Social media moves into medicine

The Mayo Clinic's social media boss explains how the use of these high-tech tools has moved beyond marketing to find a place in medical education and research. Meanwhile, another news report showcases how doctors use email and Skype.  

MedCity News/MinnPost: Five Questions With Mayo Clinic Social Media Chief Lee Aase
Social media is no longer used just for marketing purposes -; it now has a place in medical education and medical research. "These tools aren't just about building market shares, but they're about helping patients and connecting providers," he said (Pogoreic, 10/19). 

WBUR's CommonHealth blog: Will Health Reform Finally Push Doctors To E-mail And Skype?
So these days, unless Anish needs to be physically seen, his parents schedule their appointments for evening hours. They sit at their home computer and they consult with Dr. Hartman, face to face, but not in person -; by Skype. Those Skype visits put Dr. Hartman way far out on the cutting edge of using technology to communicate with patients, even though Skype is now very old news in the general population. ... multiplying signals suggest that early adopters like Dr. Hartman may soon get a major boost from a political source: The looming state health reform (Goldberg, 10/19).