Tech Time with Dr. Adams

Don't look now, "social networking" influences are everywhere.

Did you see the CNN clip about surgeons at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit using Twitter? Or the recent Newsweek report about drug companies using social networking to recruit patients for clinical trials? Others are vying for us physicians to engage with online networking, both WebMD and a new player, Sermo.

Twitter is one of my favorites. Whether professional or consumer oriented, seems to me, the value of Twitter is connecting the user to niche kinds of information. Jeff Loo (Information Science PhD candidate) tells me the #1 use of Twitter is about getting an answer to a question, for example, an answer needed by a med student study group or a "patients like me" group. The surgeons at Henry Ford Hospital used Twitter to send a live "tweet" during an OR procedure to get the message out about a new procedure.

Do look for Duke in the social networking sphere with Duke iTunes, Duke YouTube, and a new mobile app, DukeMobile!

Causes me to take note. Our current medical students have grown up with social networking. It's the norm. And, in case you haven't noticed, even Diane Rehm allows listeners to send a "tweet" during her popular daily NPR show. It's all about connecting.

Martha Adams, MD
Blog entry #2