Mayo Clinic Launches Social Media Center

The recently formed Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media (Rochester, Minn.) announced the formation of the Social Media Health Network, a group dedicated to using social media to promote health, improve health care, and fight disease. Through educational conferences, webinars and development of social platforms for sharing training materials and resources, this international network will help members learn from each other and effectively implement social media programs.

In addition to Mayo Clinic, charter members of the network include:

• Bon Secours Health System, Marriottsville, Md.
• Inova Health System, Falls Church, Va.
• Mission Health System, Asheville, N.C.
• Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (UMCN), Nijmegen, Netherlands
• Swedish Health Services, Seattle, Wash.

To support this goal and to build network membership in Europe, Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Centre (UMCN) in the Netherlands will serve as the first network partner and community leader for the European continent. UMCN, a strong social media leader among European medical centers and health care in general, will recruit European Union members, host conferences, and facilitate growth of the movement. The website for the network, socialmediahealthnetwork.org, will launch Oct. 25.