Social Networking & Health Care Systems

Social networking has created new ways to communicate and share information and have become a part of everyday life for many people. Social networks are now beginning to be adopted by healthcare organizations as a means to better manage institutional knowledge, disseminate peer to peer knowledge, and to reach out and better serve their patients.

The following are a few examples of the many social networking web sites that have emerged within the health care space to meet a variety of needs for both health care providers and patients.

Social Networking web sites for patients include:

 DailyStrengthRaresharePatientsLikeMeRealMentalHealth.comOneRecoveryHealthCare, and Trusera.

Social Networking web sites for clinicians include:

 SermoClinicalVillageMomMDTargetRX, and CareSeek Communities.

Other social networking sites for physicians & researchers to consider visiting include:

 TiromedBiomedexpertsiMedicor, and DoctorNetworking

Social networking in health care is a relatively new service and the true value of using them has not been clearly established. Access to most of these community sites is free. These networks have the potential to transform health care as we know it - redefining relationships and generating a fundamental shift away from the traditional flow of information in health care currently defined by payers, physicians, hospital systems, pharmaceutical companies, etc.

Have you used a health related social networking web site? What was your experience? Do you have any sites that you would recommend?