Hospitals move to Social Networking?

Link: eHealth Hospital Social Networking

Thanks to John Sharp for sharing Ed Bennett's post which provides a list of U.S. Hospitals that use YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter.

The collection of this data was performed by Edward Bennett, Director, Web Strategy at the University of Maryland Medical System and David Ekrem, Manager, Web Development at the MassGeneral Hospital for Children.

Social networking has changed the way that we communicate and both Ed and David feel that it represents a fundamental change in how the Internet can be used. I agree.

The number of hospitals on this list that are using the "new social media" tools as communication networks is astounding. IMHO, social networks have the potential to reach a greater number of interested healthcare consumers than traditional media. They also have the ability to provide "targeted" information to those potential customers who may be familiar with the services provided by these hospitals.

Way cool! When I get some time, I'll watch a few YouTube videos, check out who is on Facebook, and then find some local "Tweets" to follow.