 7:15 PM
By: David Springer

Social Networking for Mayo Clinic

(ABC 6 NEWS) -- Social Networking is usually a no-no at work and more young people use it as a means of communicating in our ever evolving high tech world. But you might be surprised to know that Mayo Clinic is using all forms of social media to its benefit, as well as the benefit of its patients. Of course the current hot top is H1N1.

More than 25 percent of Mayo Clinic patients come from more than 500 miles away. As a result, Mayo has turned to social media as a way to communicate with those patients.

"We're talking Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, blogs. We've had more than a million views on our Youtube channel. So that's been popular, but we have close to 10,000 Facebook fans and 8,500 or so Twitter followers,� says Lee Aase of Mayo Clinic's Syndication and Social Media.

Lee Aase says those social networking mediums allow Mayo to communicate in depth information or allow patients to talk back. Such as the case of Philadelphia Phillies outfielder Jayson Werth, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his wrist several years ago. Mayo employees interviewed Werth afterwards about his experience and posted the interview on Mayo's Youtube channel.

"Through Youtube and through our blogs, it's a world wide web," says Aase.

Of more importance and interest these days is information about H1N1.

Just today Mayo videotaped infectious disease specialist Dr. Priya Sampathkumar about the latest on H1N1.

"It will probably run 6 or 7 minutes as a Youtube video, but then we'll also break it down for our news blog into separate sound bites, both audio and video," says Joel Streed of Mayo's Public Affairs.

Just one of the ways Mayo is getting the word and taking advantage of the publics' fascination with social media.

If you'd like to watch any of the interviews mentioned in our story in their entirety, or learn more about what Mayo Clinic is doing with social media just head to the links portion of our website.